ESPN blogger: Rays need to get out of Tampa Bay

[mikemcp88]

Personally, I don't think Tampa deserves a team. I feel bad for the diehard fans who truly care, but when people are not showing up to see a very good team that hurts. I remember going to see games against Chicago, Boston, NY and it was like a home game for them. It's supposed to be the other way around. I lived outside Philly, Boston, Tampa, WPB, and now by Detroit and what a drastic difference b/w the FL teams and the rest in my experience. They have tried to make it work and I think it's time to move on.

[Bulls On Parade]

plain in simple its ecomomy tampa has a really bad one, bucs when good use to selll out with ease

[bulls phanatic]

Agree with this though I am pretty sure Detroit has much better attendance and is in worse shape than Tampa

[Apis Bull]

Agree with this though I am pretty sure Detroit has much better attendance and is in worse shape than Tampa

True, but what else is there to spend your entertainment dollars on in Detroit other than sports?

[Bruce Blingstein]

plain in simple its ecomomy tampa has a really bad one, bucs when good use to selll out with ease

i dont think so, the economy is bad everywhere.  Bucs surprised everyone last year, they werent supposed to be good so no one jumped on the bandwagon and when they ended up being ok (record wise, beat no one good) it was too late for the impressionable fans to jump on the wagon.  Another example of playoff important games and tampa fans not knowing or not showing up. 

tampa fanbase (again as a whole) is undefendable.  it wouldnt be talked about or teased by the masses if it wasnt true. 

[Triple B]

plain in simple its ecomomy tampa has a really bad one, bucs when good use to selll out with ease

i dont think so, the economy is bad everywhere.  Bucs surprised everyone last year, they werent supposed to be good so no one jumped on the bandwagon and when they ended up being ok (record wise, beat no one good) it was too late for the impressionable fans to jump on the wagon.  Another example of playoff important games and tampa fans not knowing or not showing up. 

tampa fanbase (again as a whole) is undefendable.  it wouldnt be talked about or teased by the masses if it wasnt true. 

LOL ... ****, Herm does this constant belittling of the TB sports fans make you somehow feel better about yourself as a sports fan??  : There are many factors, that have been gone over ad nauseum, that make our, and the Miami, area different than most other traditional sports markets ... but if this makes you feel better, who are we to argue ... of course it could just be the typical new york ******* fan rearing its' ugly head again.

[SattyBull]

majority of the city is just not pro sports educated

fyp

I hate when people call Florida an awful area for sports when this is where a TON of talent comes from. New York and Massachusetts couldn't care less about college football or baseball, but nobody calls them bad sports regions. However, when the Rays can't sell out for major league baseball it automatically dooms Tampa Bay to the depths of hell.

This area KNOWS football, we KNOW baseball. Those are two facts that nobody in their right mind could refute. People just don't shell out the money for it for one reason or another. The two biggest reasons are the transplants and the fact that it is a fairly low income region.

[hm101]

rays need to get out of ST PETE, not tampa.

[Joe]

Apis,

That might be true in the winter, but Detroit is on a huge body of water that people use recreationally...

[Bruce Blingstein]

plain in simple its ecomomy tampa has a really bad one, bucs when good use to selll out with ease

i dont think so, the economy is bad everywhere.  Bucs surprised everyone last year, they werent supposed to be good so no one jumped on the bandwagon and when they ended up being ok (record wise, beat no one good) it was too late for the impressionable fans to jump on the wagon.  Another example of playoff important games and tampa fans not knowing or not showing up. 

tampa fanbase (again as a whole) is undefendable.  it wouldnt be talked about or teased by the masses if it wasnt true. 

LOL ... ****, Herm does this constant belittling of the TB sports fans make you somehow feel better about yourself as a sports fan??  : There are many factors, that have been gone over ad nauseum, that make our, and the Miami, area different than most other traditional sports markets ... but if this makes you feel better, who are we to argue ... of course it could just be the typical new york ******* fan rearing its' ugly head again.

doesnt make me feel better but NY fans know when an opponent of theirs has a desireable player in the last year of a contract and to applaud them to entice them to come to Gotham.  Tampa cant even sell out meaningful games. 

Im not belittling< im just going over everything ad nauseum as column writers, educated tampa fansand the sports world says.  Opposite of what you may think I wish the Rays games were sold out and had a good atmosphere.  I go to rays games and feel like Im in class.  I love going to the ballpark more than other other sporting event and Tampa just drops the ball on atmoshere, fault goes to organization, stadium and mostly fans.  (cowbells? cmon man)

Tampa isnt Miami.