TAMPA, Fla. — It has been a successful but stressful start for the Tampa Bay Buccaneers. The team has earned a 4-1 record so far this season, but all four of those wins have come in the final seconds, earning the Bucs a new nickname among fans: the “Cardiac Buccaneers.”
Tamara Brown says her nerves are taking a beating.
“Heart palpitations. Anxiety is through the roof,” Brown said.
And she blames her favorite football team.
“I’m literally sitting there, my heart pounding at the end of every game,” she said.
WATCH: 'Cardiac Buccaneers': Tampa Bay’s last-second wins have fans on edge
Each of Tampa Bay’s victories has come down to the wire. The dramatic finishes began in the season opener at Atlanta, when quarterback Baker Mayfield hit rookie Emeka Egbuka for the winning touchdown. The Falcons missed a chance to tie the game in the closing seconds.
Tamara was in the stands that day.
“All the Atlanta fans were kind of heckling us and to come back and win in the last 30 seconds was really awesome,” she said.
The Bucs cut it even closer the next week in Houston, where running back Rachaad White scored in the final seconds. Tampa Bay nearly gave away its home opener against the New York Jets before kicker Chase McLaughlin saved the perfect start to the season.
This week, the Buccaneers bounced back from their loss to Philadelphia by shocking the Seattle Seahawks with another game-winning kick.
“Sitting at home watching it, same thing, stressing out the last 30 seconds,” Brown said. “For that last interception from (Lavonte) David, getting the field goal and winning the game. It was great.”
Across social media, Buccaneers fans are posting videos showing how they are coping with the team’s tense, last-minute finishes.
The excitement may be fun, but doctors say it can take a toll on one's health. At Tampa General Hospital, Dr. Fadi Matar, chief of cardiology at the University of South Florida, says fans with heart conditions should be careful.
“Some people with significant cardiac disease, they could potentially, with the adrenaline rush and the anger and the stress, it can potentially promote or prompt or trigger some cardiac events,” Matar said.
He added with a laugh that stressed-out fans can always turn off the television.
“This is a game. It’s only a game. There are so many other potential problems we can get stressed about. It’s just a game.”
With 12 games still to play, not including potential postseason matchups, the Buccaneers’ season is far from over. For Tampa Bay fans, that means plenty more excitement — and perhaps a few more deep breaths.
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