It's a Buc's Life

I am glad that I posted my last blog post when I did, because the internet in Tampa was not so good... I am also glad I posted my last blog when I did because it means that for the first time since my opening blog post, I am up to date with the goings on of my trip! The blog finally got to equal with the point in my real life.

I am also going to pre-emptively apologise for the amount of sports and photographs/videos in this post... I kind of went a bit trigger happy at the hockey (and the football for that matter)... So, if you're after a lot of in depth analysis then you may be disappointed, but if you're looking for goals and violence then view on!

I'd also just like to say that this kind of depth of writing with so many needlessly inane points are more for the writer's benefit than the reader's benefit... So if it gets super boring or sports heavy or whatever else, that is more for me... Anyway, I won't go on much more, but I will say this about Tampa: Yarrrr!

Saturday

Travel day after a night spent watching Battleship and struggling to sleep... I'm not sure why it is, but whenever I have an early morning the next morning I always tend to struggle to sleep the night before.

I woke up early, as was my need, I showered, packed my bag and headed down to the lobby to print a ticket and get a cab to the Amtrak station.  The Greyhound station was less than a mile from the hotel, but the Amtrak station was far enough away that it warranted a taxi.  I checked out, told the woman that I would need a cab, and then said I would do some printing while I waited.  Regrettably she misinterpretted that and waited until I had finished printing before she called the cab.  I had already bought my train ticket but I had wanted to be at the station an hour before just in case something went wrong, that whole 'better safe than sorry' thing... I had two cab companies competing for my business, and the one that was called 10 minutes after the original call was placed was the one that won the race... I got to the station about 10-15 minutes later than I wanted to, but I got my ticket without issue and sat around in the station waiting for the train to come.  One thing I have found that surprised me somewhat, is that when picking up tickets for buses and trains I have not had to jump through hoops even if I showed up later than the suggested time in the confirmation emails; I have been showing a passport and have always been over-polite to ticket agents, so I'm not sure how much that has played a role in my good run with ticketing, but the ease of ticketing has surprised me. 

The Orlando Amtrak station is a single room, a large room but a very old one, with some benches and that was pretty much it... For a big city, and I consider Orlando a big city, the size of the station was surprising, although I expect that most fly in and out of Orlando rather than catch trains or buses.  The station seemed like a pass through kind of station rather than a big city station; I do wonder what the Miami station will be like given that that is the logical end of the North-South line on the East Coast, I am expecting a larger station than Orlando.  There was a little black kid running around the station with a Tie Fighter pilot action figure from Star Wars which was as big as he was; he was running around and loudly yelling and roaring (like, he was pretending to be a dinosaur), anyway, this isn't significant necessarily, but I found it really funny because there was this little ginger white kid who was fascinated by him, but then as soon as the roars began the white kid looked petrified and covered his ears... It was actually quite funny... This went on for about 15 minutes before the mother got sick of the dinosaur sounds and pulled the kid aside to sit down before the train ride... The kid didn't take that well and threw a massive tantrum... All the while the little white kid sat with his mother and ate food...

Eventually the train came, I walked the platform, boarded (and was surprised to find I had been assigned a seat; though I was pleasantly surprised that I wasn't assigned a seat next to the blimp standing in front of me in line), found my seat and slept virtually the entire way to Tampa (which was between a 90 minute and 2 hour ride)... In getting to Tampa the train made a trip to a siding, then reversed back into the station to allow it to run forward on its way to Miami.  I grabbed a cab and got to my hotel, driving past Raymond James Stadium, and George Steinbrenner Field (the home of New York Yankees spring baseball)... I will be able to walk to the football when the time comes.

I killed some time watching some movies (Batman Begins, and aptly, given I am in Tampa Bay for the football, Pirates of the Carribean), showered, and then headed out to the hockey... I used Uber, and the guy who was driving me was more interested in talking about strip clubs than about anything else... Apparently there is a world famous strip club in Tampa, and all the girls are good looking... Good for Tampa...

