After a 12-year career, which also began with the arrival of Tony Dungy and included a Super Bowl championship, Bucs running back Mike Alstott is retiring. Will his #40 jersey be retired by the Bucs organization?

MY wife and I have been Bucs fans for a long time, And have been following Alstott for all these years, And we would like to see his number 40 retired, as there will not be anybody that can fill his jersey or number. A-train rolls on forever.

No one will ever replace what Mike means to the area. This should not even be a topic everyone should want to retire this number 40. The Bucs should not even think about this and just DO IT!!!
We will miss you Mike!!!!!!! 

Retire that jersey - and push every writer and anyone with a vote for a first ballot hall of fame nod.
Everything he has done for our team and our town is first class - HALL OF FAME - THANKS A MILLION MIKE.  BEST OF LUCK IN YOUR FUTURE...TAMPA WILL ALWAYS BE BEHIND YOU!!

I vote yes too!

I am a looong time Buc fan going back to 1978. I don’t know if ever there has been one player who better defines what the Bucs are about.Mike certainly should have his number (40) retired.

THANKS FOR GIVING US YOUR ALL MIKE !!!!! 
Cannuckbuc

Yes, #40 should be retired.

I agree mike alstotts number should be retired because theres not another guy that could hold up to his performance on or off the feild! <hes just simply THE BEST>

Mike Alstott was a great player.  A Buccaneers hero.  As it is now, only one number is officially retired (I could be wrong - Gruber’s 74 could be).  Lee Roy Selmon is Tampa Bay’s only Hall of Fame player and his #63 is retired as it should be.

But is Alstott a Hall of Fame player?  Probably not.  He played a position that rarely garners consideration.  And if you retire 40, you’d also have to retire 99, 55, 20, 97 and 47.  Of that list, I’d say that Sapp, Brooks and Lynch are sure Hall of Famers.  Barber and Rice are probably on the bubble.

If you’re basing retiring 40 on Alstott’s likeability and place in the franchise then sure.  Alstott was one of the most important players in franchise history.  That will never change.  Unless the organization is ready to retire numbers in mass, then the bar by which we measure a player’s merit should be re-examined. 

Perhaps a number should be assigned to the hiring of Rich McKay and Tony Dungy.  Their partnership and tenure is what turned this previously pathetic franchise around.

In either case, I will watch in pride as Alstott is honored.  But I would say that the next number to be retired is 55.  After that lets see what happens with the HoF.

I have been a Bucs fan since I started watching football 13 years ago. When Alstott joined the team, I could not keep my eyes off of him! He is FASCINATING to watch! I have been a loyal Bucanneer and Alstott fan. I now live in TN and still support my Bucaneers, through every win and every loss.  We all knew Alstott’s retirement was inevitable - it is better to see him retire then to risk a tragic injury.  Every jersey I own (and it’s a lot) is #40.  I even proudly wear a big #40 around my neck.  I had the pleasure of meeting him several times and he is an amazing person and an extremely nice guy.
I would love to see his jersey retired.  He set many Bucaneer records and is a very well-respected player in the NFL and amongst his fans. Look in the stands - what # do you see the most of? 
Retire his jersey. He deserves it.

A Class Act Deserves A Class Act from ownership! Retire #40, and Start A ring of Honor with it!
A-Train Forever!

yes after the big trip A-TRAIN had, there’s no doubt in my mind they should retire the jersey.

Are there any numbers already retired?  What numbers have teams around the league retired?  I don’t hear about teams retiring numbers… um ever?  Seems to me like a circle of honor or bucs hof are in order but I’m not at all sure retiring the number is in order.

The Bucs should absolutely retire the number 40 jersey.  It can never belong to anybody else.  I have it tattooed on my ankle under a Bucs flag and people have asked what if somebody else wears it.  My answer...only ONE person will ever be Buccaneer’s #40 and that is Mike Alstott!

There are two numbers in this era that should be retired....40 and 55. These are the icons of this era on both sides of the ball and they should be remembered as such. Some will say, when it’s all said and done, that 20, 47 and even 99 should be retired. While there are good cases to be made there, I think a requirement is that a player spend his ENTIRE career with our franchise. As for Barber, he’s a great zone corner and was involved in what was the single most important play in our team’s history, however, HOF bound he may or may not be, but he’s not at that jersey retirement level.

So, yeah, 40 should be retired. I was talking about this just the other day......

giles88 - 28 January 2008 11:09 PM

There are two numbers in this era that should be retired....40 and 55. These are the icons of this era on both sides of the ball and they should be remembered as such. Some will say, when it’s all said and done, that 20, 47 and even 99 should be retired. While there are good cases to be made there, I think a requirement is that a player spend his ENTIRE career with our franchise. As for Barber, he’s a great zone corner and was involved in what was the single most important play in our team’s history, however, HOF bound he may or may not be, but he’s not at that jersey retirement level.

So, yeah, 40 should be retired. I was talking about this just the other day......

If you set the bar at Alstott then Ronde gets his # retired as well.  It shouldn’t even be a question.