Baker Mayfield Is One Of Us
January 11th, 2025
Everyman.
Could this be why Baker Mayfield has won over Bucs fans?
Well clearly, winning helps. If the Bucs were losing, fans would want to run him out of town.
Look how much fun it was with America’s Quarterback, Pro Bowler Jameis Winston. Every pass had fans on the edge their seats. Drama! Suspense! Intrigue! FUN!
Every time Jameis went back to pass it was either going to be a helluva pass or a nut-kicking pick. But no one was bored.
Alas, about 70 percent of Bucs fans helped chase him from Tampa Bay because… the Bucs were losing. Of course, Tom Brady coming to town sealed the deal (and a Super Bowl, baby).
So yeah, Mayfield winning and playing really good ball is a major reason why Bucs fans have embraced him. But Mina Kimes and Ben Solak of BSPN believe it’s something deeper. They think fans see themselves in Mayfield.
Kimes joked that she enjoys watching Mayfield because he plays like he thinks he’s Lamar Jackson. Mayfield, Solak noted, plays ball the way we would play ball in the backyard or an empty lot.
“Baker plays football like an eight-year old would play football,” Solak said. “And that’s why we love him so much. Because when we were all eight-year olds, we were all going to be quarterbacks.
“He is an absolute joy to watch play the game.”
Joe doesn’t think Mayfield intentionally tries to play like a grade school kid. But his hustle and drive and enthusiasm — moxie! — sure rub off on teammates.
And really, part of Mayfield’s everyman charm is he really is a regular guy. He hangs at regular guy watering holes. He sits with regular people at Rays games and pounds beers like a regular guy when he could easily get away from the riffraff and sit in a suite.
So yeah, Joe gets what Kimes and Solak are saying about Mayfield. Deep down he’s one of us.
January 11th, 2025 at 10:15 am
Man of the people
January 11th, 2025 at 10:18 am
8 year Olds have unbridled passion, and so does he, BRING YOUR %$#@ PASSION TOMORROW NIGHT TAMPA, LFG!!!!
January 11th, 2025 at 10:18 am
Bake is the Pete Rose of football.
January 11th, 2025 at 10:24 am
Dare I say he’s the football version of Charlie Hustle? Love his intensity, drive & passion.
January 11th, 2025 at 10:24 am
Just win baby win
January 11th, 2025 at 10:31 am
In 4 playoff games Baker has 10 td,s 3 int and 100.4 rating. 2-2 record. The first round he has 2 blow outs. Second round 2 close losses. Lets get a blow out and 3 close wins.
January 11th, 2025 at 10:38 am
Really good stuff, Joe. Thanks for posting this. I think what was quoted and what you wrote hits the nail precisely on the head. He is an every man. What he lacks in talent he more than makes up for with grit and fire. Ask the fans, ask his teammates. There is no escaping the raw honesty in the way he plays the game.
Secure Coen 2025
January 11th, 2025 at 10:40 am
Smashsquatch
Yes dare say it! It’s one of the best comparisons I’ve ever seen about Baker.
And this is from a guy who is a HUGE Pete Rose fan. I grew up right across the Ohio river cheering Pete on from his Crosley field days to Riverfront. Geez do you know you’re really old when you’ve outlived not one but two stadia? I have a feeling some of you younger Tampa guys will see a third stadium as well.
Back to Pete. He was closing in on Joe Dimaggio’s 56 consecutive games with a hit. I go out to Crosley to see him in action. I get there early for BP, I liked the entire experience. After BP the players used to head back to the locker room down the 3rd base side and fans who took enough time to get there early would wait for players to get autographs.
I’m waiting right next to a father and his grade school aged boy. Pete comes down graciously signing when the boy asks Pete, “Are you afraid you won’t reach the record?”. His father mortified about violating the taboo of talking about such things starts to chastise his son when Pete interrupts and stops him.
“It’s ok” turns to the boy and says “no I’m not worried at all. All I can do is go out there and play may best and let the chips fall where they may. As long as I give my best effort it’s all good. Just remember that. Try your hardest and you’ll never have to be afraid.”
I was blown away. Do you know how many star athletes would do something like that? How about Baker Mayfield? How about ME13 or CG14? or virtually all the rest of the Bucs. How would AB or Swaggy responded?
Count your blessings Buc fans!!! We are in the freaking playoffs with a team of talented cool dudes!!!
January 11th, 2025 at 10:50 am
Idk man, Hard to tear down Ray Jay when the Bucs won a SB in that MFer, keep renovations going forever.
January 11th, 2025 at 10:55 am
Baker is a B talent with A++ intangibles. Watching him from afar I was a bit skeptical when we signed him but he’s clearly a baller so now we don’t have to waste high picks on quarterbacks. We should try to get Miles Garret out of Cleveland this offseason.
January 11th, 2025 at 10:57 am
If you as a Buc fan are not all in on this team, you are missing the boat.
January 11th, 2025 at 10:58 am
Joe….. you owe me 10 wings and a beer.
January 11th, 2025 at 11:17 am
Oh yeah, well said Joe! Baker has found his home and fits right in. I remember saying here, for us to go after him but I didnt realize just how well it would work out. We’ve got our franchise QB now. I knew Brady’s time was limited, and JW just wasnt the answer after his 2nd year.
January 11th, 2025 at 11:23 am
He drinks beer with his OL. The End
January 11th, 2025 at 11:36 am
Great story StPete. Read it to my son and tried to explain that it is a life lesson just not a sports lesson
January 11th, 2025 at 11:39 am
MikeC
I’m with you bro! Keep Rayjay for the tradition!
