Ronde Barber Never Changed
May 9th, 2013
Joe sort of touched upon this yesterday, but if there was a rock among the Bucs, it was Ronde Barber.
The name of the franchise for so many years let loose yesterday he was retiring. He makes it official this afternoon.
Barber was simply a class act. Even Tampa Tribune columnist Martin Fennelly was moved.
Barber was the last connection to the Super Bowl Bucs, and he just kept on lasting and lasting.
His career was his job, his business, and he approached it that way — he was feeding Claudia and the girls. Here was one of the great professionals in Bucs or any franchise’s history.
“I’ll be as proud of my last game as I was of my first,” he once said. “My mom tells me the same thing every time I play: Play proud.”
That’s the thing that impressed Joe. Whether he was pushing 30 or pushing 40, Barber was Barber. Durng the last two seasons of Derrick Brooks’ tremendous career, Brooks signs of age. Same with Warren Sapp. Same with Simeon Rice. Even Father Time was dishing out injuries to John Lynch in his final NFL days.
Not Ronde Barber. Even with a move to safety, Barber was still among the NFL’s elite and could have easily been named to a Pro Bowl his final season, playing not corner, but safety.
Selfishly, would it have been cool to see Barber for one more season? Yes. But now, Barber goes out on top. Never missing a step, never missing a beat.
May 9th, 2013 at 7:47 am
its a shame that the pop-star squandered the last 5 years of his career.
May 9th, 2013 at 8:16 am
Joe,
The Bucs have retooled for the future and Ronde’s time was near term. He’s been in this business long enough to understand the circumstance.
He is going out at the right time in the right way with his dignity fully intact.
May 9th, 2013 at 9:06 am
it’s a shame the buc realist makes obtuse statements without an ounce of merit or example of fact.
May 9th, 2013 at 9:12 am
After the Revis trade, the draft, and now Barber’s retirement, are there now any true Buc fans genuinely upset the Bucs beat Atlanta in Week 16?
May 9th, 2013 at 9:46 am
Well said, Joe…wll said.
May 9th, 2013 at 9:46 am
Oh cmon now… I love Barber but no one can actually say he didnt miss a beat his last couple of years at CB. Give me a break. 2009-2011 had some rough days for Ronde.
May 9th, 2013 at 10:16 am
Maybe when it looks like we have a spot in the playoffs, we can pull Ronde out of retirement for his one last hurrah and a legit shot at another ring. Super Bowl rings have never hurt a players chances of being inducted into the HOF.
May 9th, 2013 at 10:30 am
The dude was awesome and was a buc to the end but Joe your a little off your rocker if you think the guy was a major liability last year, they had to put Barron in single high because Ronde couldn’t do it , he still made plays but he gambled a lot and contributed heavily to the horrible pass D. Let’s all remember the good he did but not exaggerate the end.
May 9th, 2013 at 11:14 am
Still amazing to me that so many people think Dom has been a GM for five years. Smdh