Tampa Bay Bucs’ Elijah Roberts
My Mom Sang The National Anthem!!!
… New Good Luck Charm?!
Published
January 10, 2026
12:10 AM PST
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TMZSports.com/Courtesy of NFL
The Tampa Bay Buccaneers might have found their good luck charm for 2026 — at least that’s what star wideout Mike Evans told rookie defensive lineman Elijah Roberts after his mother showed off her pipes last week!
Roberts’ mom, Shanda, sang the national anthem before Saturday’s season finale over the Carolina Panthers — a game they won — and Elijah tells TMZ Sports his teammates all want her to come back after the dub … a proud son moment for the young player
Shanda Roberts is the mother of @Buccaneers DL Elijah Roberts.
She just sang the National Anthem ahead of today’s game ❤️ pic.twitter.com/mJAJMoWr8I
— NFL (@NFL) January 3, 2026
@NFL
“I knew she would kill it,” Elijah told us. “I knew she also would be super nervous, but I’m nervous before every game, too. It was just crazy it lined up that the game she sang was the game for us to win to have a chance to get into the playoffs too.”
We also spoke to Shanda, who has been singing anthems at big events, including several Miami Heat games, for years. So, when the Bucs asked her last summer to sing for them, she didn’t think twice.
By the time she took the field on Sunday wearing her son’s No. 95 jersey … she admits she was petrified.
“Oh my God, if I mess up, my son is going to be the laughing stock of the Tampa Bay Buccaneers,” she told us. “I just did not want to embarrass him. That was my biggest fear.”
Turns out, she did the opposite!
Together, the mother and son duo are using their platform to draw attention to Shanda’s non-profit, Pain 2 Purpose, which advocates for survivors of domestic violence. Earlier in the season, Elijah wore custom spikes for the NFL’s “My Cause, My Cleats,” featuring his mother’s foundation.
Despite winning Sunday’s game, the Bucs finished the season 8-9, and missed the playoffs for the first time since 2019.
It was particularly disappointing given they started 6-2 … before things fell apart, with the squad missing the playoffs thanks to a tie breaker going against them.
Elijah, a fifth-round pick out of SMU, played in all 17 games, finishing with 14 tackles, two sacks and a fumble recovery — along with a new memory to cherish (and perhaps a future good luck charm)!