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The Tampa Bay Buccaneers made a wide-ranging series of changes in the off-season -- bringing in a new coach, dramatically re-shuffling their roster and lowering ticket pices -- in order to increase local enthusiasm and prevent the embarrassing spectacle of TV blackouts in the Tampa Bay area.
But those changes have apparently not made enough of a dent in fan apathy, as the team announced on Thursday that their game against the Chiefs on Sunday will not be on local TV:
Bucs confirm Sunday's game vs Kansas City is blacked out.
— Rick Stroud (@NFLSTROUD) October 11, 2012
The Bucs were also able to take advantage of a change in NFL policy concerning blackouts, which says that selling 85% of non-premium seats within three days of kick-off constitutes a sell-out.
Even that move would not have made as much of a difference as a winning team, as Tampa Bay has scuffed out to a 1-3 mark to start the 2012 season. And until the Bucs can start stringing some wins together, it appears that their fans who can't afford to go to their home games may be out of luck.