<
        >

          NFL Nation

          Bucs QB Jameis Winston admits Chiefs' chop chant fired him up

          • Jenna Laine, ESPN Staff WriterNov 20, 2016, 10:54 PM ET
            Close
              Jenna Laine covers the Tampa Bay Buccaneers for ESPN. She started covering the Bucs for ESPN in 2016, but she has covered the team since 2009. Follow Jenna on Twitter: @JennaLaineESPN.
            Follow on X

          KANSAS CITY, Mo. -- Tampa Bay Buccaneers quarterback Jameis Winston was more than 1,000 miles from Tallahassee in Kansas City, but on Sunday, Arrowhead Stadium might as well have been Florida State's Doak Campbell Stadium.

          The Bucs beat the Chiefs 19-17, and Winston felt right at home, despite playing in one of the toughest environments for opposing quarterbacks not just because of the Chiefs' ball-hawking defense and ferocious pass rush, but because of the noise level. Arrowhead Stadium holds the Guinness World Record for loudest outdoor stadium.

          “Man, the crowd noise was amazing," Winston gushed. "Every third down, they did an 'Nole-chant' and I was so pumped up, it really made me feel at home."

          He sure performed like it, completing 12-of-14 passes for 133 yards and a touchdown on third down alone. His 12 completions on third down were a career high, and his completion percentage of 86 was the second-best of his career, according to ESPN Stats & Info. When the Chiefs blitzed him on third down, he was a perfect 6-for-6. Perhaps that inspired kicker and fellow FSU alum Roberto Aguayo, who was 4-for-4 on field goals.

          "I love playing here," Winston said. "Every time I [got] the chance to hit a Nole-chant, [I did it]. I was even doing it with the fans at the beginning of the game."

          The Seminoles' war chant or "Nole-chant," as Winston called it, is the same as the Chiefs' tomahawk chop chant, as well as that of the Atlanta Braves. Florida State first used it in 1984. The Chiefs adopted it in 1990 after hearing it at Northwest Missouri State, whose band was under the direction of Florida State graduate Al Sergel, according to the school.

          Florida State already was on Winston's mind heading into Sunday's game. He learned that morning that Monk Bonasorte, FSU's senior associate athletic director and former FSU safety, had passed away after a battle with brain cancer. He was 59.

          "I really dedicate this game to [him]," Winston said. "He really meant a lot to me. If the Bonasorte family is listening, thank you and I love you.”