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BY IRA KAUFMAN

If you’re an original Buccaneer season-ticket holder who still attends games, take a bow. You’ve been through a lot of ups and downs.

Your loyalty to the franchise is commendable and you owe it to yourself to watch “Raise the Flags,” playing all this week on NFL Network. It’s a 10-part series documenting 50 years of Buc football — the high, the lows and the in between.

This organization has been around for a half-century and any Buc fan knows how it all began, an 0-26 start that made Tampa Bay a running joke for Johnny Carson on The Tonight Show.

When the Bucs fell 20-0 at Houston in their first regular-season game on Sept. 12, 1976, the top-rated show on television was “Happy Days.” The No. 1 song on the charts was “Shake Your Booty.”

The first inkling of happy days came during the magical 1979 season, when Lee Roy Selmon led a marauding defense that drove Tampa Bay to within one win of a Super Bowl appearance. That was an early high point for a franchise that went on to win two championships.

Considering the Browns, Lions, Texans and Jaguars have never even made a Super Bowl appearance, that’s no small achievement.

Along the way, there have been 13 head coaches and 15 playoff berths. You’ve been through 3-a-days with Ray Perkins and the MRSA outbreak that marked the 2013 season under Greg Schiano.

The Bucs have kicked off the NFL Draft five times, with mixed results. Selmon was the first of five Tampa Bay players to earn a bust in Canton. Ricky Bell’s hard running was a key to the success of the 1979 team. Bo Jackson never showed. Vinny Testaverde didn’t find success until he left Tampa and Jameis Winston threw too many darned interceptions.

The documentary goes into detail on the Jackson fiasco in 1986 and all the ramifications. During a pre-draft dinner, Jackson told Steve Young he would not report to One Buc Place under any conditions. When Young relayed that edict to Hugh Culverhouse, Tampa Bay’s owner refused to believe him.

“If you lose the first pick in the draft and get nothing out of it, it’s a killer,” former Bucs director of player personnel Ken Herock says on the documentary, deftly directed by Trent Cooper. “It’s a roster killer, it’s a team killer, it’s a coach killer.”

Adding another layer to the Doug Williams curse, Jackson’s spurning of the Bucs contributed to a 14-year playoff drought. A 12-year playoff gap (2008-2019) spanned the final season of the Jon Gruden era and the arrival of Bruce Arians in 2019.

There are plenty of reasons to cheer as Tampa Bay captured 10 division titles and celebrated 17 winning seasons. Both Super Bowl victories were decided early and emphatically by elite defenses that hunted down league MVP Rich Gannon and future Hall of Famer Patrick Mahomes.

In between those moments of glory, the Bucs often tested the patience of their fans.

Overall, the Bucs have posted a record of 326-466-1 for a winning percentage of .412 that ranks last among 32 franchises. The Seahawks, who also began play in 1976, are 416-376-1 and coming off their second Super Bowl triumph.

The Bucs have never ranked No. 1 in scoring or total offense. On defense, they’ve finished on top three times in each category.

Despite the departure of Mike Evans, the 2026 Bucs should have a stellar attack if the line in front of Baker Mayfield avoids the injury bug that undermined last year’s offense.

Who knows what the next half-century of Buc football will look like? For now, we have this entertaining documentary to enjoy. It was commisioned by Buc ownership, led by Ed Glazer, and if you haven’t seen all 10 segments, consider yourself deprived.

This franchise has had its share of happy days … and more than its share of despair. Through it all, Buc fans remain resolute — this is their team and their passion.

Yes, it’s been a heck of a ride.