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Wednesday, October 8, 2008
Does Tampa care about the Rays?
Posted by Eric Snider on Wed, Oct 8, 2008 at 4:20 PM
Earlier this week, I edited Wade Tatangelo’s Bar Tab column — which I do every week, and try not to when I’m hung over — where he told the story of ending up at a sports bar in Seminole Heights at 4 p.m. last Sunday.
That’s when, you may remember, the Tampa Bay Rays were playing their third playoff game (ever) against the Chicago White Sox, and the Tampa Bay Bucs were squaring off with the Denver Broncos.
Before those games, I alleged small-market fan abuse. If the N.Y. Giants had a game, would Major League Baseball schedule a Yankees or Mets playoff game directly opposite it? No chance.
But I, as they say, digress.
When Wade and a buddy showed up at the Dugout Tavern in Seminole Heights, the two big screen TVs were showing the Bucs — even the one with “Rays” taped under it. Another set was showing a NASCAR race. The only place the baseball game was showing was on a small set above a booth in the back. And no one was watching it.
That got me really wondering.
I’ve heard often enough that Tampa people don’t like to cross the bridge to attend Rays games, but could it be that in a sports bar (called the Dugout, no less) in Tampa, the interest in the Rays’ historical playoff run is virtually nil?
And further, could the interest in the Rays historical run be considerably less in Tampa than St. Pete? I haven’t conducted a formal poll, but my sense of it is: yes, Tampa people don’t care nearly as much. I live in St. Pete and work in Tampa. You see all sorts of folks festooned in Rays gear in the ’burg, not nearly as much in Tampa.
Wanna talk sports bars? Check out Ferg’s on the day of a Rays game; whether the Bucs or on another channel or not, the joint is Rays-crazy. Folks have told me similar tales about other sports bars in St. Pete.
Let’s assume that it’s true, that Tampa isn’t particularly dialed in to the Rays. (And my apologies to Rays fanatics and Tampa; I know you exist).
That’s pretty weak. Those of us who live in St. Pete have to listen to out-of-town TV announcers call the team the Tampa Rays constantly. You’d think that would be enough for Tampa folks to perk up.
It underscores a much bigger issue: the lie that Tampa Bay is one big market with no rivalries or competition between cities. I’ve never thought that was true, and this just underscores it.
But c’mon, Tampa people. It’s not too late. The Rays/Red Sox series starts Friday. Did you know?
Comments (5)
Showing 1-5 of 5
I sometimes think St. Pete acts a little too butt-hurt over this whole Rays thing. In a way I wish the Rays would publish a ZIP list of where their ticket buyers lived so we'd have more than anecdotal evidence of where people are coming from to see the games. I get that on convenience alone, Pinellas folks might be more predispoed to go and Hillsborough folks might be more reticent. Particularly with so many games and many with early starts. It's hard. I get that. Tama/Clearwater/St. Pete IS one big market (DMA), but that doesn't mean it's not going to be a bit fragmented when it comes to how people live and play. With that in mind, you're never going to get everyone in the DMA behind every thing the area has going for it. You can't judge a whole county by one bar.
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I work in Tampa and live in St. Pete. About midseason my drive home jumped from about 20 minutes to at least an hour on game days. I'm just saying...
I got caught up in a few of those jams, Jessica, but I remember the traffic getting real bad after the bridge, right around the Ulmerton exit. Clearly some Tampa folk heading over, but the traffic got a lot worse the closer I got to the Trop.
David, butt-hurt is a pretty good way to put it. In the big picture, of course, it doesn't mean much, but Pinellas folk have long embraced the Bucs and muddle our way over to RayJay. For me, at least, it's not so much that I'm mad at Tampa people; I just wish they were more involved. It would make the whole thing more fun. Plus, at this point, I'm not so much talking about attending games as wishing Tampa people, sports bars, etc. would get more amped up about the playoffs.
To continue to play Devil's advocate, there are 8 Bucs home games a year. The Rays have 81. But you said you weren't talking about attendance ... I dunno, I live in Tampa and see plenty of excitement. I've never seen more Rays gear in my life, and the games are typically on in my favorite watering holes. I can't get into a sport that has that many games a year, but it's cool to have a home team doing well. Go Rays!
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