TAMPA, Fla — The Tampa Bay area is full of football fanatics. People are lining the streets and waving their Buccaneers' flags in anticipation of the history-making Super Bowl just a few days away.
But one fan has everyone beat. He has dedicated his entire existence to cheering on the Bucs. And his name is Captain Fear.
It's only fitting that the Buccaneers, a team that literally has a pirate ship inside its home stadium, has a captain as a mascot. Captain Fear has been the Tampa Bay mascot since June of 2000. According to the Bucs' website, the six-foot-two, 250-pound, bearded man was rescued by the Clearwater Coast Guard from the choppy waters of Tampa Bay.
Although he suffered from amnesia, the Bucs say he remembered he had been the powerful captain of a mighty pirate ship -- a ship that later washed ashore in Tampa Bay and found a new dock in Buccaneer Cove at Raymond James Stadium.
Did you know Captain Fear was originally named Chad? But after the infamous hanging chad debacle during the 2000 presidential election, a vote was held to select a new name. Good thing Captain Fear, the Buccaneer has a nice ring to it.
Captain Fear would never dream of missing a Bucs game, especially one making history as the first-ever Super Bowl played in a team's home stadium. You can watch him go head-to-head with Chiefs' mascot K.C. Wolf during Super Bowl LV on Sunday, Feb. 7 on 10 Tampa Bay.
In the meantime, you can keep up with the Tampa Bay mascot on Twitter.
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