After a summer without football, we finally got to see the Tampa Bay Buccaneers back in action on Saturday night. It was a fantastic return to action, as the Bucs left Cincinnati with a 17-14 win and saw a number of players step up in big ways.
Tampa Bay’s rookie class wasted no time in flexing, with Bucky Irving leading the way while Graham Barton quite literally led the way with a gnarly block on a touchdown run. Sean Tucker also turned in a nice game after being a training camp darling last season, and John Wolford led a comeback win in the last minute of the game.
Perhaps the most thrilling moment came before the game, and had nothing to do with the Buccaneeers at all.
Team USA is over in Paris wrapping up the Olympics, and the men’s basketball team saved an absolute gem for its gold medal game against France. Specifically, Steph Curry cooked up an absolutely iconic game, going nuts draining threes to seal a victory and secure gold.
Buccaneers locker room lost it watching Steph Curry lead Team USA to a gold medal
It felt like everyone was watching the game, even the guys in Tampa Bay’s locker room before kickoff. The Buccaneers social media accounts shared live reactions of the team watching the thrilling end to Saturday’s game, and the vibes were emasculate.
Mike Evans hit the 'go to sleep' pose while the entire Buccaneers locker room lost its mind watching Curry cook the French in Team USA's gold medal win at the Paris Olympics.
.@StephenCurry30 & @TeamUSA had the team HYPE 🇺🇸🥇🏀 https://t.co/HaPgf00DJo pic.twitter.com/crEDXz4uF2
— Tampa Bay Buccaneers (@Buccaneers) August 10, 2024
There’s just something special about the Olympics that brings everyone together. We’ve seen ot more than a few times with the men’s basketball team, as beefs and grievances are set aside to root for Team USA.
We saw it when Kevin Durant signed with the Golden State Warriors and drew the ire of basketball fans only to be a hero in Rio a month later. The same thing happened this summer, when fans put aside their personal beefs with LeBron, Anthony Davis, and Steph to get behind what ended up being an incredible run.
It also never hurts to get some of the good winning vibes flowing, even if they’re thousands of miles away.
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