I’ve only been to one Reds game at the “Great American Ballpark”.
It’s a beautiful stadium on the riverfront with some design nods to how baseball stadia should look, but it doesn’t come close to the charm of Crosley.
Riverfront, 3 Rivers and the others I forget were considered great at the time because they served both NFL and MLB franchises. Seemed like a good idea at the time but Football and Baseball are not the same and need their own stadiums.
IF the Rays are really serious about staying they need to negotiate with the Steinbrenners. Give them a sweetheart deal for Spring training games at Al Lang. It would cost beaucoup dollars to remodel Lang, but it would be a win win for both St. Pete and the Yankees and the Rays.
St. Pete gets a huge influx of Yankee fan tourist dollars. Yankees would reclaim their own history where the greats of the past used to train including the diamond at Crescent lake. Yankee fans could visit the during spring training, Babe Ruth and Lou Gehrig chose to live right here at the Flori de Leon Apartments in sunny St. Petersburg, Florida. You can still see those places!
The Rays of course get the only logical place they should be, right across from Ray Jay. While the stadia have to be different to accommodate the different sports the rest of the infrastructure could be shared.
I was a big part of the debate for a new stadium in downtown St. Pete. It makes no sense. Getting to St. Pete’s waterfront is challenging now for we residents! Meanwhile all along people have been clamoring for a stadium on Dale Mabry or some other location where all the young yuppies leaving Tampa after work might drop by for a few innings.
January 11th, 2025 at 11:49 am
Who in there rite mind wud say baker is a B talent what a moron OMG show where Lamar J.does anything diff than baker to escape the pocket is it some kind of foot work or what escape is only 1 way to go get the hell out as a matter of fact i’ve never seen Lamar put a stiff arm while running on a rusher & throw a strike to complete a 4th down conversion as a matter of fact I’ve never seen anyone but mayfield do that “A” talent play ain’t no B talent pal
January 11th, 2025 at 11:50 am
Pretty good analogy.
LOL! True! He’s not a pretty boy quarterback.
January 11th, 2025 at 11:51 am
^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^
St Pete Bucs fan
Your Rose story is a little off. Crosley Field closed in 1970 and Rose made his run at the Clippers’ record in 1978 reaching 44 games. had the distinct displeasure of meeting Pete at a Phillies Baseball camp I attended in 1978 when I was 17. I ploitely asked Pete to autograph my glove in the locker room on the only day he would be present at camp. I said Mr. Rose you are my favorite player and could you please autograph my glove?. Pete responded” Leave me alone kid-I aint got time”.
The second time I got to see Pete in person was at the Tampa Bay Downs sports bar during the off season and he was sitting with a brunette that was about 19 or 20-not his wife. There were 2 older gentleman sitting a couple of booths away and one of the men said “Hey I think that is Pete Rose” and his friend said yeah it is-go get him to sign your program. So the old gentleman walks up to Pete and says “Mr. Rose you have always been my favorite player would you sign my program? Without even looking up from his Racing form Pete barks ” 20 bucks”— the poor old guy was visibly stunned and turned away walking slowly back to his booth.
Unfortunately that is the REAL Pete Rose and he is not anything like Baker Mayfield.
January 11th, 2025 at 11:54 am
Cool post Joe! Thanks! They & you put it perfectly. And stpetebucsfan, thanks for sharing your Pete Rose story and comparison to Baker. I grew up in Cincinnati and started following the Reds & Bengals in their transition year 1970 to the newly built Riverfront Stadium. The Reds played at Crowley Field as you mentioned. Can’t remember where the Bengals played their first two seasons. Was it at Crosley Field or Nippert Stadium? I was pretty young. The Reds hosted the Allstar Game that year in 1970 if my memory serves. Watching my first Allstar game and the famous Pete Rose trucking Ray Fosse play at the plate! The Big Red Machine was born and I was hooked! Go Bucs!!!!!
January 11th, 2025 at 12:06 pm
Bucsfan
Certainly accept your criticism of Pete, however he made a run at the record more than once.
You are certainly correct he made his closest run in 78 but he had other long streaks before that including 25 in 1967 the year after I gradutated HS.
So I absolutely take your point that the CLOSEST he came was in ’78. During the middle of those streaks just like with ME13 fans started talking about the record.
As for his becoming a jerk in his later years I’m in no position to challenge that for sure. He didn’t age well. As a young man his focus was baseball but once the gambling issue exploded he became a bitter older guy. Sad. Let’s hope nothing in Baker’s life makes him age that poorly.
January 11th, 2025 at 12:33 pm
It is a joke for anyone to call Mayfield a “B” talent and comparing him to an absolute jerk like Pete Rose.
There has never been a QB evaluated in a draft like Mayfield. In a class that had Josh Allen, Sam Darnold, and Lamar Jackson among others, Mayfield was judged to have the best combination of arm strength, accuracy, and brains. Furthermore, other than Darnold he played at a major, college football powerhouse house. No wonder that Mayfield doesn’t pay any attention to social media. Most of the people saying things about him don’t know what they are talking about. Mayfield’s bad luck had him drafted by the absolute idiots in Cleveland. The same idiots are still looking for a QB after they shelled out $235Million guaranteed for a guy who will never play another down for the Browns.
January 11th, 2025 at 12:54 pm
#Fact
We’re rolling with the Bake-show!
January 11th, 2025 at 1:12 pm
It all worked out in that Draft,, Bills fans love Josh,, Ravens fans love Lamar, We love Bake Show,, Vikings love Sam(we shall see if they love him Tues),,, Let’s get a win Sunday night and then see how the cards play out