I was most looking forward to this game, not so much for the sport necessarily, but for the fact that I was in the front row, right on the glass! And it was all you can eat, all food and drink were included in the price of the ticket.  So, I did not eat at all during the day to make the most of the all you can eat... I entered the Lexus Lounge and was greeted with a massive room full of tables, a bar, and a bunch of buffet style trays for the food.  I began with a couple of pieces of roast beef, a couple of bread rolls (which were a lot sweeter than the bread rolls I would usually have at home at buffets or pubs), and some mash.  I had a couple of cups of lemonade and then moved on to the next station.  There was fried shrimp, italian sausage, and pulled pork with BBQ sauce, so, being the creative/predictable person that I am, I grabbed some bread rolls and made myself about 4 pulled pork sandwiches, which were essentially sliders.  I had a bit of the dessert as well, even though it was pre-game, and had a small cup of chocolate mousse and cream, and some chocolate chip cookies... I then made my way to my seat to watch the last bit of the warm ups (but not before taking another bottle of water... It was free... Who is complaining?)...

Thunder Alley

Inside the Lexus Lounge - The carvery to the left, the bar to the right

Lexus Lounge - The ice can be seen out to the left, a brand new car in the centre, and out of shot to the right was a large lounge area with about 6 TV sets and more buffet dining!

The dessert bar - Cookies at the right, mousse in the middle, and other assorted dessert snacks to the left

More buffet dining!

Pulled pork sandwich - I had about 8 of these things over the course of the night

The seat was amazing! Row A, right on the glass, you could see so much more detail than when you sit in the nosebleeds.  The only real issue with the seats was that anything down the other end of the ice, particularly in the corner that was on the same side of the ice that I was on, was very difficult to see.  The players are huge, like, tall, broad, tough bastards... I was marvelling at all of them, not only were they massive, but they were able to skate so well and use a stick... I know they're professionals and it is their job and all that, but to see it so close was enthralling... And that was just during the warm up!

Ottawa players warm up

So close to the players... So tall! So wide!

Lighting - The players are about to enter the arena

O Canada

Star Spangled Banner

When the game started I was amazed at how high intensity it was, and how hard the players were... It is one thing again to see a game from the nosebleeds, but to be close enough to hear the hits and have the wall in front of my legs and the glass in front of my face shake and wobble after each body check and board check was amazing!  These guys are so tough! Honestly, if you ever get the chance to go to a hockey game and sit close to the glass do it, because it is a brilliant experience...

Opening face off

Hard checking

Nice save

So close to the action

The 1st period was tight and tough, with no scoring until late in the period when Ottawa scored... This was down the other end of the ice, so my view was not great, but I was right behind the shot as it went in, so it wasn't that bad.  Some of my favourite 1st Period photos are below:

Tampa Bay comes up the ice

This is how close I was

So close to the action - Players set up for a face off

The longer the game went the more scuffed the glass got!

Ref trying to get out of the way as the players chase the puck

At the period end I moved back into the Lexus Lounge and had another 4 pulled pork sandwiches and some more cookies, watched a bit of the Iron Bowl (on one of the 10 TVs they had in the Lounge), took another bottle of water and headed back out to my seats.

The second period was just as tough as the first, but the only goal scored this time was scored by the 'Bolts', again, at the other end of the ice, the goal was scored by Ryan Callahan... The guys behind me were kind enough to take a photograph for me, but this was very much butchered, and they seemed more interested in taking the shot they thought was best rather than the one I was asking them to take... I mean, sometimes a close up is too close!  They also were more interested in talking about the dairy industry in Australia than actually watching the game, so I was splitting my time between turning around, nodding and smiling politely and turning around much more interested in the game... Second period highlights below:

Puck carrier being chased by a Tampa player

Hard checking

Tampa Bay goal

Face off on the other side of the ice

The first butchered photograph, thanks for using the flash guys!

Players go at it on the other side of the ice

Again, too close guys!

