The opening kickoff was returned to the 47-yard line. Oh no, I thought, could the Philadelphia Eagles have shaken off the curse placed on them by my Buccaneers in only eight months? This was a serious situation that demanded my immediate attention. If I concentrated very hard on the game, perhaps this evil omen would be of little significance.
The Eagles offense strode onto the field with what seemed to be little trepidation. After all, until that fateful National Football Conference championship game, they had owned the Tampa Bay Buccaneers. There was an aura that surrounded the Eagles that seemed to be impervious to Buc fans' concentration of thoughts before that game. They were almost like the mythical dragons that could not be slain.
That was not the case on Monday Night, September 8, 2003. The Bucs began their defensive showcase by stuffing the Eagles for a quick three and out. It was ugly if one was pulling for the birds. The pressure on Eagles quarterback Donovan McNabb was intense.
The Buccaneer offense sputtered at the start. There was little going on in the running game. The passing was less than crisp. The Bucs were going to have to tighten it up if they were to score against the Eagles’ vaunted defense.
Philadelphia squandered an early opportunity, failing to score following a first and goal from the one-yard line. It was the key to turning Monday night's game into a beating not seen in Philadelphia for years. Tampa Bay continued to pressure on defense and etched out a field goal before halftime. The second half was to be a football clinic.
On its second possession of the second half, the Buccaneer offense put together an 80-yard drive that looked like it had come out of a "How to Win the Super Bowl" handbook. With powerful rushing and crisp passes, the Bucs marched down the field as though they were playing one of the worst teams in the league. Mike Alstott ran bone-crushing off-tackle blasts. Keenan McCardell, Keyshawn Johnson and Joe Jurevicius all caught critical passes, with Joe capping the drive on a tiptoe catch in the corner of the end zone that will be the envy of many a college receiver this season.
When all was said and done, the Bucs had annihilated the Eagles physically and opened the Eagles' new home field with a 17-0 Tampa Bay victory. The defending Super Bowl champions had demonstrated that last season was no fluke and that they were again a force in the league. These are heady days for the Buccaneer faithful. We are the champions, and we look like we can repeat.
Several local senators went to Washington, D.C., to take part in an economic development conference slated for Monday. I did not. Several missed an important Finance Committee hearing on Monday paid for by the taxpayers of the Virgin Islands. I did not.
Several senators are not publicly addressing the budget crisis that the Virgin Islands now faces. Nor am I. Of those several, all get paid to address these serious problems, and it is questionable whether an expense-paid junket to the nation's capital will have accomplished much for you. I do not, and I gave you a decent description of Monday Night Football.
Delegate Donna M. Christensen said that "it was good for some key senators to participate in this" — the conference. I say that the Tampa Bay Buccaneers are almost a lock to repeat as world champions. Which statement is more significant? Bet your bank account on the Buccaneers.

Editor's note: Bill Turner is a writer, a former history teacher and the executive director of the St. Croix Environmental Association. He writes a daily commentary on events in the Virgin Islands that can be accessed at V.I. Buzz.
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