22. Buccaneers K Martin Gramatica – 1999-2004

By Trevor Sikkema

Gramática was born in Buenos Aires, Argentina. At the age of 9, his family moved to the United States, specifically, LaBelle, Florida. At a young age, he was only interested in playing soccer, but during his senior year, the football coach convinced him to help out the team – a decision that worked well for him in the long run. He only missed two field goals during his college career, and even hit a 52-yard kick in-game.

Bucs K Martin Gramatica – Photo by: Getty Images

After high school, Gramática played at Kansas State from 1994 to 1998. He set the single-season school record with 135 points, and the longest field goal kicked from 65 yards. Today, he is a member of Kansas State’s Ring of Honor, and it was there that the nickname, “Automatica” was born.

The Buccaneers selected Gramática in the third round of the 1999 NFL draft. He played for the Buccaneers for five season, was a Pro Bowl starter in one, and a Super Bowl Champion in another. In their Super Bowl victory, Gramática scored 12 points, and became the first Argentine-American in history to do so. He is currently the Tampa bay Buccaneers all-time leading scorer with 592.

Sikkema’s Take: “We hear coaches use the phrase, ‘all three phases of the game’ all the time, but rarely do we remember how important it is when splitting the difference between two great teams. Champions need kickers, and the Tampa Bay Buccaneers were lucky they had one timed correctly in their history when they made their run at the Lombardi Trophy. Gramática had a small stature with a big leg. He gave Bucs fans moments that made you huge a random stranger in the crowd next to you. And to top it all off, he had a nickname to remember.”