The 2020 Tampa Bay Buccaneers episode of America’s Game has been released. Here our are thoughts on the show about one of the greatest batch of Buccaneers.
In 2006, NFL Network ran separate documentaries of the 20 greatest Super Bowl champions at that time. Once that was done, they aired the documentaries on the other 20 teams that weren’t ranked (such as the 2002 Buccaneers). Since then, NFL Network will put out a new annual special of their acclaimed specials on that last season’s winner. Each documentary only features interview accounts on the season’s story by three to four members of the organization. More often than not they are the coach, quarterback, and a defensive player, with some exceptions. It all depends on who was an integral of the team’s Super Bowl story. The documentary on the 2002 Buccaneers was told by head coach Jon Gruden, safety John Lynch, and defensive tackle Warren Sapp. We had given our thoughts on who would be featured in the 2020 Bucs version a while back, and now we have our answer.
Linebacker Devin White, wide receiver Mike Evans, and running back Leonard Fournette were the three players chosen to tell the story of the 2020 Buccaneers. As such, their season stories were the ones in the spotlight of the documentary, and it made for great viewing for any fan of football, not just of the Buccaneers.
The show was narrated by John Cena of all people, and he actually does a great job, and it’s always nice seeing wrestlers in the mainstream spotlight, even if this writer is an AEW over WWE guy. This was also Cena’s second time narrating America’s Game, the first being the episode on the 2018 New England Patriots, and episode that featured current Buccaneers tight end Rob Gronkowski.
As is tradition, the episode did a fantastic job telling the story of not just the three featured players, but the team’s season as a whole. As if Bucs fans couldn’t love Evans enough, the show really reflected how much winning a championship really meant to Evans, the ultimate team-player who was one of the few bright spots during some of the team’s darker days. The journey of Fournette was also inspiring, and it was very surprising to find out that he was not originally fond of the nickname “Lenny” until “Playoff Lenny”, and ultimately “Lombardi Lenny” were truly born.
Then there’s White. His impact on the Bucs was obvious to anyone watching, but what may not have been was how much of a leader the now third year linebacker truly is to the team. He is very clearly the heir to Lavonte David’s throne and the Buccaneers are set at linebacker for years to come. The show also highlighted his legendary playoff run, which is even more remarkable when you watch it back.
It was also cool to see just how much of almost a father figure Brady is to all the younger Bucs players, which is fitting considering most, if not all, grew up watching them. Heck, when offensive coordinator Byron Leftwich was drafted Brady was already a veteran.
America’s Game is always a must-watch for any football fans. For any fans of the Tampa Bay Buccaneers it should have been watched yesterday.