Relax, Ronde!
March 20th, 2014
No. 20 had a little tension in his voice last night
Among other numbers, no Buccaneer has worn a No. 40 or a No. 55 since the men who made those digits legendary hung up their cleats.
It’s been a sign of respect silently approved by Team Glazer that has gone on for years.
Bucs icon Ronde Barber playfully offered a glimpse into his angst about the subject last night on FOX Football Daily. A certain new Bucs cornerback, a Pro Bowler, is known for wearing No. 20.
“There’s a lot of questions surrounding the Bucs. The biggest one is, what number will Alterraun Verner wear? Because he’s not wearing No. 20,” Barber said on FOX Football Daily last night.
Joe just wants Ronde to know that he can relax. Take it easy. Per the Bucs’ official website, Verner was assigned No. 21.
Now Joe has yet to confirm how or why Verner grabbed that number, but Joe’s pretty confident there was an order given: No other Buccaneer shall ever wear No. 20.
March 20th, 2014 at 10:03 am
All three of those numbers should be retired!
March 20th, 2014 at 10:07 am
Verner knew #20 was off limits before he ever signed a contract. I’m betting he’s relieved not having to live up to Ronde’s legacy both in Tampa and Nationwide.
March 20th, 2014 at 10:17 am
He held up a #21 jersey at the press conference. This isn’t news
March 20th, 2014 at 10:28 am
Only 63 and 99 are officially retired so far.
Not officially retired but no one will ever wear 40, 47, 55, or 20 again.
And no one has worn #42 since 1990.
March 20th, 2014 at 10:34 am
GOAT!!!!
March 20th, 2014 at 10:38 am
Joe- I think we all knew it was a joke…. Skip the beers this morning and take a couple shots! Loosen up bro
March 20th, 2014 at 10:39 am
I don’t think the number should be retired. Not because he doesn’t deserve it, but because a team can’t keep retiring numbers. What happens if in 15 years we won 3 superbowls under Lovie? Certainly we will want to retire some numbers then.
March 20th, 2014 at 10:41 am
No Buc should ever wear # 5 again…….not out of respect….just very bad karma…
March 20th, 2014 at 10:47 am
ulch the whole number retirement thing is stupid. 100 years from now, they’ll have no idea who #99 was, and there’ll only be like 4 numbers left for the team.
March 20th, 2014 at 10:49 am
And to think that if Johnny Football were to come to Tampa, the Bucs would have to blemish the sanctity of Chris Simms #2. So, Joe – if there isn’t news, just make up something out of a harmless quote? LOL
March 20th, 2014 at 10:51 am
@Kramden
Beat me to the Chris Simms thing
March 20th, 2014 at 10:54 am
@Tampabaybucfan Says:
“…No Buc should ever wear # 5 again…….not out of respect….just very bad karma…”
LMAO, so, so true. If I watched a new QB where that number it would turn my stomach waiting for disaster to strike…
March 20th, 2014 at 10:56 am
Ever notice that the number 2 is a backwards 5???? Or is it number 5 is a backwards two? Maybe our next qb should just wear the number 25.
March 20th, 2014 at 11:08 am
And 6s are upside down 9s. All these are “hidden” Illuminati signs.
March 20th, 2014 at 11:21 am
I still think Ronde has a little chip on his shoulder. Sometimes, by certain pointed comments he has made you get the feeling he is unappreciated by the Bucs Org. But now, this should prove to him that the Bucs do appreciate him and will eventually, in time, retire his number. …or maybe our new CB chose #21 purely out of respect. Either way this should ease Ronde’s suspicious mind. We all love you, Ronde.
March 20th, 2014 at 11:30 am
Let’s be realistic, even if we retire 10 total numbers, there’ll still be 90 to use for a 53 man roster. And we’ve seen multiple people use identical numbers before the final roster takes shape.
This would be a delightful concern to focus on if we win 3 more Superbowls and have more to retire.
And retiring numbers is not stupid. There needs to be some solid legacy issues that go well beyond the current era of a team.
March 20th, 2014 at 11:32 am
Ricky Bell #42 should be on that list but I know not everyone thinks that much of him. He help shape the Bucs with McKay on their epic run in 1979
March 20th, 2014 at 11:41 am
Verner likely went with #21 because it’s the next number after #20.
I think the following numbers should be removed from distribution for current Bucs players: #63 Selmon, #55 Brooks, #99 Sapp, #20 Barber, and perhaps #42 Bell and #47 Lynch.
Oh, yeah, and let’s not forget #5 Freeman, just so that stink doesn’t rub off on another potential Bucs QB.
March 20th, 2014 at 11:52 am
There are plenty of numbers and I love seeing deserving players have their numbers retired. I’ll throw another in the ring – #56. I’d love to see Hardy Nickerson in the Ring of Honor. He was the first to begin changing the culture in TB. I think Dennis Hopper would agree.
March 20th, 2014 at 11:56 am
#47 too!!!!
Gregwitful, you can’t retire Bell’s 42, James Wilder #32 was a far better player and had a great career as a Buc.
March 20th, 2014 at 11:56 am
He is wearing 21 . Let’s all hope he is better then the goat that wore that.
March 20th, 2014 at 12:14 pm
And Demps also wore #32
http://www.buccaneers.com/team/roster/jeff-demps/0e7de2bf-d7b5-46a7-a0cc-e1182a6bfb57/
March 20th, 2014 at 12:18 pm
Purse:
What is Jeff Demps’ track number?
March 20th, 2014 at 12:36 pm
Verner has already stated in an interview about the respect he has for Ronde, he basically said he wouldn’t even ask for it, that number is sacred in Tampa and he only wants to build on it
March 20th, 2014 at 1:28 pm
Per PR:
His intelligence showed last week in his answer when he was asked if he would wear the No. 20 he wore in Tennessee and that was made famous in Tampa Bay by Ronde Barber.
“No I don’t even think I would ask that,” Verner said. “That number is sacred here. Being a football fan, everyone knows Ronde Barber. And not just what he brought to this team, but to the whole NFL. Hopefully I can help build on that tradition of great cornerback excellence that he started.”
March 20th, 2014 at 3:38 pm
I noticed that 3 of the 4 first free agents just got numbers of recent players that never worked out. I hope they can change what people think of that number each.
March 20th, 2014 at 8:42 pm
I see others jumped on it. Verner knew before he came here he wasn’t getting that number. Ronde is the ultimate Buc.
March 21st, 2014 at 12:41 am
You know..if we draft Bridgewater, he’d most likely wear #5 lol..