Facebook Question/Sam Trap of the Day (a few weeks ago)
Abby: Hi Sam. The other day did you happen to say you going to a Bolts game?
Sam: As in, San Diego? No, I went to the Colts
Adam: Wouldn't bolts be Tampa Bay and hockey?
Abby: Adam would be correct. Tampa Bay Lightning aka Bolts.
Adam: Sam getting absolutely schooled on US sports knowledge here
Sam: Sam absolutely more interested in football than hockey here.  Points to you Adam for working out more than one team has that nickname as a secondary to their actual nickname.  Anyway, I'll be going to a Lightning game in Tampa, yes.

The period intermission was much the same as the 1st intermission, I went in, had some cookies and watched the Iron Bowl... At the time Auburn were in front... I got another free bottle of water and a soft drink and headed back to my seat.

The 3rd period was brilliant.  The Lightning scored 3 goals (from Alex Killorn, Brendan Morrow and Nikita Kucherov) to win the game 4-1, and all the goals (obviously) were scored down my end in front of me... I nearly caught one on video, but regardless, it was an absolutely amazing 20 minutes of hockey from my perspective.  The crowd went nuts the entire time, and when the game was a lock the chanting and atmosphere was brilliant.  The players still went hard and there were some massive hits in front of me, but I didn't get those on camera necessarily, I had to enjoy the game without the lens of a camera in front of my eyes!  3rd Period highlights below:

Same pose - Less terrible photo this time though

Tampa Bay scored to go up 2-1

I did say that the glass got more and more scuffed the longer the game went right?

If you look closely you can see the ice kicking up as the players stop

 <--- Very up close and personal

Getting ready for a face off; waiting for the ice crew to get off the ice

Chatting to the ref

Tampa scores to go up 3-1

And celebrate...

And congratulate...

And skate off for a rest!

<--- Just missed the shot, but anyway, GOAL!

Skating up the ice

Can I just say again how amazing the seats were!

And the leg room in the front row was wonderful as well!

Lightning players thank the fans after a 4-1 win!

OK, so, I did go a little bit nuts on the photographs... You were warned at the start!

If anyone is interested the HIGHLIGHTS FROM THE GAME are in the link.  I am on the right of screen, at the top, behind the Florida Blue sign.

Of the experience on the whole... LOVED IT! I would encourage anyone thinking about going to a hockey game to do it, because it is way better in person than it is on TV... Further, I would encourage anyone thinking about getting an expensive seat on the glass to do it once in your lifetime... I doubt I will ever see another hockey game again in my life from seats as good at the ones I sat in for the Bolts-Senators game I just saw, and I am so very happy that I did it.  I paid $295 for the ticket, which included all food and drink in the Lexus Lounge, and I got so much more use out of than than I would have if I was paying for food and sitting in a decent but not food included seat. As I was in Florida, a non-traditional hockey market, it meant that a ticket of this cost got me on the glass and in the nice suite between the periods, however if I had gone to say, Toronto, I would have to pay that kind of money to get a middle of the road ticket or worse (or so I am told). So as much as I would encourage you to do it once in your lifetime, pick your market carefully, because even I wouldn't burn all my cash in one place for a ticket (and I'm a sports guy!).  It was a wonderful experience!

I wasn't a Tampa Bay Lightning fan before this game, I've always kind of followed the Boston Bruins out of Boston sports solidarity (given that I follow the Patriots, Celtics and Red Sox, it makes it so much easier only having one Boston sports App on my phone!); and I've always chastised those who support two teams, such as the Rangers and Bruins for example.  But given that the Bruins and Lightning aren't sworn rivals like Boston and New York are, I don't think following the Lightning as well will affect my solidarity to the Bruins, so I will probably be adopting them as my second team... The colours are agreeable to me, the logo is agreeable to me, the single experience I have had with them (being front row, stuffed with food and a win) was wonderful... Go Bolts I guess!

