New Chamber of Commerce president?
It’s not totally unusual to hear this from Bucs players, or players of other teams, when they decide to possibly pass up more cash to stick with the local teams.
They like it here. For Bucs receiver Chris Godwin, the Delaware native referred to Tampa as “home” for him and his wife, who have been together since they were in high school.
> “Me and Mariah got here when we were just kids,” Godwin said yesterday at One Buc Palace. “We were just out of college at 20 years old. We didn’t know a ton about Tampa but I think we quickly found out that this was a place that we were going to be able to call home.
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> “Over the eight years since then, we’ve met a ton of people, we’ve got to work with a lot of really, really great people that have made our experience so so much better. I think when it comes down to making a tough decision like this, I think those are some of the things that come top of mind.
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> “It’s family, it’s relationships, it’s being where you want to be \[and\] being where people want you. I couldn’t be happier to be coming back. We love Tampa, we love it here.”
It’s one reason why Baker Mayfield decided to stick around. Like Godwin, when Mayfield signed with the Bucs, he knew very little about Tampa. The area quickly grew on him and he too felt at home.
It’s the same with Mike Evans, though he still maintains a residence in Texas not far from his hometown of Galveston.
It’s also the same with big stars like former Bucs foot-rubbing tight end, Rob Gronkowski. He still has a home here in Tampa.
There are all sorts of examples of athletes staying in the area. The Bucs are lucky, a big selling point for players to stay with the Bucs is the Tampa Bay area. It’s a big sell.
No amount of cash can buy that.