Where does Garza's No-Hitter rank in Tampa's Greatest Sports Moments?
by witty on Jul 27, 2010 10:48 AM EDT
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Started arguing this issue with my brother as we walked outside the Trop. The top two moments are pretty obvious, but everything from Moment Number Three on down are up for debate...
1) Derrick Brooks' INT of Rich Gannon to clinch Super Bowl XXXVII vs. Oakland. Every town with multiple pro sporting leagues (plus top-tier collegiate sports) will have one sport predominantly favored over the others (New York will be Yankeetown always, Pittsburgh is Steeler Country, Detroit loves their hockey). In Tampa, the Bucs came first and for all the love and hate, the Tampa Bay metro lives and dies with our Bucs. For Tampa Bay to win the Super Bowl, and with one of our more beloved players making the key play, this is a no-brainer NUMBER ONE MOMENT IN TAMPA SPORTS HISTORY.
2) Tampa Bay Lightning wins the 2004 Stanley Cup. Yeah, yeah, hockey in Florida blah blah. Don't forget that the Lightning have a solid and dedicated fanbase even with all the franchise woes. And winning a sports title is a BIG DEAL, especially when said trophy (the Stanley Cup) is one of the most cherished and traditional in all sports. Bonus points for beating a Canadian team and making Canadian hockey fans suffer a bit longer. :)
3) Matt Garza pitches a No-Hitter at the Trop. This is where the debate begins. I say that Garza's No-Hitter goes here because A) a No-Hitter is statistically hard to get, B) highlights the pitching and defensive talents of the 2010 Rays lineup, C) few other things get national attention outside of a No-Hit game, D) This was huge for the fans in attendance, and may yet help boost the meager attendance the team doesn't deserve ("Hey guys, let's go to a Rays game! You never know, we might see a No-No again!").
4) Ronde Barber's INT pretty much at the goal line, returning it for a TD against Philly to secure a trip to the Super Bowl. My brother argues this is bigger than Garza's No-Hit. It secured the Bucs' first NFC Championship title, first trip to the Super Bowl ever, and ended all that talk about the Bucs' poor play in cold weather.
5) Michael Spurlock. First Bucs Kickoff TD ever. How huge was this? The entire nation knew about the KO drought. Every time the Bucs were lined up for a return, the TV announcers would joke about it. Someone started up a website three weeks earlier dedicated to the kickoff jinx (guy turned it into a Spurlock tribute site... I can't find the site now). I'm pretty sure retired sportswriter Tom McEwen turned to the guys sitting with him in the pressbox and said "I can die now."
6) Aki makes the catch and tags Second Base to defeat the BoSox, and the 2008 Tampa Bay Rays go to their first ever World Series. The 2008 season itself is remarkable in that it was the first time since realignment that a team other than the Yankees or Red Sox had won the AL East banner. If the Rays had won the World Series I'm pretty sure there would have been a bigger game moment and would be placed at Number 2).
7) St. Petersburg and the Trop host the 1999 Men's Basketball Final Four.
8) Tampa Bay Storm defeat cross-state rivals Orlando Predators in 1995's Arena Bowl IX.
9) The Bucs defeat Kansas City 3-0 in a rainstorm to clinch their first division title (NFC Central 1979) and their first playoff appearance. Worst to First (almost, damn you Rams!)
10) Doug Williams throws a TD bomb to Kevin House to upset the Detroit Lions in their stadium (until then the Lions were unbeaten there) and secure the Bucs' second NFC Central title and playoff appearance.
I'm pretty sure I missed other great moments in Sports History in the Tampa Bay metro, but those are the top ones I got.
This post was written by a member of the DRaysBay community and does not necessarily express the views or opinions of DRaysBay staff.
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I think it's up there, and WAY ahead of most things on the list outside of holding up a championship trophy.
If Spurlock’s return gets mention, this goes about 234230420-9 slots higher.
As you can always expect come from behind victory is when you least expect it.
Haha, I mentioned the Spurlock return to a few people last night
Of course, I enjoyed the no-hitter more just because it is one of the greatest accomplishments in all sports. But the Spurlock return was different because it wasn’t a tough feat, yet the Bucs couldn’t do it for decades. We had to hear about it on the opening kickoff the Bucs took in every game of every year.
