Jameis Winston (AKA grandma’s boy) comes through
Martin Fennelly, The Tampa Tribune, published 21 September 2015

It was his first NFL win and it mattered, especially after last week. The Bucs had to hang on, but Jameis Winston passed a rookie sign post Sunday. He’s a winning professional quarterback, officially, after a 26-19 victory over the Saints.

Yes, it all mattered, the big passes he made, that touchdown throw to Vincent Jackson to cap a clutch two-minute drill before halftime and the 1-yard touchdown run to open the second half. He took control. He grabbed the ballgame. But that wasn’t what mattered the most. It was seeing his biggest fan. Grandma.

Myrtle Winston sat in a wheelchair outside the Bucs locker room in the Superdome as her oldest grandson mingled with family. Myrtle’s health lets her down now and again. She didn’t make as many of Jameis’ games at Florida State as she would have liked. Jameis said she didn’t make any. Myrtle said she made her share. I’m going with Myrtle’s version.

Myrtle wore her No. 3 Jameis jersey and told sweet stories about “Jaboo,” as Jameis is lovingly known back in the Bessemer-Hueytown area in Alabama. He told some, too. “When I got paid, the first thing I got her, the first big-time money I spent is I bought her a chair,” Jameis said with a broad smile. “It was like a $4,000 chair. It was one of those lift chairs.”

“Yes, my recliner, my lift chair,” Myrtle said. “It’s awesome.”

An NFL win. Awesome. Some special time with Grandma. More awesome. “He is one of the loves of my life,” Myrtle said.

“It was amazing to see her out there, seeing her on the sideline before the game,” Jameis said. “I was pumped up. I talked to our team chaplain from Florida State, and he said, ‘Your grandma is not here just to see you play football. She’s here because you’re her grandson.’ That just touched me.”

One week after that disastrous opener, including an interception for a touchdown on his first NFL pass, Winston rebounded, completing 14 of 21 passes for 207 yards and that TD toss. His touch was off on a few throws, two of which could have gone for scores, and he fumbled in the fourth quarter, which could have cost the Bucs. But he made some plays with his feet, made some great throws, including a 54-yard strike to Louis Murphy while rolling right, a toss that oozed Wow Factor.

He stayed up after the Tennessee game and watched film until 2 Monday morning. Then there was Sunday. “I might not go to sleep,” Winston said. “It’s an exciting moment.”

Back to Myrtle. She talked about that trophy her grandson won when he was at Florida State. You know the one. “We were visiting a school. He saw this Heisman (Trophy) and he told me, ‘Grandma, look at this. I bet you, grandmother, when I go to college, I’m going to win this.’ I said, ‘No. child, you’re not going to win anything like that.’ The first year in college, he won that Heisman. When he brought it to me, he said, ‘Didn’t I tell you, Grandma?’ And I tell everybody that. Whatever he says, it goes.”

Lovie Smith pointed to the two-minute drive before halftime, which showed Winston’s promise and the leadership you want in any quarterback, including a huge third-and-16 completion to Jackson for a first down, then the 15-yard touchdown to Jackson that put the Bucs back up, 10-7.

“We needed one,” Smith said. “They got momentum, but we had a little bit of time. As a quarterback, that’s how your judged, what you do at end — at the end of the game and at the end of the half. For him to walk us down and get a touchdown, really set momentum up for us. We had the ball for the second half coming out. Big sequence there.”

Myrtle still lives in Bessemer. Jameis phoned early last week. She was in the shower. It was 8:33 a.m. She remembers the time. “He called me Monday for my birthday, September 14th, and he was singing ‘Happy Birthday.’”

That’s her grandson. She used to take him to work with her. She was a secretary at Bessemer’s hospital for 33 years. “And everybody likes him,” Myrtle said. “He used to go on my job with me and everybody called him ‘Little Myrtle’ because he’s always with me.”

Sunday was a first for Jameis Winston. An NFL win. It was big. And Grandma was there. Myrtle said she loves that recliner, the one Jaboo promised her. Whatever he says, it goes.