#bucified

By: Jeff Barnes There are fanatics, and then there are superfans.  There can be a thin line between the two.  In all 32 NFL stadiums, you see the fanatics. Those are the fans that are wearing face paint, going shirtless in 10-degree weather, or have the craziest costume.  They are diehards that are at every home game, and even show up on the road at times. Then there are superfans. Superfans are just as dedicated but use their fandom to help beyond the game. For the Tampa Bay Buccaneers, they have Bucified (pronounced buck-if-ide) Bert .

Albert Owens by day, Bucified Bert on gameday.  Bert is not only a staple for Bucs fans on gameday but also a mentor and role model in the community.  Owen who has worked for 30 years at one of the local television stations in Tampa Bay is not only highly requested by the Bucs organization, but he was also nationally recognized as a Ford Hall of Fans finalist and inducted into the Professional Football Ultimate Fan Association at the Pro Football Hall of Fame.  He is a Tampa native and lives to serve his community.  Tampa Bay awarded him with a proclamation in 2008 and also received the Volunteer of the Year Award from the Tampa Bay Chamber of Commerce.  To top it off, he also won the Freddie Solomon Award.  The Army veteran believes that his humble upbringing and service to this country contributed to the birth of the Bucified & Ole brand.  Mainly, the principles that were taught to him by his mother Emma-Lee. Bucified & Ole was born to honor the woman that raised him and his seven siblings on her own. Emma-Lee or Emma-Lee the Legend as he calls her was a hard worker that didn't smoke or drink. She wanted her children to be honorable adults. Values that Bert not only lives by but looks to lead by example as he strives to help the youth of his beloved hometown. He is keeping a promise that he made to her on her death bed. Bucified is not just a name, it's an acronym for his motto to the young people he mentors. It stands for Be Understanding Citizens Identify Friendly Individuals Every Day because a stranger can be a danger.  With the challenges to the safety of youth today, he believes that his mission will make it a bit safer for them.

In the early 1990s, the Bucs were very close to relocating out of Tampa Bay.  Bert was part of a grassroots movement to keep them here.  Bert has relished in the growth of the Tampa Bay community and the success of the Bucs as they have grown with the city.  From going to games at the old Sombrero, now a staple at Raymond James Stadium, Bucified can be seen at many events around the city.  When the Bucs call, he is there.  Every year, Bucified awards over a dozen scholarships to local students in the Tampa Bay area.  As he says, "I don't want to be just fanatical, I want to be phenomenal."  Phenomenal is the perfect word.  Nobody embodies the spirit of Tamp Bay more than Bert.  He wants the next generation of Tampa Bay residents to love it as much as he does. With all of the videos of fans fighting going viral, fanatical fans may be entertaining to some but superfans like Bucified Bert are a necessity.  The measure of his legacy will not just be in the team spirit he generates on gameday, but the lives he changes on a daily basis.  The next time you are at a Tampa Bay Bucs game, make sure you walk up and take a picture with a Tampa Bay icon.