Garza no-hitter — one of the most amazing things I’ve seen in Tampa sport’s history with Championship and playoff wins
Spurlock KR for TD — “it’s about time” moment
HOLY SHIT, REALLY? THAT'S AWESOME
The caller said the boy, after removing the bulb from its socket, left the building and threw the bulb on the ground. When the bulb broke, the caller said the boy screamed "I am the cat and I am here to steal."
by Top Gun Numba 1 on Jul 27, 2010 11:23 AM EDT up reply actions
The Spurlock KR was cool, but not a top-5 moment. That'd be like calling the 12 game winning streak in 2004 a top-5 moment.
It’s nice, but it’s shaking off an indignity, not accomplishing a spectacular feat.
So I should just change my sig to
I hate everyone of color, along with invalids, the old, and the retarded?
by firemangreg on Jul 21, 2010 2:59 PM EDT up reply actions
What about the day we got the Rays?
And how the fuck is the no-hitter ranked higher than ALCS game 7?
The caller said the boy, after removing the bulb from its socket, left the building and threw the bulb on the ground. When the bulb broke, the caller said the boy screamed "I am the cat and I am here to steal."
by Top Gun Numba 1 on Jul 27, 2010 11:09 AM EDT reply actions
The day we got the Rays was ruined when Namoli changed the name of the stadium to Tropicana Field.
Thunderdome FTW
(Still calls the SPTF “The Ice Palace”)
So I should just change my sig to
I hate everyone of color, along with invalids, the old, and the retarded?
by firemangreg on Jul 21, 2010 2:59 PM EDT up reply actions
Draft a player named "Max" and watch the nicknames start rolling in.
Maddon's Mission
Make you want to kill him, then make you want to love him. Sly.
by Jonah Keri on Jun 19, 2010 10:31 PM EDT
Pretty sure 7 and 8 shouldn't be on the list.
As you can always expect come from behind victory is when you least expect it.
try to remember
for a while there the Storm was the only winning sports franchise in the bay area. :-)
Witty's 2010 Draft review is full of meaty goodness. What you mean, you're vegan?! Sigh. Just read it.
And Spurlock?
I didn’t even know who that was until I saw the kickoff thing, and I was like “Oh yeah. That stupid streak ended.”
I might throw Boggs’ 3000th hit (for a HR) up there. That was way awesomer than a stupid kickoff return for a TD for a shitty team.
I don't know that I'd throw the 3,000th hit above the kick return.
Both were big events in their own right. One was more franchise based, the other was individual based, though it had hometown meaning.
The Super Bowl win has to be first (at least for me), but the ALCS Game 7/WS appearance are top 3 and the no no is probably top 5.
As you can always expect come from behind victory is when you least expect it.
Agreed on S-Bowl at 1.
3,000 hits has been done how many times? KR for TDs? Throw in the fact that Boggs was a hometown guy, he did it with a homer, and it was a sellout; and I’d say it’s more exciting. The KR thing was just a long fluke in the making not any kind of special achievement.
Good point on the 3,000th.
I’m not saying the act of the KR, more of getting the monkey off the back. Would I rank it above the no no, the SB, the WS appearance, the NFC Championship? Not a chance. But I think it was a cool moment in the franchise’s history. I’ll remember where I was for it. I guess it depends on what we are trying to define. Most memorable moments? Greatest moments?
As you can always expect come from behind victory is when you least expect it.
B.J.'s cycle is bigger than Boggs for me.
But that probably has a lot to do with how much I dislike Boggs’ number being retired. Great player, just not for TB.
Also: ALDS G1 was ridiculous.
by R.J. Anderson on Jul 27, 2010 11:33 AM EDT up reply actions
STFD ranks pretty high. Definitely over bitchboy Spurlock.
PLAY BALL DANG IT !!!!!!!
by PlayOnWords on Jul 27, 2010 11:34 AM EDT up reply actions
Remember when Los left the game with an eye injury?
Also, G7 >>> all. The buildup to that game is unrivaled. Blowing the huge lead in Boston, having our offense shut down here, then falling behind right away. Can’t top that.
by R.J. Anderson on Jul 27, 2010 11:36 AM EDT up reply actions
Troof
The caller said the boy, after removing the bulb from its socket, left the building and threw the bulb on the ground. When the bulb broke, the caller said the boy screamed "I am the cat and I am here to steal."
by Top Gun Numba 1 on Jul 27, 2010 11:39 AM EDT up reply actions
Beej winning that WS game by himself.
