Buccaneers fans had reason to celebrate as Florida Governor Ron DeSantis named January 10th Mike Evans Day. The wide receiver has been in the league for 11 seasons and has breached the 1,000-yard mark every time. He did that this year, too, on the last play of Tampa Bay's regular season, finishing with 1,004 despite playing in just 14 out of the 17 games and missing the others through injury.
Despite those personal challenges, it has been a fruitful year for the Buccaneers and Mike Evans. They have qualified for the playoffs and will play the Commanders in the Wild Card round. They owe a debt of gratitude to Washington, too, as their overtime win against Atlanta vaulted Tampa Bay into the top spot in the NFC South on the penultimate week of the regular season.
However, there will be no time for sentiment as Mike Evans and his colleagues look to match their achievements from last season when they reached the Divisional Round. Fans, though, were not thinking so far ahead but chose to first celebrate the day in honor of the wide receiver who has spent his entire professional career in Florida.
Following Governor Ron DeSantis' proclamation, they took to X/Twitter and flooded the platform with supportive comments for the star player. Here are some reactions.
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One of the few complaints some had with the announcement was that they felt it would have been better to celebrate it on the 13th to match his jersey number. Here are some such comments.
"Why not the 13th since he's number 13??" - queried one.
"Why not have it on the 13th?" - asked another.
"Should’ve made it the 13th but that’s still great" - agreed a third.
Mike Evans joins elite WR company as he looks forward to playoffs
Some would say that Mike Evans' recognition was well-deserved and probably should have come sooner. However, what he achieved this year with his 11th consecutive 1,000-yard season is part of the record books. He now sits atop the list, along with GOAT Jerry Rice, with the most consecutive career years with yardage in four figures.
He will have a chance to take sole ownership of that next year as he tries for his 12th. However, prior to that, he has the chance to win another Super Bowl with the Buccaneers. They are already in the playoffs and have a higher seeding than 2023 when they lost in the Divisional Round. They have gone one better in the regular season and if they reach the championship game, it would mean they would do so in the postseason too.
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