Very cool effect on the steps

Thunder Alley - Looking towards the entrance to the Lexus Lounge

After the game I spent about 5 minutes in the lounge, had some more food, before heading out to 'Thunder Alley' and saw another score from the Iron Bowl, did an entire lap of the arena trying to find a cab, took a look in the store, then I did eventually find a cab... I headed back to the hotel, and watched Pirates of the Carribean (the next one in the series, I can't remember which one... I just know it wasn't Black Pearl, and it wasn't Dead Man's Chest)... Apt given my Sunday watching the Buccaneers!

Sunday

I woke up in time for the free breakfast at the hotel I was staying in... The Econolodge Airport at RJ Stadium... The internet connection was awful, to the point where I couldn't even load Google, but I guess a free breakfast would make up for that... I had some Frosties, and then bringing out the Vegemite tube made myself some toast... Regrettably, they didn't have any butter... What place doesn't have butter? Two strikes Econolodge... Two strikes...

Raymond James Stadium, the home of the Tampa Bay Buccaneers, was a short walk down the Dale Mabry Highway; in fact, you could see it from just outside the hotel! 

View as I left the hotel

Raymond James Stadium was also the site for the first Superbowl I every watched, which was Superbowl 35 between the Baltimore Ravens and the New York Giants... I can remember watching that game on SBS with Vincent in the room... Tells you something for how long ago that was!

The weaher in Tampa was Beautiful, note the capital B... Mid-20s, sunshine, a soft breeze... Perfect winter weather! Though, such winter weather will make a fool of you if you're wearing pants and not shorts... About half way down Dale Mabry Highway I began sweating in the sun, even standing waiting to cross the road was causing me to perspire... There was an overpass from near the Yankees' field, but I walked across the road at the lights not wanting to cross the Yankees... I walked by the countless people tailgating, the smells of BBQ were in the air, people were throwing the football around the parking lots, and many were enjoying the wonderful weather in shorts... I was wearing pants... Not shorts... I'd have gone up to one of these people and explained that I was a foreigner and would like to join in or know the customs, but I was sweating like a mule and was just after getting into the stadium and getting some water... A smarter man would've walked back to the hotel and changed into shorts... I envy the smarter man...

Tailgating... It's a Bucs life... Yarrr

Good advice

In buying tickets to daytime outdoor sporting events in arenas that I've never been to in the flesh I have to make certain judgements and gambles as to the positon of the sun and the shade and the restricted views and all these things.  When I was in Indiana for the basketball I was in a borderline restricted view seat.  When I was in Nashville I was as cold as I've ever been (I figured in early November it wouldn't be -10, but I covered that in an earlier post).  In Orlando I was in the nosebleeds until I upgraded.  For the Bucs I had thought that I was buying tickets in the shade, but as it turns out I had incorrectly guessed the position of the stadium in relation to the sun... But I will explain...

Buccaneer Decision Making
The rationale behind buying the tickets I did for the Buccaneers was this, and simply this: They have a giant, god-damned, pirate ship inside the arena... Yep... A pirate ship... You cannot go to a Tampa Bay Buccaneers game and not get gratuitous shots of the ship! The position of the sun be damned, although I reckon I'll be in the shade anyway! Go sit in front of the pirate ship!

And with that, I purchased tickets in front of the pirate ship!

There was even a guy there who was dressed as a pirate... Again, you can't go to a Tampa Bay Buccaneers game and not get a gratuitous shot of yourself with a pirate!

The stern

Love a free souvenir

Yarrr

A real life Buccaneer!

The Buccaneer who let me photograph him was even good enough to share some of his pirate booty, giving me some beads that I assume he kept back from his very own buried treasure... Well, after taking the photos he didn't ask for them back and I forgot I was wearing them and just sort of wandered off... Several moments later I realised what had happened, but resolved to live the Buc's life and just kind of go with it... So, when in Tampa Bay I immersed myself in the culture, and stole some beads...

