Even after two years, we’re still sulking a little about the NFL’s Bucs picking up their pirate ship and taking it back to Tampa for their preseason training camp.

For seven seasons, all under Coach Jon Gruden, the Bucs invaded Disney’s Wide World of Sports for a month and sweated their way through two-a-days under the watchful eyes of Mickey Mouse and Goofy, to prepare for the regular season.

It was good karma all around when the Bucs won the Super Bowl after their first Disney Camp in 2002, and they won two more NFC South titles by mid-decade. But, they were sliding when they trained here for the last time in 2008 before hitting the bottom of the NFC South last year.

While it was almost always miserably hot or wet at the Disney camp, the fans escaped the worst of the elements under covered bleachers. There were concessions, mascots, the cheerleaders (known as the “Swashbucklers” back in the day) and autograph sessions.

Did I mention the cheerleaders?

Anyway, all that has moved west to the Bucs new training facility, where the  fans now are treated well compared to the way it was back in the early ’80s.

The John McKay-era Bucs, by then established as a credible NFL participant after reaching the playoffs twice in three seasons, ran old-school NFL training camps, both for the players and the fans.

There were no covered bleachers or concession stands for the fans. No Swashbucklers, either.

Some fans peered over the 6-foot chain link fence that guarded the Bucs practice field at One Buccaneer Place by standing on the roof of their car. The fences usually were lined with tarps.

When McKay wasn’t in the mood for company, he would close the practice and have security chase fans — and media members — away.

It was hot in the ’80s, too, but the players didn’t benefit from cooling stations or icy intravenous solutions to re-hydrate. They walked over to the water tanks and slurped away, the same way most high school teams do today. (Hint: You did not want to be caught between the water station and a very hot and thirsty linebacker, like Batman Woods, or nose tackle Dave Logan.)

Lending additional intrigue to the camp was the flight pattern at Tampa International Airport. One Buccaneer Place was a short distance from the runway. Every now and then, a coach would have to pause from chewing out a player while a 727 blasted into the air.

Who would have guessed then that NFL training camps would evolve into the profit centers that they are today? You can easily drop $100 at a camp after parking, buying a shirt and a few refreshments. That would have gotten a family of four into a Bucs regular-season game in 1981.

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Largely unnoticed over the weekend was the last appearance in Central Florida by Jennie Finch, the gold-medal-winning pitcher for the 2004 U.S. Olympic softball team.

Finch pitches for the Chicago Bandits of the struggling National Pro Fastpitch League. The Bandits played the USSSA Florida Pride, based in Kissimmee, at the ESPN Wide World of Sports, in a five-game series that ended Sunday. The Pride, in a classy move, honored Finch in a ceremony between games of the Saturday doubleheader.

The league wisely opened the Bandits-Pride series to all fans by making it free admission.

Finch, the face of U.S. softball since she graduated from the University of Arizona in 2002, will retire following the NPF Championship Series later this month.

Finch played at the Osceola High softball field last summer when the Bandits and Pride met. Although blessed with cover girl good looks, which raised her profile considerably, what has won Finch legions of fans is her devotion to softball, and its young fan base. She is one of the league’s best players, and she usually finds time to graciously sign autographs and squeeze in an interview.

Her departure won’t help the NPF at a time when it has shrunk to just four teams and softball has been dropped from the 2012 Olympics.

The Bandits, Pride, Akron Racers and Tennessee Diamonds will play for the NPF title at Sulpher, La. Aug. 26-29. The Pride and Diamonds open a four-game series at the UCF softball complex today at 7 p.m.

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St. Cloud High weightlifting Coach Cory Aun placed second at 169 pounds for Team Florida against Australia at an international meet at Forest City Elementary in Altamonte Springs recently. Aun snatched 213 pounds and clean and jerked 275. Australia won the meet.