On Sunday, Jameis Winston earned his first victory as an NFL quarterback as the Buccaneers topped the Saints, 26-19, in New Orleans. Making the moment even more special for Winston was that his grandmother was there to witness it.
Winston and his grandmother are close, but physical limitations had prevented her from attending any of her grandson's games while he attended Florida State. The fact that she couldn't travel also contributed to Winston's decision not to attend the NFL Draft in Chicago. Last Sunday, though, she was finally able to see Jameis take the field, traveling from Alabama to New Orleans to watch the Bucs' game against the Saints.
"My grandma never came to my college games," Winston said, "so that was amazing to see her out there. I saw her on the sideline before the game and I was pumped up. I talked to our team Chaplin at Florida State and he said, 'Your grandma is not here to see you play football, she's here because you're her grandson.' That just touched me. She was there to support me. She had a big No. 3 jersey on. I'm just excited."
Winston, smiling ear-to-ear, recalled the moment when he first declared for the NFL Draft and began being compensated as a professional athlete. One of his first purchases, he said, was for his grandmother.
"When I got paid, the first thing I got her was… the first big-time money I spent was I got her a chair. I mean… it was like a four thousand-dollar chair," Winston said, laughing. "It was one of those lift chairs, it had a little vibrator on it."
The two met after the game, a moment that the Buccaneers' Twitter account captured. It can be seen below.
Best part of @Jaboowins day? His Grandmother got to see him play...never made it to a game at FSU. #InstantAwesome pic.twitter.com/qFHDOiiMww
— Tampa Bay Buccaneers (@TBBuccaneers) September 20, 2015
