Fansided

Jameis Winston featured on Publix advertisement

By John Buhler

Aug 24, 2015; Tampa, FL, USA;Tampa Bay Buccaneers quarterback Jameis Winston (3) warms up on the field before the start of an NFL preseason football game against the Cincinnati Bengals at Raymond James Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Reinhold Matay-USA TODAY Sports
Aug 24, 2015; Tampa, FL, USA;Tampa Bay Buccaneers quarterback Jameis Winston (3) warms up on the field before the start of an NFL preseason football game against the Cincinnati Bengals at Raymond James Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Reinhold Matay-USA TODAY Sports /
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The Jameis Winston Publix crab legs saga takes another interesting twist.  Winston, the former Florida State Heisman Trophy winning quarterback is now being featured on ads for the group he stole crab legs from: Publix Supermarkets.

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Publix, where shopping is a pleasure, is a southeastern regional supermarket chain out of Lakeland, Florida. Lakeland is just outside of Tampa and Publix is often a proud sponsor of the region’s professional teams, including the Tampa Bay Buccaneers, Jameis Winston’s employer.

Both parties have clearly moved on from the incident. Winston claims to have been given the crab legs “for free” while attending Florida State. A representative from Publix said the following, “We support our hometown team.  We welcome Jameis Winston to the Bucs.  We don’t hold any grudge against him.” The Publix representative later added, “We’ve moved forward, we’re past this. We hope Jameis has done the same thing, and is moving forward.”

It’s cool to forgive and forget, but this is ironic to say the very least. Perhaps it’s an almost brilliant marketing plan set in motion by Publix to use a polarizing star athlete like Jameis Winston to encourage folks to shop at the supermarket chain.

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Winston expects to help turn around a Tampa Bay Buccaneers team that has not made the NFC Playoffs since John Gruden was their head coach back in 2007. Though Jameis has proven that he can perform at the high level under great scrutiny (only one loss in his collegiate career as the starting quarterback for the Florida State Seminoles), the NFL is a different animal. Winston struggled mightily in Preseason Week 3 against the Cleveland Browns.

Any publicity is good publicity for an NFL franchise that has been largely ignored for most of the last decade. Will the Tampa faithful continue to support Jameis Winston even if he struggles his first season in the NFL? We do know that Publix supports Jameis Winston and the Tampa Bay Buccaneers. This might not be end of the tale of the Publix crab legs.

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