TAMPA BAY BUCCANEERS: BIG NASTY

To cheer up his brother after a bad breakup, Keith Kunzig got tickets to a game, painted his face red and black, wore a horn helmet and stuck out his tongue. It stuck (the ensemble, not the tongue), and now Big Nasty will be there as long as his team needs him.

How did you fall in love with your team? What is your first memory around your NFL team?

Back in the day, when I was a kid just starting out in football, my father took me to my first game in the Tampa Stadium. It was against the Falcons. I was only 8 years old. I got to meet their mascot. He looked like a cartoon character: orange and dressed like an old-time-gold-miner with a giant hat. My dad and I even got to take a picture with him. But it was weird, because I just couldn't keep my eyes off the guy. He was hilarious! Watching him communicate with the fans. They can't talk or anything, but just watching him with the other kids - I was in awe of him. In fact, I actually went as a Falcons fan, because I played Little League for the Falcons, but I left a Bucs fan! It was really special, especially bonding with my dad. It was just a really special moment. Funny thing is if you actually think about it, that mascot is the reason I am Big Nasty. Kind of weird, talk about coming full circle, right?

How, when, and why did you start dressing up, collecting, or becoming more than a regular ordinary fan?

It all stems from family, because we all used to go to the games. For our family that was it. There was no face painting back then. You have got to figure I've been a fan for a long time. But the painting started later, as a way to cheer up my brother. He'd broken up with his girlfriend and he was down-in-the-dumps. I said; "Dude, come on, let's go! I know what we'll do - we'll paint our faces!" We did it just out of the blue. I remember we used this orange stuff that stained both of our faces and it looked like a bad tan. It was hilarious. But we ended up going.

We had the best damn time. It was against a team that was considered one of the worst teams in the NFL at the time. The Buccaneers were the next worst team and we tied. That's how crazy it was. But my brother and me, we tied-one-on. We had a blast. There was no Big Nasty at that time. It was like that was our first taste of being superfans. Man, when you add a little weird paint to your face? We must have taken 200 pictures with fans that day. At that time 200 pictures was enormous, now 200 pictures is a walk down the block.

What is your favorite NFL moment or team memory?

My favorite NFL moment has to be the Super Bowl game against Oakland. Being at the Super Bowl and sitting with all the wives of the players, coaches' wives, and Buccaneers staff was great! There was a point in that game when it was like an omen, they were turning the tides and actually winning! It felt like the fans won too! Remember, I've been a Bucs fan since I was eight years old. I have been there since the existence of the team. Back when I was eight, we were horrible! I don't know if you remember that we were 0 for 26. All the kids used to make fun of me. I remember it like it was yesterday. And my two best buddies were Raiders fans and fans of champions are used to winning. The Bucs went from total failures to actually beating the Raiders in the Super Bowl. That was good for bragging rights to rub it into my buddy, even after all these years, which is pretty cool.

A deeper memory from childhood really left an impression on me. I went to a professional football camp when I was a kid. It was there that I actually got to meet some legendary players as a child. It was the first time I had ever even played football. It is was an overnight camp. The instructors were consummate professionals who were taking time out of their busy days to teach kids. These guys were some good human beings to actually spend time with kids and teach them the game. I saw they really loved the game just as much as I did. That impressed me then and it still does!

What distinguishes you from other fans of your team?

One thing I do that's special is the charitable part. I have created Drugs Are Nasty. I'm really proud of this drug prevention program for youth. I go out and talk to kids in elementary schools about saying no, walking away, and telling somebody when someone offers them drugs. There's storytelling and sharing at our events, which is very powerful. There are pictures of me showing how the kids treat me like Santa Claus. It's amazing! Looking like Big Nasty gets their attention. The reason I picked elementary school to start educating these kids is I've done ride-a-longs with police officers. They told me to go to the elementary level, because kids have already made the decision by middle school. They've found their clicks already. So I get involved when they are young. I'm very proud to say we've taken it nationwide. If we can save one child from making a huge mistake, keep them from trying drugs and to save a life - that's what it's all about!

How did you develop your costume / get your nickname / develop your superfan persona?

One day we were going up to our seats and this old lady goes, "You know, you need a nickname. Something big and something nasty!" This lady must've been 80 years old. From that day on Big Nasty was born. Then it became the Nasty Crew, which consists of me being the Big Nasty, cause I'm the larger one, and my younger brother became Little Nasty. Now it's just grown into all kinds of character fans, which is pretty impressive.

What is your favorite keepsake or piece of memorabilia?