Rocco’s dinger in the WS.
All of these things >>> Spurlock.
Evan’s walkoff last year v BOS in the 13th???
PLAY BALL DANG IT !!!!!!!
by PlayOnWords on Jul 27, 2010 11:43 AM EDT up reply actions
haha
The caller said the boy, after removing the bulb from its socket, left the building and threw the bulb on the ground. When the bulb broke, the caller said the boy screamed "I am the cat and I am here to steal."
by Top Gun Numba 1 on Jul 27, 2010 11:39 AM EDT up reply actions
He only hits HR and XBH because he doesnt want to run hard.
PLAY BALL DANG IT !!!!!!!
by PlayOnWords on Jul 27, 2010 11:40 AM EDT up reply actions
I WAS AT THAT ONE.
PLAY BALL DANG IT !!!!!!!
by PlayOnWords on Jul 27, 2010 11:36 AM EDT up reply actions
And, frankly, CC's walkoff on Opening Night is really high up there for me. I was ecstatic. I picked my wife up and shook her around like a soda can (she is 7). I don't remember the stadium being like that since the playoffs.
PLAY BALL DANG IT !!!!!!!
by PlayOnWords on Jul 27, 2010 11:37 AM EDT up reply actions
" I picked my wife up and shook her around like a soda can (she is 7)."
So I should just change my sig to
I hate everyone of color, along with invalids, the old, and the retarded?
by firemangreg on Jul 21, 2010 2:59 PM EDT up reply actions
" I picked my wife up and shook her around like a soda can (she is 7)."
So I should just change my sig to
I hate everyone of color, along with invalids, the old, and the retarded?
by firemangreg on Jul 21, 2010 2:59 PM EDT up reply actions
" I picked my wife up and shook her around like a soda can (she is 7)."
The caller said the boy, after removing the bulb from its socket, left the building and threw the bulb on the ground. When the bulb broke, the caller said the boy screamed "I am the cat and I am here to steal."
by Top Gun Numba 1 on Jul 27, 2010 11:53 AM EDT up reply actions
Cycle cooler for unpredictability
Follow Me on Twitter @FreeZorilla
by FreeZorilla on Jul 27, 2010 12:31 PM EDT up reply actions
Boggs had no shock value
It was inevitable and somewhat predictabale as to time. No-hitter way cooler, but championships take the cake.
Follow Me on Twitter @FreeZorilla
by FreeZorilla on Jul 27, 2010 12:30 PM EDT up reply actions
How about
USF? Tennis? Golf? Hosting the super bowl? Rays in the WS?
Bad Left Hook - The SB Nation boxing blog
"Baseball is played on the field, not on a calculator."
Scott Norwood.
PLAY BALL DANG IT !!!!!!!
by PlayOnWords on Jul 27, 2010 11:27 AM EDT up reply actions
witty Jr over here
The caller said the boy, after removing the bulb from its socket, left the building and threw the bulb on the ground. When the bulb broke, the caller said the boy screamed "I am the cat and I am here to steal."
by Top Gun Numba 1 on Jul 27, 2010 11:28 AM EDT up reply actions
What about Erik Hahahahaman's 1st 300 game?
The caller said the boy, after removing the bulb from its socket, left the building and threw the bulb on the ground. When the bulb broke, the caller said the boy screamed "I am the cat and I am here to steal."
by Top Gun Numba 1 on Jul 27, 2010 11:30 AM EDT up reply actions
I was pretty nervous for that one.
As you can always expect come from behind victory is when you least expect it.
I hit 2 inside the park homers at Forest Hills LL when I was 9. That was a pretty big moment for the area.
PLAY BALL DANG IT !!!!!!!
by PlayOnWords on Jul 27, 2010 11:30 AM EDT up reply actions
In the same game.
PLAY BALL DANG IT !!!!!!!
by PlayOnWords on Jul 27, 2010 11:31 AM EDT up reply actions
Sandy Kazmir JR over here
The caller said the boy, after removing the bulb from its socket, left the building and threw the bulb on the ground. When the bulb broke, the caller said the boy screamed "I am the cat and I am here to steal."
by Top Gun Numba 1 on Jul 27, 2010 11:31 AM EDT up reply actions
When I was 12, I stole 23 bases in 10 games in winter ball.
And when I was 13, I dinged a scoreboard out behind LF pretty hard. But that was in Winter Haven, so it doesnt really count.
