Many a story have been made about the Tampa Bay Buccaneers quarterback situation, with all of the rumors swirling around Tom Brady’s divorce from his supermodel ex-wife, Gisele Bündchen. Well, if you thought that was going to be the biggest story to come out of that QB room, you were dead wrong.
Blaine Gabbert, a 33-year-old backup quarterback on the team, reportedly played a crucial role in the rescue of dour victims of a helicopter crash off the coast of Tampa Bay on Thursday. According to crash victim Hunter Hupp, who’s quoted by Fox Sports, his family was taking a helicopter tour when technical difficulties forced the chopper down into the ocean.
Quickly, the chopper disappeared and the family was left wading in the ocean. According to Hupp, that helicopter was no shelter from the elements once it hit the water.
“Let me tell you, helicopters sink really fast. We learned that rather quickly.”
After a while, Hupp saw three men on jet skis approaching to help. As it turns out, one of those men was Blaine Gabbert, along with his brothers, Tyler and Brett. The Gabberts quickly sprang to action, piling people on the jet skis and planning a way back to shore.
“They slowly brought us back to the shore, a sandy beach near the yacht club, and hung out for a while, were really nice. We exchanged pleasantries upon reaching flat ground. They were really an asset to helping us out, because we were the only ones out there for a while. It was a handshake and a hug and, ‘Thank you so much.’ They went out for a nice afternoon ride and just happened to come upon a stranded helicopter family.”
Gabbert, who has made a solid career in the NFL as a quarterback, was getting ready for a game against the Carolina Panthers on Sunday when the crash occurred. The game carried massive weight as a win would secure a division win for Tampa Bay.
In a press conference, Gabbert was quick to deflect the praise from himself to the first responders that also quickly moved to the crash site, arriving just minutes after the Gabbert brother got there.
“It was just a pretty crappy situation that turned good in the end. I was just right place, right time … the credit really goes out to Tampa PD, fire department, sheriff’s department because they were there within five seconds. It was pretty remarkable. It wasn’t me, just my brothers and I out having fun.”
Funny enough, Hupp said that they didn’t exchange names with the Gabberts, and he and his family had no idea that they were rescued by an NFL player. In a stroke of great comedic timing, he said his mother’s wishes were almost realized in the crash.
“My mom said she was hoping to meet Tom Brady while we were down here. I think she came pretty darn close.”
Featured image: By San Francisco 49ers – Author, CC BY-SA 3.0, https://commons.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?curid=40156739
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