Flaunting my stolen pirate booty... Arrrr, its a pirate's life for me

Just so no one takes this the wrong way, I did not actually steal anything... Much later in the day, during a break in play, they started throwing the beads off the pirate ship and into the crowd as a part of a give away... So, my hard won/stolen pirate booty was actually just a cheap give away to the crowd... I mean, the beads were even gems or jewelery, they were just plastic!.... Although, he did give me black and white... And I am totally going to bring these out for Port games when I get back to Australia!

The seats I had were also really good, I mean, I was behind an endzone, so they weren't the best seats in the house, but they were in the 4th row, so I was again up close and personal!  I got to my seat just before the Cincinnati Bengals came out to warm up.  I was in the sun, but there was a soft breeze coming across the arena, so it wasn't as oppressive as it otherwise may have been... I had also layered up with sunblock before I left just in case... And thank god I did, otherwise my arms would have been burnt terribly...

Good seats!

Bengals pre-game

Bengals scrimmage pre-game

After this the teams returned to the locker rooms and we were treated to all the normal pre-game festivities... The cheerleaders came out and danced... Athough, I was disappointed with the name of the cheer-leading troupe... In various other places they've had inventive or semi-interesting names for the groups... I can't think of them off the top of my head, but say for example the Pacemates for the Pacer cheerleaders... The Tampa Bay Bucs cheerleaders were called, get this, 'the Tampa Bay Buccaneer Cheerleaders'... Surely there is a Pirate Wench name they could have thought up? I mean, you built a freaking pirate ship inside the arena but stop short of calling the scantily clad women dancing for the amusement of the men in the arena Wenches... Come on Bucs, lift your game!

The teams then entered, the national anthem was sung, the coin toss undertaken, THE FLAG WAS RAISED ON THE PIRATE SHIP, SHOTS WERE FIRED and then we were ready for kick off!  What was really cool before kick off was that the fans were chanting from side to side... One side of the arena all screamed TAMPA, while the other side waited their turn and then screamed BAY... It was great for atmosphere!

The Bengals enter the arena

The Bucs run out

The Bucs offence runs out to the pyrotechnics

Raise the flag and ring the ship's bell!

Cincy received the kick off and from the first play from scrimmage their ginger quarterback (who must have been loving the sun beating down on him) showed why they pay him so much money, by throwing an interception.  The place went nuts...

First play from scrimmage... Dalton under center...

Aaaaaaand interception...

First Bucs play from scrimmage

As the above video shows, neither team were really on their game at all... I shouldn't have been surprised by Tampa Bay, I mean, they were something like 2-9 on the season... But the Bengals were leading the AFC North, surely they'd be semi-competent?  Again, apparently not... The Buccaneers took a 3-0 lead, before taking a 10-0 lead later in the half...

Dalton sets up in the shadow of his own endzone... At least he was in the shadow of something, even in the sun, that skin would be burning!

Well, at least they didn't make him throw... What kind of idiot would have him on his fantasy football team?... Oh wait...

The Tampa Bay Wenches do their thing

They really should have been called the Wenches... I'd buy a Wench Calendar ahead of a Cheerleader Calendar

The Bengals even resorted to having their wide receivers throw the ball ahead of their quarterback!  Apologies for the quality of the video, I was forced to stand up because all in front of me stood up...

Because as soon as Dalton was forced to throw the ball this kind of thing happened:

The Bengals got on the board through a quarterback scramble... Again, no throwing for Andy Dalton... The score at half time was 10-7 in favour of the Bucs...

Dalton pointing to the sun, just increasing his sun-burn

Dalton's team-mates congratulate him for working out that he is better off not throwing the ball

Now he is trying to waltz with a team mate... Although I can't tell who is leading...

At half time we even got some mini-league style kid's games going on... The crowd down my end were loving it!

Mini-league kids

I do like those beads!

And the pirate ship!

I was sitting next to a couple of guys wearing these old-school throwback Bucs jerseys, like, from the era when they were St. Kilda in the 1920s shit... The guy directly next to me was named David and was more than happy to explain to me the ins and outs of the sport, noting that there are certain penalties that you don't tend to see all that often...