PLAY BALL DANG IT !!!!!!!
by PlayOnWords on Jul 27, 2010 11:33 AM EDT up reply actions
AND MY DEFENSE WAS DISGUSTING.
PLAY BALL DANG IT !!!!!!!
by PlayOnWords on Jul 27, 2010 11:33 AM EDT up reply actions
I retired to play JV football, which was by far the dumbest decision I have made to date. By fucking far.
PLAY BALL DANG IT !!!!!!!
by PlayOnWords on Jul 27, 2010 11:35 AM EDT up reply actions
In my defense, I had played baseball 6 days a week, doubleheaders on Saturday and Sundays, for 2 years straight.
I was burned out. But still retarded, retarded, retarded.
PLAY BALL DANG IT !!!!!!!
by PlayOnWords on Jul 27, 2010 11:41 AM EDT up reply actions
I'm going to go out on a limb and guess this was not the dumbest decision you've ever made
And PoW neither, since he made the decision to FUCK WITH ME
The caller said the boy, after removing the bulb from its socket, left the building and threw the bulb on the ground. When the bulb broke, the caller said the boy screamed "I am the cat and I am here to steal."
by Top Gun Numba 1 on Jul 27, 2010 11:41 AM EDT up reply actions
You're a barnacle to me.
PLAY BALL DANG IT !!!!!!!
by PlayOnWords on Jul 27, 2010 11:42 AM EDT up reply actions
If I'm a barnacle, you're a little bug that sucks that barnacles dick to make sure it's clean
The caller said the boy, after removing the bulb from its socket, left the building and threw the bulb on the ground. When the bulb broke, the caller said the boy screamed "I am the cat and I am here to steal."
by Top Gun Numba 1 on Jul 27, 2010 11:43 AM EDT up reply actions
Barnacles dont have dicks. APT FUCKING COMPARISON, YOU FLAMING GAY EUNUCH.
PLAY BALL DANG IT !!!!!!!
by PlayOnWords on Jul 27, 2010 11:45 AM EDT up reply actions
Way to suck a phantom dick bugsworth
The caller said the boy, after removing the bulb from its socket, left the building and threw the bulb on the ground. When the bulb broke, the caller said the boy screamed "I am the cat and I am here to steal."
by Top Gun Numba 1 on Jul 27, 2010 11:53 AM EDT up reply actions
Big deal I stole 10 bases including home in a summer league game once.
And if one has a problem using stats to prove a point, then use your eyes.
2010 Trade Deadline Primer --> http://dockoftherays.com/2010/07/03/2010-trade-deadline-primer/
by Sandy Kazmir on Jul 27, 2010 3:20 PM EDT up reply actions
Skin that smokewagon, go on boy, skin it.
And if one has a problem using stats to prove a point, then use your eyes.
2010 Trade Deadline Primer --> http://dockoftherays.com/2010/07/03/2010-trade-deadline-primer/
by Sandy Kazmir on Jul 27, 2010 3:19 PM EDT up reply actions
We'd hosted too many Super Bowls to single any one out
and I did give consideration to the huge USF upset of West Virginia a few years back, the year that the Bulls went to Number 2 in the polling. As for tennis or golf, I personally can’t recall any local events that became major headlining stuff the way those other events I’ve got listed.
Witty's 2010 Draft review is full of meaty goodness. What you mean, you're vegan?! Sigh. Just read it.
Jim Courier becoming the top tennis player in the world maybe
Not that the event itself necessarily took place here.
Bad Left Hook - The SB Nation boxing blog
"Baseball is played on the field, not on a calculator."
World's Greatest Tennis Player of All-Time
Boom. Outta Here.
by Ryan Gilliss on Jul 27, 2010 12:55 PM EDT up reply actions
Bjorn?!
Witty's 2010 Draft review is full of meaty goodness. What you mean, you're vegan?! Sigh. Just read it.
Greatest tennis player of all time
And if one has a problem using stats to prove a point, then use your eyes.
2010 Trade Deadline Primer --> http://dockoftherays.com/2010/07/03/2010-trade-deadline-primer/
by Sandy Kazmir on Jul 27, 2010 3:22 PM EDT up reply actions
Nice...
is that on a website?
