For some reason, the wide receiver position often attracts a certain type of eccentric personality. They are many times derogatorily labeled as “divas,” and while some do deserve that scolding, many more are simply guys with fun personalities who like to express themselves in unique ways on the football field. And one of the best examples of the latter in recent years is Golden Tate.
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Tate was never a superstar, but the diminutive wideout with 4.4 speed was always a fun watch. You never knew what he was going to do. He had some hilarious moments on the field. At one point, he calmly walked into the end zone for a touchdown amid bodies flying everywhere. He once front-flipped into the end zone, and on another such attempt, a defender hit him right in the rear as he flipped into pay dirt.
Those on-field antics have nothing on his recently revealed pregame tradition. Well, perhaps not a pregame tradition, but a game weekend tradition. While doing an interview on Bussin With The Boys, Tate revealed that when he first entered the league, he used to have to get hammered on the Friday before the game to make him feel like he’d have a good day at the office on Sunday.
“And my routine, I was going out every Friday night. Period. And if I didn’t go out. I felt like I was gonna have a bad game. Go out, get sauced so bad that I’m showing up to the next day walkthrough and I can smell it, for one. And I’m still a little bit shaky,” he revealed.
Tate wasn’t done there. Apparently, if he had a good game on Sunday, he and his girlfriend (now wife) would repeat their Friday night fun on Sunday night as well.
“And I’m young. So, you know me, and my girlfriend at the time, my wife now, we getting after it baby. Then go out there, ball out on a Sunday. Sunday night, we’re going out to celebrate.“
Most fans were taken aback by the reveal. One wrote, “I would have never thought he was like that lol,” while another admitted, “Had no idea Golden Tate was an animal.”
A third one said, “I don’t blame them. Every play on that field, they are literally trying to kill each other. It’s a brutal sport.”
That was likely just an early-career tradition, however. As anyone who has grown into their late 20s and early 30s will know, drinking has much graver consequences as you grow older. Hangovers and headaches become more brutal. Perhaps that’s why Tate had just 56 receptions for 609 yards and three TDs through his first two years in the league with the Seattle Seahawks.
He started playing up to his second-round pedigree in Year 3. He went for just under 700 yards that year, then just under 900 in 2013. In the latter year, he contributed to Seattle’s win in Super Bowl 48, putting in three receptions for 17 yards in a blowout victory.
Tate signed with the Detroit Lions after that triumph, and he responded with a career year. He put up career highs with 99 receptions and 1,331 yards and earned his first and only Pro Bowl honor. The Notre Dame standout went on to two more 1,000-yard seasons over the next three years with the Lions.
He finished his career with 2+ years on the Eagles and Giants. He was released halfway through the four-year deal he signed with the Giants in 2021, and though he never officially retired, he has not played since.
Tate wrapped up his 11-year career with one Pro Bowl, one Super Bowl, 695 receptions, 8,278 yards, 45 TDs, and one of the strangest game weekend traditions the NFL has seen.
