KANSAS CITY, Mo. — As the Bucs' locker room celebrated a huge 19-17 win Sunday over the Chiefs, the live postgame radio broadcast was set to interview rookie tight end Alan Cross about his first NFL touchdown when the shout came from all sides: "HONCHO!"
Cross is the kind of hard-working longshot every locker room needs: cartoonishly country, every bit as humble and as likeable as he is unlikely to be there. His red beard earned him the nickname "Mike Honcho," a random if perfect nod to the male-model pseudonym of the sidekick in the Will Ferrell comedy Talladega Nights.