Boom. Outta Here.
by Ryan Gilliss on Jul 27, 2010 5:05 PM EDT up reply actions
IMO that wasn't as big as USF defeating Louisville in '05 or Auburn in '07
The Louisville game was huge simply because USF had never beaten a ranked opponent before to that point, and they did it convincingly (and I was there!). Auburn’s up there too because USF beat a tough ranked school from the SEC and showed they could hang with the traditional powers .
West Virginia was kind of like…“We’ve already been here before”. WVU may have been ranked higher than ‘05 Louisville when USF beat them, but that didn’t make the win mean more.
Nicknames for Benoit-Soriano? How about ‘one and done’ describing the length of time they’re likely to be Rays
by sternfan1 on Jul 25, 2010 4:01 AM PDT
No
1.) Bucs SB
2.) Rays beat Sox in ALCS
3.) Ronder Barber Int Return vs Eagles
4.) Rays clinch 1st playoff birth
5.) Lightning Stanley Cup
6.) Bucs first playoff game ever
7.) Bucs first playoff game in forever(1996 vs lions, I want to say)
I would even put Dan Johnsons HR over it.
You can debate the order or add things. I’m not even settled on it. That’s just off the top of my head. I can’t see Garza’s NH being ahead of any of those. Now if it was a perfect game maybe
Good list.
As a person who doesn’t give a flip about the Lightening I guess I underestimate that. I also wasn’t in Tampa for it, so…
A few of those (to me at least) I kind of lump together. The WS run. The SB run. Ya know?
The Lightning Stanley Cup was pretty awesome...
Boom. Outta Here.
by Ryan Gilliss on Jul 27, 2010 12:04 PM EDT up reply actions
Hockey is boring and dumb
The caller said the boy, after removing the bulb from its socket, left the building and threw the bulb on the ground. When the bulb broke, the caller said the boy screamed "I am the cat and I am here to steal."
by Top Gun Numba 1 on Jul 27, 2010 12:08 PM EDT up reply actions
I had a ticket to game 7 but a professor wouldn't let me out of a test to go, watching that game in a bar while all my friends were there and wasted was extremely depressing
And if one has a problem using stats to prove a point, then use your eyes.
2010 Trade Deadline Primer --> http://dockoftherays.com/2010/07/03/2010-trade-deadline-primer/
by Sandy Kazmir on Jul 27, 2010 3:24 PM EDT up reply actions
That was huge for me and easily my #2 moment behind the Super Bowl
But I guess the rest of these uncultured heathens can’t appreciate the glory that is the NHL.
Nicknames for Benoit-Soriano? How about ‘one and done’ describing the length of time they’re likely to be Rays
by sternfan1 on Jul 25, 2010 4:01 AM PDT
He was dominant.
I guess the NH is just a different kind of special. It’s less about the magnitude of the moment and more about the unlikelihood if that makes sense. A NH can happen in any game but seldom does, a game 7 in the ALCS is like a predetermined outcome.
Ya it's hard to compare an individual accomplishment that in the grand scheme of the Rays season means little
To team accomplishments that mean so much.
Top 5 Tampa Bay Individual 1 game performances for sure.
I hope this doesn’t come off like I don’t appreaciate what he did. Awesome awesome thing to see. Something I’ll always remember
To me at least this moment will be mnore memorable than everything but perhaps a few:
Ronde’s pick, Aki’s leap, Dan Johnson’s HR, and STFD.
And if it does Gilliss will be there to tell us about it
The caller said the boy, after removing the bulb from its socket, left the building and threw the bulb on the ground. When the bulb broke, the caller said the boy screamed "I am the cat and I am here to steal."
by Top Gun Numba 1 on Jul 27, 2010 12:00 PM EDT up reply actions
I WILL!!!!
I hadn’t been there in a while, so I checked it out this morning. Still has three BJ-related posts as Editor’s Picks
Boom. Outta Here.
by Ryan Gilliss on Jul 27, 2010 12:01 PM EDT up reply actions
http://www.draysbay.com/2010/7/27/1590368/7-27-10-ottotd-shoop-da-woop
Sign lady must die.
dude, this one's over and so is the season
by sternfan1 on Jun 19, 2010 11:38 PM EDT up reply actions
Other major sports moments in Tampa Bay history
these are ones I considered but wasn’t sure where they’d go…
- Lee Roy Selmon is the Bucs first ever drafted player in the 1976 inaugural season.
