Come On Students R U Serious

[Cow Pie]

How many alumni and students in the area?  The Sun Dome (and Ray Jay) should be sold out every game with the amount of people that have ties to the university.  Tampa is a bandwagon city.  Yeah, transplants are not the reason. 

I disagree... most alumni and students were not born in the area and are transplants themselves or sons / daughters of transplants from up North or grew up in transplant home and are not loyal to the Bulls.

Also don't forget the people that adopted Florida, Florida State, and Miami as their school even though they (a) don't have the grades to get in ( never attended college, that can also be found all over Tampa as well. 

Tampa is a bandwagon city because of transplants that refuse to assimilate to being a Floridian and living in Tampa...

:2cents

I'm a life long Lighting fan and every time they play New York, New Jersey, Pittsburgh, Detroit, Boston, or Philadelphia that place is almost sold out and other times when its not a yankee team the place is virtually dead. However if the Bolts get on a streak and may go far in the playoffs I see those same Devils and Ranger fans crawl in wearing Bolts gear that is as long as we (the Bolts) are not playing said team...

[Paisa el Toro]

Tampa likes winners. So, naturally, when you have a team making some noise, like the Rays, Lightning, and the Bulls two seasons ago, Tampa will embrace because it's the "in" thing to do.

[Mag Pie]

Tampa likes winners. So, naturally, when you have a team making some noise, like the Rays, Lightning, and the Bulls two seasons ago, Tampa will embrace because it's the "in" thing to do.

This is what I am saying.  It has nothing to do with transplants.  I'm talking about USF events and those with ties to the University.  Students and alumni only in the area should be able to fill up these events, but most don't care because Tampa is a bandwagon city....and that sucks.

This has nothing to do with professional sports...people can choose who they want to root for when it comes to MLB, NFL, NBA, NHL, whatever.

[BigEastBeasts]

However if the Bolts get on a streak and may go far in the playoffs I see those same Devils and Ranger fans crawl in wearing Bolts gear that is as long as we (the Bolts) are not playing said team...

Not all of them. I'm a die-hard Devils fan and you will not catch me in SPTF wearing Lightning gear. As for Ranger fans, F 'em.

I tried to "support" Tampa teams when I first moved here, but the bandwagon mentality in this town turned me off completely......especially since its the bandwagon ones who decided to become the arrogant pricks (a'la Gator fans) when the teams are up, but cannot be found when they're back down.

[BigShoop]

The most ironic thing of all is that the transplants are the ones who are "turned off" the most by Tampa being a bandwagon city.

The bottom line is that Tampa is a young sports town. Since 1992, we have added a hockey, baseball, NCAA football, and an Arena(oops!) football team. And from 1976-1996, the only sports team we DID have was the worst team in the HISTORY of professional sports. That means that exactly zero fathers have passed down their baseball/hockey team to their sons, or that zero children have been able to have been born in a USF jersey and been proud to wear their little USF shirts through elementary, middle, and high school.

People from up north ALL have experienced these things in some way, shape of form. Therefore, when they come down here to live, they scoff at all the bandwagoners. The thing is, at some point in time(it may have been 1924 or 1944 or 1974) their team went through the exact same bandwagon problem.

Perfect example: The New York Mets started in 1962. In 1958, 2 very prominent teams moved out west, the Brooklyn Dodgers and New York Giants. From 1962-1968, with a bunch of New York(biggest city in the world!) fans left without a team to root for for the last 4 years, they finished ranging anywhere from 6th-2nd in attendance(avg 3rd). In that same time period ('62-'68), the Mets finished last in the standings 5 times and 2nd to last twice. The Miracle Mets won the WS in 1969, and for the next 4 years, they were 1st, 1st, 1st, 1st.

Just because we weren't born when it happened, it doesn't mean that it didn't happen.

[Triple B]

The most ironic thing of all is that the transplants are the ones who are "turned off" the most by Tampa being a bandwagon city.

The bottom line is that Tampa is a young sports town. Since 1992, we have added a hockey, baseball, NCAA football, and an Arena(oops!) football team. And from 1976-1996, the only sports team we DID have was the worst team in the HISTORY of professional sports. That means that exactly zero fathers have passed down their baseball/hockey team to their sons, or that zero children have been able to have been born in a USF jersey and been proud to wear their little USF shirts through elementary, middle, and high school.

People from up north ALL have experienced these things in some way, shape of form. Therefore, when they come down here to live, they scoff at all the bandwagoners. The thing is, at some point in time(it may have been 1924 or 1944 or 1974) their team went through the exact same bandwagon problem.

Perfect example: The New York Mets started in 1962. In 1958, 2 very prominent teams moved out west, the Brooklyn Dodgers and New York Giants. From 1962-1968, with a bunch of New York(biggest city in the world!) fans left without a team to root for for the last 4 years, they finished ranging anywhere from 6th-2nd in attendance(avg 3rd). In that same time period ('62-'68), the Mets finished last in the standings 5 times and 2nd to last twice. The Miracle Mets won the WS in 1969, and for the next 4 years, they were 1st, 1st, 1st, 1st.

Just because we weren't born when it happened, it doesn't mean that it didn't happen.

[JerseyBull06]

However if the Bolts get on a streak and may go far in the playoffs I see those same Devils and Ranger fans crawl in wearing Bolts gear that is as long as we (the Bolts) are not playing said team...

Not all of them. I'm a die-hard Devils fan and you will not catch me in SPTF wearing Lightning gear. As for Ranger fans, F 'em.

I tried to "support" Tampa teams when I first moved here, but the bandwagon mentality in this town turned me off completely......especially since its the bandwagon ones who decided to become the arrogant pricks (a'la Gator fans) when the teams are up, but cannot be found when they're back down.

that's why I'm proud to call him my big brother!

Shoop: You know I can tolerate fans that jump on the wagon and stay on...it's the ones that jump on then fall off the second the team looses a game that I can't stand and defend it all you want there's plenty of them here in Tampa (as there are in any major city, I won't argue that)...difference is I don't have to deal with them in another city - that is all as this is a topic we agree to disagree on or we wouldn't be friends

Also: working in a sports store for 8 years REALLY made me more bitter...you start to get tired of "die hard" fans that know nothing about their team. AND I went to school in Boston for 2 years and wore plenty of team gear from NY & NJ and never once was questioned for maintaining my loyalty or not rooting for my "home" team - it's a different mentality in different parts of the country