Baker Mayfield and his family pose with the Bucs’ offensive line yesterday at One Buc Palace. Luke Goedeke was too busy pumping weights.
Many times in the past couple of years, Bucs quarterback Baker Mayfield has said many times Tampa has been a good fit for him, both on and off the football field.
This past summer, when he had his football camp at his alma mater, the University of Oklahoma, Mayfield even said to a local Oklahoma reporter that if he didn’t re-sign with the Bucs, he wanted to plant roots and make Tampa his forever home, though he confessed Norman, Okla. is also home to him.
Yesterday when Mayfield spoke after signing an extension with the Bucs, which makes Mayfield one of the NFL’s highest-paid quarterbacks, Mayfield was asked why he has clicked in Tampa.
> “Just the love and support,” Mayfield said. “I think from the first time that we started our foundation and had an event, just seeing the support that the whole community has for each other, whether it’s baseball, hockey, the football community, and just the fans in general.
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> “They’re truly passionate fans. They love this area. They’re really proud of being from here. The support you feel is real.
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> “Just to continue to expand on that and grow this community to be the best possible in the country, it’s a fun feeling.”
Joe sensed Tampa was for Mayfield when, only a couple of months after signing with the Bucs, Mayfield was at a Rays game. Sitting in the Fruitdome in the lower bowl down the first base line just like any normal fan.
There, fans came up to Mayfield buying him beers as if to say, “Welcome to Tampa Bay and good luck.” Mayfield responded by shotgunning beers with the fans who bought him a cold one.
Whenever a Bucs player is seen shotgunning beers with fans at a Rays game, or hanging at Lightning games with the offensive line, it’s a pretty good sign that Tampa is culturally a good fit.