Rondé Barber, a legend in every way

My tribute to Rondé Barber, who goes into the Bucs' Ring of Honor on Sunday.

I was 14 years old when I started the ugliest football blog in the world.

I sat on a library computer, eagerly tapping the keys every time a football news item would hit the wire. I put tons of effort into my little project, hoping it could one day lead to my dream career as a sports journalist. 

For three years, the only reason I wasn't writing for an audience of one was simply because I had a big family. If we didn't share a last name, nobody knew my sports writing existed.

But just like Donovan McNabb and so many other NFL quarterbacks would experience over a 16-year period, here comes Rondé Barber out of nowhere.

At 17 years old, I was invited to a banquet for those of us high school football players who had won a weekly award during the season. To my delight, the guest speaker was to be none other than Barber, my favorite player. We each got a photo op after the dinner, and I had brought a shirt and a card for him to sign, which he did. 

But as he usually did, Barber went far beyond expectation.

After the event ended, he spent nearly an hour listening to me talk about my dream of being a sports writer. He listened intently as I talked about my ugly football blog, and my hopes to build it into something recognizable, or one day land a gig with a major outlet.

At the end of our conversation, he offered to give me my first exclusive interview for my blog. A first-team All-Pro who led the NFL with 10 interceptions just two years prior, Barber was going to lend his name to the ugliest football blog in the world, all to help out a kid he just met. 

A man of his word, he called my house on a Tuesday morning, patiently wading through what I'm certain must have felt like an endless barrage of questions. We talked about football, the special bond between him and his twin brother, Tiki, his passion for childhood literacy, and so much more.

For the first time ever, people outside my own house started reading that ugly blog. That interview turned into a few more with other NFL players and prospects, and eventually snowballed into a sports journalism career that has blessed me with the opportunity to write about the sport I love for some of the industry's most recognizable outlets.

As a player, Barber's legend is well-documented, especially among the Bucs faithful. His interception return for a touchdown to send Tampa Bay to their first Super Bowl in 2003 is the most iconic play in franchise history, and he holds a truckload of team records. He's the only player in NFL history with 45 interceptions and 25 sacks, and holds the NFL record for most consecutive starts by a cornerback (209, including playoffs) and a defensive back (224, including playoffs). He's a five-time Pro Bowler, three-time first-team All-Pro, and a member of the NFL's All-Decade Team for the 2000s.

(You getting all this, Canton?)

But as legendary as Barber was on the field, he was equally impressive as a human being, constantly investing in the people around him, and leaving the Tampa Bay community far better than he found it. 

A third-round pick who wasn't supposed to be big enough or fast enough, Barber will be inducted into the Bucs' Ring of Honor on Sunday afternoon. 

And I'll be blessed enough to be in the press box at Raymond James Stadium to watch it happen, something that might never have happened if No. 20 himself hadn't extended that first helping hand.

To this city, this franchise, and this kid who grew up to live his dream, Barber is every bit deserving of such an honor, and so much more.