Tampa Bay Buccaneers Fan Keith Kunzig Has Many Great Memories In 35 Years As ‘Big Nasty’

As a youth football player in Seminole, Fla., Keith Kunzig played on a team named the Falcons. In November 1977, three days after Thanksgiving, his father took him to his first football game, a matchup between the Tampa Bay Buccaneers and, yes, the Atlanta Falcons.

A 10-year-old Kunzig enjoyed seeing quarterback Steve Bartkowski and the Falcons, but he also liked the Bucs’ creamsicle uniforms, even though the team suffered its 25^th consecutive defeat (of an NFL record 26) since kicking off their inaugural season the year before.

In those early Buccaneers years of his youth, Kunzig was also fascinated with mascot Baaad Buc prancing around on the sidelines.

“I look back that many years ago, and I was in awe of Baaad Buc,” he recalled, at his home in Largo, Fla. last week. “Look what it evolved into.”

What it has evolved into is more than three decades of unwavering support as “Big Nasty,” one of the most recognized fans in the National Football League.

The 55-year-old Ameriprise financial adviser, who credits the kindness former Bucs defensive back Mark Cotney showed a 13-year-old Kunzig at a football camp for cementing his interest in the team, has had enough. He kicked off his final season as “Big Nasty” at Raymond James Stadium in Week 3 against Green Bay.

He has put a lot of time and effort into 35 seasons of applying face paint and making the drive across Tampa Bay to see his Bucs. There have been many, many afternoons baking in the sun and getting drenched in rain, often both in the same quarter of play.

The husband, who will celebrate 25 years of marriage to wife Debbie next year, and father of Destiny — “She yells louder than I do” — will still go to games, but as a fan and not somebody who has been in the frame of countless thousands of photos of other Bucs fans, as well as those from visiting teams. Indeed, the walk from the parking lot to the stadium can be a lengthy process what with the attention he receives.

“When we are losing, it takes me 30 minutes to walk to the stadium from the parking lot,” said the New Jersey native, whose family moved to Largo in 1975. “When we are winning, that walk takes 60 minutes.”

The Bucs have been winning, and winning big, the past couple of seasons. That was not the case in October 1988 at Tampa Stadium when Kunzig and his younger brother Kenny (“Little Nasty”) first applied face paint for a game between the Bucs and Packers in the “Bay of Pigs” days when both teams were struggling. Kunzig wanted to brighten the mood of his brother, who broke up with his girlfriend.

“At that time, fans were coming to the games bags over their heads,” said Kunzig, who witnessed Tampa Bay pull one out in the final seconds that day. “Here we are coming to the game with our faces painted.”

For a few years, the brothers followed suit, but only when the Packers were in town. It was not until the early 1990s that the face paint and outfit became a routine for home (and many road) games.

It was in the upper reaches of “The Big Sombrero” that a woman unwittingly launched a nickname that has stuck for three decades.

“An old lady gave me the nickname,” said Kunzig. “We were on the 50-yard line, 63 rows up and she says, ‘Sonny, you need a nickname. Something big and something nasty.’”

As the saying goes, the rest is history.

Kunzig, who spent two seasons as a defensive lineman at Bakersfield (Calif.) College after a “full ride” to Florida fell apart amid NCAA violations by the football program, has encountered a few fans through the years that remind him of the impact he has had on them away from the stadium. Indeed, “Big Nasty” is a big hero to some thanks to a “Drugs are Nasty” campaign.

At first, Kunzig, in “Big Nasty” attire, spoke to elementary school students in his community. The program grew to the point that he spoke to students in all grade levels in Pinellas, Hillsborough and Manatee counties. He also took his message out of state on a couple of occasions.

What Kunzig said was the “coolest thing that ever happened to me” had its origin one morning in a classroom of roughly a dozen underprivileged students. His presentation that day included talking about how education can pull somebody out of a rough spot. He also told them that one of the students, not anybody specifically, was dealing in drugs.

Some years later while at a Bucs game, a young man was repeatedly yelling at Kunzig – “Hey, Big Nasty!” – in an attempt to get his attention.

“He must have hollered out at me like five times,” he recalled. “Then he hollers, ‘You are a life changer.’ So, I am wondering what this guy is talking about. I am with my daughter and I am trying to get to my seat.”

As Kunzig approached, the fan told him that he was one of the kids he spoke to that morning years before. He remembered “Big Nasty” saying that there was a drug dealer in the room.

“I told him, ‘Yeah, that’s part of the presentation,’” said Kunzig. “He then said, ‘I was the drug dealer.’”

The young man explained that, before going to class and listening to Kunzig, he had to prepare breakfast for his younger brother and sister because both parents were incarcerated. He sold drugs so that he could feed himself and his siblings.

“He said to me, ‘You told me that I had an out, and that it was through education,’” said Kunzig, who years later still gets emotional when recalling the encounter.

The young man updated Kunzig on personal developments, including that he was attending the University of Florida on an academic scholarship.

“It is one of the best memories I have and will ever have,” said Kunzig, who has participated in several charitable events, some in conjunction with the team.

While not as moving on a personal level, Kunzig has many other nice memories, including witnessing both of the team’s Super Bowl wins. In 2020, he was one of six inducted into the Pro Football Hall of Fame’s fan category. That was actually old hat, though, as he was previously enshrined in 2001 in honor of his stature as a superfan.

“Those were awesome experiences,” he said of his visits to Canton, Ohio, which yielded a pair of rings that he proudly displays with other memorabilia and keepsakes in his living room.

Indeed, a lot has happened in 35 years. Both of his parents and his brother have passed, while Debbie and Destiny have helped “Big Nasty” carry on the tradition. Though he looks forward to attending games next year as a fan, and without the fanfare, there are still memories to create for other fans wanting to meet him.

“I always tried to promote the Tampa Bay Bucs in the best way possible,” he said. “What I mean by that, is that every game I go to, I want to make one person’s game day experience memorable. I could do that by simply taking a photo or having encouraging words for a kid who is struggling in school or something.”

“Big Nasty” has certainly taken plenty of photos and has had many encouraging words over the years.