I Wanna Be Like Mike
3 min read
Tampa Bay Buccaneers wide receiver Mike Evans (13) celebrated after scoring a touchdown during an NFL football game against the Chicago Bears, Sunday, Oct. 24th, 2021 in Tampa, Fla. (AP Photo/Don Montague)
The Tampa Bay Buccaneers may have lost in Week 10 the Washington Football Team, but wide receiver Mike Evans won — well, more like he tied.
Late in the 4th quarter, Tom Brady takes the snap on 3rd and 3 at the Washington 40 yard line, drops back looking left, and finds a wide-open Mike Evans scrambling down the sideline for a 40-yard touchdown. That touchdown and extra point brought the Buccaneers within 4 points of tying the Washington Football Team. The Bucs did not tie, nor did they win, but with that touchdown catch, Mike Evan won himself a place in Franchise history by tying Mike Alstott’s Franchise record of 71 touchdowns by a non-quarterback.
Buccaneers running back Mike Alstott (A-Train) broke the Franchise record once held by Buccaneers running back James Wilder in 2001, ironically in the month of November. According to an exclusive interview with Scott Smith of the Tampa Bay Buccaneers, Mike Alstott had no idea he had broken the record.
“Mike Alstott didn’t know that he had broken a record on November 26, 2001, but he does remember the play: ‘We were on the left hash and it was up the middle, and I just kind of scampered in there,’ said Alstott. ‘It wasn’t much. It was a weakside belly play. I didn’t know I broke the record, though.'”
The A-Train is by far one of the Top Favorite Buccaneers players of all time and is easily one of the most memorable players in the team’s history. So, when A-Train is rooting for you to break his Franchise record, that is a serious honor.
The Tampa Bay Buccaneers take on the New York Giants on Monday Night Football, giving Mike Evans the chance to break A-Train’s record during a Prime Time, nationally televised evening. Mike Alstott will be in attendance for Monday Night’s game as the Buccaneer honor long-time teammate John Lynch during halftime, and he had told Scott Smith that he will be cheering for Mike Evans and couldn’t be happier for the veteran wide receiver:
“Mike has worked hard to do this, and it’s going to be exciting,” A-Train told Scott Smith. “I’m happy for him, and records are meant to be broken. I’ve been out of the league for a long time, after all. He’s doing a great job, and he’s been a great team leader, guiding the team to another Super Bowl. He’s worked hard, and he’s earned this.”
Nothing could stop A-Train whenever he lowered his pads and burst through a defensive line with incredible force while running with remarkable speed towards the end zone as he had done so many times in his Hall of Fame-worthy career. No one could fathom that this incredible Franchise record would ever be broken. Then came a kid out of Texas A&M in the first round of the 2014 NFL draft, Mike Evans. The Bucs may have lost virtually every game during the 2014 season, but Mike Evans was the clear-cut winner. Evans put in the first 1,000-yard season of his career that year and continued to do so for the following six seasons, working on his 8th.
“I’m a big fan of Mike’s,” Alstott said to Scott Smith. “He’s been one of the faces of the franchises for so long. He’s been doing unbelievable things on and off the field, winning championships and creating records. They’re doing a great job as a team, and Mike is a big part of it. He’s been at the forefront of changing the Buccaneers into what they are today.”
As the Buccaneers come out onto the field on Monday night to face off against the New York Giants, I am sure that breaking the record is the furthest thing from Mike Evans’ mind, as the team has not won a game since their last home game close to a month ago. If Mike Evans breaks the franchise record on Monday night, I wonder if he will give that football to a fan. How ironic would that be?