- Bucs finally win a game in 1977 against New Orleans
- Lightning make their first playoff
- Warren Sapp slides in the draft, Bucs trade down to snag him and earn more picks, then gets Derrick Brooks toward the end of the First Round in a trade. Was considered even then to be the Bucs’ best draft day.
- USF 2007 season, beats West Virginia in a nationally-televised game, a huge upset that helped propel South Florida up the charts. Reason why I didn’t list it: the Bulls’ season pretty much collapsed with the loss to Rutgers four games later and the team barely made a bowl.
Witty's 2010 Draft review is full of meaty goodness. What you mean, you're vegan?! Sigh. Just read it.
Any Alstott touchdown
Follow Me on Twitter @FreeZorilla
by FreeZorilla on Jul 27, 2010 12:34 PM EDT up reply actions
I, personally, don't think any USF event should be included in the list
Not that I have anything against USF by any means.
I agree. There have been a pretty good number of pretty exciting moments, but upsets in ultimately disappointing seasons don't match up to winning or competing for championships.
So I should just change my sig to
I hate everyone of color, along with invalids, the old, and the retarded?
by firemangreg on Jul 21, 2010 2:59 PM EDT up reply actions
Um, that team made the Sun Bowl, which was the highest Big East bowl next to the BCS berth.
Not saying they belonged there, but to say ‘barely’ is flat out wrong.
So I should just change my sig to
I hate everyone of color, along with invalids, the old, and the retarded?
by firemangreg on Jul 21, 2010 2:59 PM EDT up reply actions
Anything before the 90's I have no clue
For the area…
1. Bucs SB
2. UF v FSU MNC Game
3. Lightning Stanley Cup
4. Rays WS Run
I classify the UF FSU game because of the sheer # of fans in the area. Frankly I think it is safe to say more people cared about that game than say the Bolts or the Rays.
For me personally…
1. Rays WS run
2. Bolts Cup run
The Bucs Super Bowl run was fun, but kind of boring to be honest. The Gators would easily top my list, but isn’t “Tampa” enough for this.
I think of moments moreso in the context of the big picture.
However the most important moment in Tampa Bay sports history is really easy to find. It is the most dramatic and the most important.
Marty St Louis’ goal in OT on the road in game 6 of the Stanley Cup Finals. Nothing even comes close to competing. If Longo hits a walkoff in do or die game in the WS then he can take the #1 moment list.
Go Gators!!
Bite me
20+K in the building and thousands more in the Plaza outside say you have no idea what you’re talking about.
by Not Whole View Gang survivor on Jul 28, 2010 12:18 AM EDT up reply actions
Ronde Barber INT return is easily the most important sports moment in Tampa Bay history and it's not even close
Not even arguable at all and I love hockey.
I shed a tear when Marty bagged that, such a great playoff run out of him, Richie, and Vinny
And if one has a problem using stats to prove a point, then use your eyes.
2010 Trade Deadline Primer --> http://dockoftherays.com/2010/07/03/2010-trade-deadline-primer/
by Sandy Kazmir on Jul 27, 2010 3:27 PM EDT up reply actions
Its tough to justify any moment being "bigger" than the other.
Just thinking back to these moments is giving me chills, just like I got last night in the 8th when it appeared as if there was a real chance he would complete the no hitter.
Sveet mentions the Iginla-Lecavalier fight which is an amazing moment among that entire Stanley Cup run. I can still remember standing above the escalator of the third level giving the bird to all the Flyers fans after that game 7.
For me the Barber interception and the ALCS Game 7 have to be 1-2. I can remember going out to 4th St in St. Pete with everybody and waving flags and celebrating the Super Bowl birth.
Man this town has such potential to be such a great sports town.
ESPN -- The Red Sox Network
by St Pete Native on Jul 27, 2010 4:06 PM EDT up reply actions
Everytime I watch game 7 I get chills, such a great moment, I wish I was as big of a Lightning fan as I was from 01-07
And if one has a problem using stats to prove a point, then use your eyes.
2010 Trade Deadline Primer --> http://dockoftherays.com/2010/07/03/2010-trade-deadline-primer/
by Sandy Kazmir on Jul 27, 2010 4:53 PM EDT up reply actions
I was a huge fan around this time also
Maybe the lockout threw me off. But lately it has just been the constant change in personnel that the team has undergone. Maybe I’ll try to watch more consistently this year. I like baseball and football more, but I have to say, seeing a hockey game live makes it one of the most fun sporting events. I think the improvement you get seeing it live is much greater than the improvement you get seeing football or baseball live.
