jd77

JP Peterson said on tonight's 11 oclock news that the signing of Marshall was pretty much a done deal. He said his friends at the Tampa Tribune were his source.

lol, dont get me started Yeah, me either. Lets just say I had a few words with people at work during the World Cup this year. >

College and pro are completely different.  I grew up a HUGE Terps fan in MD.  Most of my friends went there and I went to USF.  Now, I still like U of MD sports, I guess.  But, I don't follow them at all.  I follow USF, because that is my school and that will always be with me. But, lets say I moved to San Diego in 5 years.  I would at that point be 34.  Still pretty young. And if I decided that was going to be my permanent home I am sure I would probably start following the Tampa teams less and less and start really getting into the Chargers and Padres. That is what happened when I moved here from Maryland.  I don't hate the Orioles, Capitals, Redskins (well I kind of do now, because I hate Dan Snyder), or the Wizards.  The Orioles and Caps are in the same division as the Bolts and Rays so there is starting to be a little bit of a rivalry formed between me and my friends back home about baseball and hockey and its all in good fun.  But, I now follow the Tampa teams religiously, especially the Rays because I am such a big baseball fan. But, please don't think I would ever support another school over USF. That concept is completely foreign to me.  I don't know how you justify rooting against your school's team, because you grew up liking another school.  Pro sports, I get the different views even though they don't match mine. But, the college one....you need to check yourself and realize what college athletics mean to your university and show some school spirit.  You didn't root against your high school team, why would you root against your college team?

;D Nice to make friends with you Shoop. And if you haven't found it already, Raysbaseball.com is a great forum for Rays fans. Stop by the forums sometime and say hi. Some of the most knowledgeable people I have talked to about baseball post there. Discussions go all the way down to every level of the minor leagues. I am a huge Rays fan and I learn a lot there.

And just a side note. I have season tickets to all 3 local teams or at least a partial plan. I can tell you the people that sit in my section at Lightning games, the season ticket holders I see every game and talk to, not one of them is originally from Florida. I sit next to people from MD, which is where I am from, NY, Detroit, Boston, etc. They are at every game screaming their head off and paying thousands of dollars for the right to do it. Are they not true fans, because they are now Lightning fans and used to be fans of a different team? Same with my Rays seats. The majority of the people I sit near are from NY and are former Mets/Yankees fans. Are they not "real" fans anymore? My Bucs seats, I don't know where the people are from. I don't tend to talk to people at Bucs games like I do at Lightning and Rays games. Football games aren't condusive to conversations and they are much less frequent so you don't develop that bond with you "neighbors." At least I haven't.

You could look at it like that or you could say he came to his senses and learned a lesson in civic pride. Put yourself in the player's shoes for a minute. How would you like to play baseball in a town that your neighbors show up to root against you in mass. The players don't like seeing it in visiting stadiums either. At least not in mass. A few fans scattered here and there and a few family members is one thing. But, when you are playing baseball for the Rays and hear "Lets go Red Sox" in the Trop that has got to eat at you. I have even seen interviews with Red Sox and Yankees players saying while they appreciate the support they shouldn't be playing home games in a visiting stadium and actually feel akward about it. Put in reverse for just a second. Imagine if the roles were reversed and everyone from Florida was flocking to the northeast. When we got there we told them the way they live is stupid, their teams are stupid, and their economy wouldn't be the same without us so they should be glad we are there. Then when the Devil Rays, Lightning, or Bucs came to town we all ran out to buy up the tickets and just acted like obnoxious jerks in their stadium. Told them how bad their team sucked and started chants for the Tampa area teams in their stadiums. Just imagine if the roles were reversed for a minute. Doesn't seem quite as cool now does it? The players want their respective leagues to be strong and in order to do that each market needs to be strong. Hence the reason the NFL is so great. If people rejected their home teams when they were granted expansion teams or teams relocated there would be no pro sports. At least not to the extent that we have them now We would have like 10 teams in each league and they would only play in the traditional markets in this country. Do you think living in Florida would be as great as it is if we didn't have pro sports? If everyone followed this logic the Bucs, Bolts, Rays, and every other expansion team would have failed. Are Houston Texans, Tennesse Titans, Tampa Bay Devil Rays, Arizona Diamondbacks, etc fans less of a fan compared to a Yankees fan, because they have followed that team their whole life? I don't think so. People need to learn to stop living in the past and live in the present and the future.

The best example that comes to mind at the pro ranks was with in 2003 early in the hockey season. The season in which the Lightning ended up winning the Stanely Cup. There was a story that made local news and Philly news involving Keith Primeau. Basically Primeau and a few other Flyers were walking around the Forum several hours before the game when a group of Lightning fans recognized them and were getting autographs. A Flyers fan noticed the crowd and the players and came running over and said something to the effect that the Lightning suck and to let him to the front. Primeau took offense to that and asked the guy where he lived. He said Tampa. Primeau asked him how long he had lived here. He said something like 7-8 years. Primeau then basically told him that he needed to show more respect to the Lightning, because they play in that building behind him 41 nights a year busting their ass and representing this city. He also told him that they had plenty of fans in Philly and that he should support the Lightning because the Flyers only play here 2x per year. He refused to sign anything for the guy and basically called him a jerk. He then joked with group there and said "Hey I played for Detroit before Philly should I score in my own net when we play the Red Wings?" They did a story on that guy during the Eastern Conference Finals and showed that he was now a Lightning fan on the local news.

