Downtown Tampa turned into a sea of red and pewter Wednesday afternoon as thousands of football fans sporting the Tampa Bay Buccaneers team colors flocked to the waterfront to enjoy a boat parade celebrating their win in Super Bowl LV.
Bucs players, coaches, and their families could be seen riding in a parade of boats that stretched 3 miles from Armatureworks to the Florida Aquarium and Port Tampa Bay. The outdoor spectacle was designed for maximum attendance and safety in Tampa's amazing 83 degrees winter weather while trying to keep everyone at a social distance due to COVID-19.
Tom Brady, the Gronk, Mike Evans, Leonard Fournette, Coach Bruce Arians, and other fan favorites tossed footballs into the crowd, downed a few beers, posed for pictures, and waved pirate flags in a frenzy of excitement and community pride. The Bucs win followed by a boat parade matched a similar tribute for the Tampa Bay Lightning's win of the Stanley Cup in September.
Below are images of the celebration by Photographer Kimberly DeFalco.
Buccaneer fans await boats loaded with the Super Bowl LV Champion Tampa Bay Buccaneers in Curtis Hixon Park on the Hillsborough River in downtown Tampa. Photos by Kimberly DeFalco
Masked skate boarders buzz among thousands of Tampa Bay Bucs fans on The Tampa Riverwalk. Photos by Kimberly DeFalco
Clutching their "The Treasure Has Been Found" signs, Tampa native Farah Khan, right, and her 9-year old son, Zayd, declared "There is no other team for us!" Photos by Kimberly DeFalco
St. Pete's Tony Ortego, right, said he arrived early to secure a good viewing sight along Tampa's Riverwalk on the Hillsborough River. Photos by Kimberly DeFalco
Tampa Mayor Jane Castor and her partner Ana Cruz join in the merriment on the Hillsborough River. Photos by Kimberly DeFalco
Tampa Bay Buccaneer Coach Bruce Arians waves to fans from the bow of the "Mother May" during Wednesday's boat parade along the Hillsborough River. Photos by Kimberly DeFalco
Tampa Bay Buccaneer Mascot "Captain Fear" waves a Bucs' flag during the boat parade. Photos by Kimberly DeFalco
Law enforcement officers showed up in force for the boat parade honoring the Bucs. Photos by Kimberly DeFalco
The "Lost Pearl" navigates along the Hillsborough River parade route with dozens of watercraft of all kinds. Photos by Kimberly DeFalco
Friends and family joined the Bucs boat parade celebration. Photos by Kimberly DeFalco
The Tampa Bay Buccaneers occupied several boats along the parade route in downtown Tampa. Photos by Kimberly DeFalco
Even Tampa's 4-legged friends got dressed up for the occasion. Photos by Kimberly DeFalco
Fans started to gather along The Tampa Riverwalk by early morning even though the parade started at 1 p.m. Photos by Kimberly DeFalco
Tampa's Elio Peguero, 20, sported his custom haircolor to celebrate the Super Bowl LV Champion Tampa Bay Bucs' win over the Kansas City Chiefs. Photos by Kimberly DeFalco
Paddle boarders getting into the spirit of the boat parade. Photos by Kimberly DeFalco
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Read more articles by Diane Egner.
Diane Egner is a community leader and award-winning journalist with more than four decades of experience reporting and writing about the Tampa Bay Area of Florida. She serves on the boards of the University of South Florida Zimmerman School of Advertising & Mass Communications Advisory Council, The Institute for Research in Art (Graphicstudio, the Contemporary Art Museum, and USF’s Public Art Program) Community Advisory Council, Sing Out and Read, and StageWorks Theatre Advisory Council. She also is a member of Leadership Florida and the Athena Society. A graduate of the University of Minnesota with a BA in journalism, she won the top statewide award for editorial writing from the Florida Society of Newspaper Editors while at The Tampa Tribune and received special recognition by the Tampa Bay Association of Black Journalists for creative work as Content Director at WUSF Public Media. Past accomplishments and community service include leadership positions with Tampa Tiger Bay Club, USF Women in Leadership & Philanthropy (WLP), Alpha House of Tampa Bay, Awesome Tampa Bay, Florida Kinship Center, AIA Tampa Bay, Powerstories, Arts Council of Hillsborough County, and the Greater Tampa Chamber of Commerce. Diane and her husband, Sandy Rief, live in Tampa.