Invariably, if you attend any Buccaneers home game, you’ll encounter pewter-clad fans donning jerseys of their favorite, hometown heroes, just as you would in any NFL stadium on any given Sunday around the county.  In Tampa, without question, the most common jersey you’ll run into is that of Mike Alstott, who for some reason appears to have become a sort of cult hero in the Bay Area.  In fact, at a game I attended earlier this season, the Bucs had the ball first-and-goal, about to score, and an ornery fan behind me shouted out “PUT IN ALSTOTT!!!”  Never mind that Alstott sat out the entire 2007 season with a neck injury.  Maybe he hadn’t gotten that memo.  The “Put In Alstott” line at Raymond James has become akin to someone requesting that a band play “Free Bird” at your local dive bar.

But I digress.

Recently, Mike Alstott announced his retirement from the game of football due to the aforementioned, debilitating neck injury.  And I wish him well.  His off-the-field accomplishments in the Tampa Bay area are worthy of mention as the Michael Alstott Family Foundation has been extremely active in helping out local children in need.  The A-Train was also significant part of the Buccaneers 2002-03 Super Bowl season, but let’s please keep things in perspective… so was Joe Jurevicious.

As a Buccaneers fan, I’m intrigued by the city’s love affair with Mike Alstott.  Do they not remember the countless, timely fumbles or how they aptly christened him Mike “All-Drop?”  Alstott boasts 23 career fumbles on 1359 career carries.  That totals to a fumble every 59 attempts, not exactly Hall of Fame material.  In comparison, Warrick Dunn who ran alongside Alstott for five years fumbled the ball every 124 carries.  Yes, Dunn is a more elusive runner and yes, Alstott ran between the tackles more.  But so did Jerome Bettis, a sure-fire HOFer, who by comparison only fumbled the ball once every 160 carries. Yet I get this sneaky su####ion, Raymond James Stadium will hang Alstott’s numbers in its rafters.  The Bucs have retired only one number in their history, Lee Roy Selmon’s # 63.  Does Alstott’s career warrant the same merit as 1979’s all-defensive player of the year?  Does Alstott’s career even compare to what Derrick Brooks and Ronde Barder have contributed to the team over the years?

Yes, Mike Alstott is the leading all-time touchdown scorer for Tampa Bay, mainly because Dunn or other running backs would run the length of the field only to have the coaches then give the ball to the A-Train for the score (and the fantasy points).  But does that justify Alstott’s near god-like status in Florida’s city by the bay? Derrick Brooks has been the foundation of what has consistently been among the top defenses in the league for over a decade and Alstott jerseys outnumber Brooks jerseys ten-to-one.

I’m not playing the race card, I promise.  Or at least I think I’m not.  Fans like who they like for whatever reasons, right or wrong, but I think we’re witnessing a little revisionist history with Mike Alstott.  Can someone kindly explain Tampa Bay’s fascination with All Things Dropped?  This is not a hate blog.  I, for one, congratulate Mike Alstott for being a mainstay in the Tampa Bay community and for having a prosperous career with the Buccaneers.  That doesn’t mean he needs to have his number retired.