Griffin Alstott has vague memories of his dad’s Tampa Bay Buccaneer playing days.
But the memories he does have are awesome.
“I remember waking up and going to the Bucs games and watching him,” Griffin said. “I don’t really remember much when I was seven, but it was a lot of fun. The whistles and everything and after the games, we’d always go onto the field and play tag or something. It was a lot of fun.”
Now Griffin, the starting quarterback for Northside Christian, is creating his own football memories. He’s one of several former Bucs players kids who are starring on gridirons across the Bay area.
On any given Friday night, some familiar last names dot the high school football landscape.
“You open up the paper and you’re reading nothing but about former players sons playing,” said Mike Alsott, former Tampa Bay fullback and current Northside Christian head coach. “It just tells you a lot how special Tampa is.”
When Alstott and Pro Football Hall of Famer Derrick Brooks and their Bucs teammates played, it was the glory days for Tampa Bay. They helped bring the Lombardi Trophy to Tampa with a victory in Super Bowl XXXVII. Now their sons are trying to make a name for themselves.
“We’re just having fun as dads and parents and I think our kids do a good job of standing in their own shadows, standing on their own two feet and having fun doing it,” Brooks said. “There’s no pressure for kids to do anything but go out there and compete and have fun.”
Click on the video to see how the Bucs namesakes are carving their own football path.