Bucs bring back iconic “Creamsicle”: the history behind the jersey and reaction to the throwback
It’s not just one of the most legendary jerseys in the NFL, it’s one of the most legendary jerseys in sports, and the Tampa Bay Bucs are bringing them back.
As players around the NFL gear up for training camp, the marketing teams are doing the same thing for each NFL franchise. One of the things that most excites fans and players alike aside from Week 1 inching closer, is the previews of jerseys that teams will wear for the upcoming season.
Something special for the 50th
Few are more iconic that the “Creamsicle” threads that the Tampa Bay Buccaneers will be wearing in the upcoming season. The Bucs announced they would be brining the unis back as the team celebrates their 50th anniversary.
The team announced the news on X and featured their throwback threads in a picture with QB Baker Mayfield, WR Mike Evans and RB Bucky Irving. The helmets and jerseys are all white but have the famous red and orange creamsicle trimmings on the sleeves and numbers.
According to the Bucs official website, this is the first time the team will bring back the identical jerseys from their 1976 season. It will also be the last time the team wears them as the look will be retired after the season.
A throwback full of history
The Bucs will use the “Creamsicle” look as their alternate jersey for the 2025 season and they will debut the uniforms in their Week 3 home opener against the New York Jets. The only thing that will be different about those jerseys from the ones worn 50 years ago is the patch with the lyrics to the Bucs original fight song “Hey! Hey! Tampa Bay!”
Related stories
The most famous of the Bucs jerseys was the orange clad scheme that the Bucs used to wear up until the 1997 season. They didn’t enjoy much success with those jerseys, going to the playoffs just three times and won just one of those games with the orange dominant jerseys. After that they switched to the red a pewter and since then they have won two Super Bowl titles, once in 2002 and their most recent one in 2020.
The Bucs went 0-14 in their inaugural season, but the nostalgia overrides the concerns surround a jersey curse. “Our fans wanted it, and this season, we’re giving them all the nostalgia. The Creamsicle isn’t just a jersey—it’s our history,” said Buccaneers COO Brian Ford. The Bucs went 10-7 last year and made the playoffs for the fifth straight year. This year Tampa Bay will try and win their third Super Bowl in their 50th anniversary season.