You aren't here permanently Bobcat? If you do leave, keep posting at Raysbaseball.com. You will be missed.

True, but in fairness to the Basketbulls, I think they would be 6-0 too if they had 3 games each against High Point and U of Jacksonville.

Make that 6-0 after a 4 run 8th gives them a big come from behind win. 6-5! Still undefeated!!! ;D

You either dont care about sports or are a dumbass. I dont give a **** where the hell I live, I will root for the teams I grew up rooting for. Just because I live in Tampa doesnt mean I HAVE to be a D-Rays fan. If anything you are the exact opposite of a true fan. If you pack up and move to Miami, are you going to become a Dolphins and Panthers fan? If you move to Atlanta are you going to root for the Falcons and Thrashers? Do you see how ******* retarded you sound by saying what you are saying? I think you are misunderstanding his point.  He has lived here 10 years, he seems pretty set.  If you move to a city for a few years for school or a temporary project at work or some other temporary reason that is different.  You are there temporarily and are heading back to where your heart is. But, if you say I want to leave city A, because living in city B is better. Then get there and love the area and intend to stay there for the rest of your life and raise a family there, then yes you should support the home teams.  The players I grew up with in the DC teams aren't even there anymore.  WIth free agency at the pro level the majority of the players have no loyalty to a team anymore, why should we?  I do have loyalty to Tampa and the whole Bay Area though.  And these people that drive around with Yankees/Red Sox/Bears/Giants/Jets/etc crap all over there car and Florida plates make our area look stupid and un-unified. I also find these people to be the one's that complain that Florida sports fans aren't passionate enough. Ummmm yes they are, they are just confused/retarted and are passionate about a team that plays home games 2000 miles away. The majority of the people here moved here from somewhere else of their parents did. If you want to build a strong sports fan base we need everyone to band together and support our teams. All 3 of which are expansion teams. We could build a fan base 2nd to none. And if everyone followed your logic of supporting a team until you die no matter what...then every expansion team and team that moved cities in the history of sports would have failed.

I agree 100% with supporting the home pro teams.  I moved here from the DC area 6 years ago and am now a Bucs, Bolts, and Rays season ticket holder or partial season ticket holder. I could care less about the Redskins, Orioles, Capitals, and Wizards/Bullets.  I chose to leave DC and move to Tampa.  I asked for a transfer at work and it was granted.  I was headed to George Mason to finish up the last 2 years of school when that transfer went through and I ended up at USF by default.  USF is now one of the biggest passions in my life and I am a proud alumni. I can't ever see myself leaving the Bay area.  I am no longer even with the company I transferred with.  Saying all of that. I don't have a problem with people rooting for their schools over the local school.  That makes total sense.  I do have a problem with students in the student section rooting against the Bulls though. And the pro teams, I really don't get.  Pro sports to me is about civic pride. These teams represent a local area on a national stage.  They are a part of the communities in which they reside. How the residents of a city could show up in mass to root against a local team is beyond me.  It disgusts me and it ruins the sporitng event for the local fans.  I hate going to the Trop when the Yankees/Red Sox are in town.  I find myself wanting to punch half the people in their face.  Especially the ones that bring their kids decked out in the road team's gear.  They are robbing them of what they supposedly love.  A hometown team to grow up with.  Some of my best memories as a child are of going to Orioles, Redskins, and Capitals games with my Dad and uncles to root on the home teams.  I don't think I would have grown up to be the sports fan that I am if my Dad only took me once a year to root on some team from another town in the home stadium. My Dad was down here last year for a game against the Red Sox and he was in disbelief. He couldn't believe the amount of and obnoxiousness of the Red Sox fans.  He was even talking trash to them even though he has no ties to Tampa other than his son and daughter in law living here.  He was exctatic when DC got the Nationals as it had been so long since the Senators had left and he had his own baseball team again. He kept telling the people that they don't know what they would be missing if the Rays were to leave town. He lived it with the Senators.

See my sig and add a trash bag with a Syracuse logo. This town really, really needs to wake the F up and get behind our teams, not just when its cool. I.E. the Bucs and Bolts. Now if you are a student and are rooting against your own school, you need to get your ass kicked. I grew up in MD and a bunch of my friend went to U of MD. I was on campus for the final four game the year before MD won it all. They had a huge lead against Duke at halftime and blew the game. Well there was a kid at the house party I was at who was a MD student that was rooting for Duke. After that lead was blown....and he said the first word.....well lets just say I have never seen a beating like that in person in my life. That is an extreme example, but these students that are showing up rooting for opposing schools need to be made to feel very uncomfortable at games. >

Is it safe to look yet? :-/

Obviosly we did sign Meadows. :-[

So did we offer Brian Meadows a scholarship after the Rays cut him or something? This is ridiculous. >

What are we now 4-0? Not a bad start. 8-)

We need some insurance runs now.

Thanks for the updates. Keep em coming, and Go Bulls! Its baseball season!!! Finally. Rays had pitchers and catchers report today too. Its the best time of the year. ;D

Anyone else upset that they didn't have like Kazmir and Crawford there as guests?  Jeter and Posada play for the enemy.  > Screw them!  >

They must read this message board.

I cancelled a few years ago when they started their witch hunt against Jon Gruden and Bruce Allen. I wish I could call them everyday and tell them the numerous reasons why I would cancel again.

The local ABC News showed Marve and Rainey briefly then said "Oh and USF signed 25 players." >

Very cool. Hopefully the other local stations will do the same as I am watching the 11oclock news right now.