Even though I can't find it, that photo of the original mascot from that first game my dad took me to would be amazing to have. It was of the mascot, my dad, and me all together and I can't find it to this day. Who knows, maybe one day I'll come across it. But I did just receive a picture of an old poster of him that somebody shared with me, because they knew I was a big fan of him as a kid. I think that's pretty neat. He was my inspiration in a lot of ways. Unfortunately I never got to meet him again as an adult.

Also, remember the football camp I mentioned that I went to when I was a kid?

Well there's a framed picture that I have on my wall from that camp that I really treasure. One of the instructors was this football legend. He was the defensive back for the Buccaneers then. He saw me balling-my-eyes-out, because I had been rejected by a bunch of instructors for different positions and it seemed no one wanted me. He put his arm around me and said, "Hey son, what's wrong?" And I was really crying, going, "Nobody wants me!" He took me under his wing and taught me more than classic football moves - he taught me the value of hard work! Little did I know I'd become the best defensive back in camp by the end of it. I was always a hard worker. Even to this day, I work harder than most and that's what gets me ahead in life. The camp gave out these little trophies and there was only one for each kid in each category. I ended up getting one for most improved. It was probably only about three inches big, but it said, "Most improved" on it. When I got that award it was like the icing on the cake! You know what I mean? Pretty cool! At least I have the photo from that.

I know how much these photos can mean to the fans, because they mean that much to me too. Recently this gorgeous woman came up to me. Now, I'm a very happily married man with a beautiful daughter of my own, but this woman was stunning. She asks for a picture and when she had gotten it, she said, "Thank you! This will go right next to the one of us when I was eight years old."

Now, I was eight when I got to get a picture with my inspiring mascot and here she is telling me she has a picture with me from when she was eight? I mean, I've been doing this a long time, but it still surprises me to see how much it all means to us fans. Talk about that full circle of what-goes-around-comes-around and paying-it-forward!

What is your game day ritual? How do you prefer to watch the game?

Well back in the day I would get up at 5 o'clock in the morning. Actually my wife was doing my makeup for a while. Then we actually hired a makeup artist to come over the house, but then I got kind of expensive. They really weren't that great, either. You should see all the faces over the years! It's kind of funny. Then I learned to do it myself. Before, it used to be a 4-hour process. Now, I can have the makeup on within an hour, but I give myself 3 hours. I lay my stuff out the night before. I always find a prop in advance. I have to plan how to use the prop. It has to be something I can just rip apart into tiny pieces. Whatever team we're playing inspires me. For example, we just recently played the Cleveland Browns, so I had a dog bone. Just funny things that people can relate to, something that shows, "Hey, we're having fun here!" It's never anything mean with us. It's all about having fun. It's like we're having out of town guests coming and, yeah, we're rooting against their team, but it's all about enjoying the game together as fans. What's amazing is you're hugging people you don't even know. It's pretty impressive. That's what a great game of football is all about!

How does it feel to be known by your friends and peers as a die-hard fan?

I look at it like this. It's hot out there, let me tell you something, it's a 108°. I'm 48 years old there's always times when you think, "Maybe I'm going to hang it up?" And then I'll get a request to see a kid in the hospital. I'm talking about some brave kid that's fighting for their life! You go and you get to put a smile on that kid's face. Let me tell you something, I'll be doing this until the day I die! I'll be wheelchair-ing myself around if I can't walk so I can be Big Nasty as long as there's a sick kid who needs me! I'm always available to do it.

What is the best thing about your team?

This is a great question, because everyone is so competitive and it's all about being competitive, but I'm about to awaken you right now. Seeing Hall of Fame fans all over the country over time, getting to know the elite of the elite, the ones that want to be there to make a difference and to contribute, you would be amazed, because we are all the same! We really are the people that care for people, the ones that want to make a difference. I challenge you to find a group that has more heart for people out there. I don't think there is, because the superfans are second-to-none at giving back! That's when you realize every superfan is basically the same. That's what's neat about it. We go out in a group and you know you're not just with Bucs fans. You know you're in a group that cares. It's all about having fun. There's no violence or that kind of scenario. It's all about enjoying the game and being together. They love their team just much as we love our team. So when they say, "Raiders Nation or Pirates Life", these are just slogans. What's important is we are people who love the game of football, love our team, and we are loyal to our team till the day we die. So when you look at it that way, I think we're all the same. I really do. I don't think anybody's above anybody. I think there are just some really good people out there that people need to get to know.

I'm all about this: God bless, go Bucs, and get Nasty!

All images by Stephanie Mei-Ling.

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