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The Tampa Bay Buccaneers have many players in their ring of honor. If you ever make a trip to their home stadium, Raymond James Stadium, you can see it. There are 14 names in the ring of honor. Former head coach Jon Gruden had his name removed. Of the 14 there are named, four of them are in the NFL Hall of Fame. Oh, wait now five as Ronde Barber was inducted into the NFL Hall of Fame. He joined Warren Sapp, John Lynch, and Derrick Brooks who all played with him. The other NFL Hall of Famer is Lee Roy Selmon. The Buccaneers just announced that they will not induct a member to the ring of honor in 2023. The last one was former head coach Bruce Arians. Arians and Gruden are the only two coaches to win a Super Bowl in franchise history.
It took a long time for Ronde Barber to get the call to Canton. He was part of the Tampa Two defense that was brought in by Monte Kiffin. Barber with Lynch, Sapp, and Brooks all were a key part of the Buccaneer’s success. After reading ESPN writer Jenna Laine the one play I agree with her was Barber pick six. That came in the NFC Championship on January 19, 2003. The Tampa Bay Buccaneers were the laughingstock of the NFL for a long time. This play brought Tampa Bay Buccaneers fans to tears because finally, their team was heading to their first Super Bowl. The Buccaneers can say this even though they were a laughingstock they are undefeated in the Super Bowl. The play took place at Veterans Stadium home of the Philadelphia Eagles.
Prior to that, the Tampa Bay Buccaneers were 0-6 in the playoffs and they were doomed going to the Vet. But quarterback Donovan McNabb was looking for wide receiver Antonio Freeman and Barber jumped in front of him and ran 92 yards in the other direction. Shelton Quarles, former Buccaneer and now the team’s director of football operations said, “It’ll go down as one of the greatest plays the world has ever seen”. My question “Is this the greatest play in Buccaneers’ history?” It was a monumental play and helped the Tampa Bay Buccaneers get out of being laughed at. The Tampa Bay Buccaneers would defeat the Oakland Raiders in the Super Bowl. The Raiders have now moved on to Las Vegas. The fans of Tampa Bay got to celebrate their first Super Bowl win in 2003.
It was good to see Ronde Barber finally get into the NFL Hall of Fame. One of the coolest parts is that teammate Derrick Brooks let him know he had been inducted. Barber finished his career with the most consecutive starts with 215 regular season games and 224 including the playoffs. He deserved to be in the hall long before now. Barber was a versatile player and he played safety towards the end of his career after playing cornerback. The pick-six was my favorite highlight of Ronde Barber. It makes me happy that he joined his other three teammates in Canton.
Do you think that play is best in Ronde Barber’s career? Leave a comment below.
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