'You know what's weird?' Moment of the Day
David: "You know what is weird and a little bit sad?"
Sam: 'No?'
David: "We are actually winning this game... It is the 3rd quarter and they've only managed to score 7 points against us... That tells you how bad both teams are playing!"
Sam: 'Oh'

This did not last long... The Bengals soon scored to make it 14-10.  Then inexplicably from the ensuing kick-off they tried to catch the Bucs off guard with an on-side kick, failed miserably, and ended up giving them wonderful field position...

Some of the penalties that he was explaining were 'clipping', 'roughing the passer', 'offensive pass interference' and 'illegal block in the back'... Although, I have seen an illegal block in the back plenty, but chose not to correct him... Anyway, as soon as he said that you can guess what happened... Yep... A massive, massive roughing the passer (where the defensive tackle just ran over the QB before he even snapped the ball, massive cheap shot!), followed the very next play with a clipping penalty (for blocking below the knees or something... I think this was a direct retribution response to the previous play), and on a later punt play an illegal block in the back... (We had already seen two roughing the passer penalties, which is what brought about the original conversation). 

Dalton in the 2nd half

Another pick...

Bead give away... At this point I worked out that my hard won pirate booty wasn't actually hard won...

  <--- I am very surprised he wasn't thrown out

The ensuing scuffle...

The game got to 14-13 Bengals after this and that is how it would stay for the remainder, but not without some controversy... Firstly there were several turnovers, not so much controversial, more so showing how poor both teams were holding on to the ball... But with Tampa driving and in a position to win the game with a field goal, McCown threw a pass downfield that was caught, bringing the Bucs well within field goal range... There was less than 2 minutes left, meaning that every play can only be reviewed by the booth upstairs, and not by a coach's challenge... The Bengals coach threw the challenge flag, no one in the arena knew why, and because he wasn't allowed to throw the flag he was charged with a time out... But by throwing the flag it gave the guys in the booth time to review it, and in the end the play was reviewed anyway...

It turned out that the Buccaneers had 12 men on the field, on offence, which is inexplicable, and as a result the play was annulled and they were marched back out of field goal range... The Bengals would hang on with two more defensive stops... An unbelievable end to an entertaining, if poorly played game, though I didn't really worry about the quality of the play... A 14-13 game was entertaining and it was never boring... I'm expecting a tie next week... Last week was a 2 point Browns win, this week was a 1 point Bengals win, and next week is another AFC North team, the Baltimore Ravens, playing... Although, they are playing the Miami Dolphins, who are not a NFC South team... Anyway, neither here nor there...

Bucs driving late

McCown passing

Running up the field after a completion

Bengals hold on to win

Hand shakes and clearing the field

After the game ended I exited the arena and decided to use the foot bridge around the Yankee arena to get back to my hotel... I was pushing for time, as at 4:25 PM the Patriots-Packers game kicked off on CBS and I wanted to try to make the start; the time when I left the arena was 4:10 PM... Unfortunately using the footbridge caused me to take a massive detour around the practice facilities and caused me to comfortably miss the kick off... Damned Yankees!

I got back to the hotel, and after some difficulty found CBS on my TV, and settled in to try to cool off and watch some Patriots football... I was very warm after the walk home, and was able to cool quickly.  I ordered in, watched the game, the Patriots lost, and then I watched the Broncos-Chiefs SNF game and packed my bag. 

I also had a really fun night checking Facebook and seeing what was happening at home... Really nice chatting to good friends... To those of you I chatted to, here is your reward... Gratuitous photographs of busty pirate wenches...

Busty pirate wench

Busty pirate wenches...

Busty pirate wenches... Who dance...

Yarrr

Wenches love jumping...

Anyway... That made me feel better... I hope you enjoyed the gratuitousness of that as much as I did...

Tomorrow it is on the road again... Driving... On the wrong side of the road and all...

If these two days have taught me anything, it is that Tampa is one hell of a place (though, I still don't like the Rays, but they're based in St. Petersburg anyway), and it really is a Buc's life for me...

Arrrrrr!