Football live is horrible, why anyone pays good dough to sit in the sun with a bunch of white trash and a horrible view is beyond me.
And if one has a problem using stats to prove a point, then use your eyes.
2010 Trade Deadline Primer --> http://dockoftherays.com/2010/07/03/2010-trade-deadline-primer/
by Sandy Kazmir on Jul 28, 2010 9:30 AM EDT up reply actions
Yeah, that was epic.
The two franchise players duking it out without the refs interfering, and (surprisingly enough) Vinny held his own.
That’s one of the things I look for in ever SCF series. I was pissed that Zetterberg and Crosby never threw down the gloves in 2009.
Nicknames for Benoit-Soriano? How about ‘one and done’ describing the length of time they’re likely to be Rays
by sternfan1 on Jul 25, 2010 4:01 AM PDT
Not so much when he fought Chara
And if one has a problem using stats to prove a point, then use your eyes.
2010 Trade Deadline Primer --> http://dockoftherays.com/2010/07/03/2010-trade-deadline-primer/
by Sandy Kazmir on Jul 27, 2010 4:54 PM EDT up reply actions
Vinny sure loves running his face into Chara's fist every time they play.
So I should just change my sig to
I hate everyone of color, along with invalids, the old, and the retarded?
by firemangreg on Jul 21, 2010 2:59 PM EDT up reply actions
This x1000000
MSL is the man. And that year in the playoffs, he was THE MAN. Yeah, I know, Richards won the playoff MVP. But to me Marty St. Louis was the key to that playoff run. Flyers series and Flames series was the best sports month of my life.
by Not Whole View Gang survivor on Jul 28, 2010 12:16 AM EDT up reply actions
My top 10
1) Bucs demolish Raiders to win Super Bowl. No specific moment in the game — it was a dominating performance throughout. For a football-crazed city, this one is a no-brainer.
2) Lightning beat Flames in Game 7 to win Stanley Cup. Game 7, at home, sellout crowd with thousands more outside on the Plaza. Only time a Tampa Bay team has ever won the championship of a major sport at home. The only reason it’s not #1 is that football is king around here.
3) Bucs beat Eagles in NFC Championship Game to reach Super Bowl. Philly had the Bucs’ number, there was the cold factor . . . and then there was Joe Jurevicius running across the field. And there was Ronde Barber. And the Bucs were headed to San Diego.
4) Rays beat Red Sox in Game 7 to win ALCS. Game 7, at home, sellout crowd. Not so much with the overflow. Only reason Lightning game ranks higher is that it was for the whole thing — the Rays basically just won a semi-final. Speaking of winning semi-finals….
5) Lightning beat Flyers in Game 7 to win the Eastern Conference. People overlook how huge that game was. At the time, Tampa Bay and Philly had a nice sports hatred going on from Bucs-Eagles NFL playoff matchups, and there was a war of words between the two coaches fanning the flames. Plus it was the “establishment” Flyers against the upstart team from the non-traditional hockey market. Until what happened two weeks later, it was the biggest non-Bucs sports moment.
6) Matt Garza’s no-hitter. Greatest non-championship moment. Not sure what could ever surpass it short of a championship, except maybe a perfect game, 21 K game, or a 4 HR (or 5 HR!) game.
7) Martin St. Louis’s overtime goal in Game 6 of the Stanley Cup Finals. Without this, take #2 off the board. After losing Game 5 at home, the Bolts had to win two in a row, including a win in Calgary before a home Canadian crowd that considered the Cup their birthright. And the game went into double overtime. One mistake, and the Lightning season could be over in a flash. So when St. Louis scored on a rebound from a tough angle, it was like new life. All of a sudden they only needed to win one home game. Absolutely huge moment in local sports history. (And for those who would complain that there are too many hockey moments, go back and check the TV ratings. The Lightning playoff run captivated the entire region. This may not be a hockey hotbed, but for a few months it acted like one.)
8) Rays lose to Tigers on Opening Day of Inaugural Season (1998). We had Major League Baseball. It really happened. Who cares that we lost. Who cares that a fat, terrible, retread threw the first pitch. Who cares (briefly) that our stadium was an eyesore. We were in the Big Leagues. In the USA, you can’t be a real sports town if you don’t have NFL and MLB. (That’s right, I just called LA not a real sports town. Ever been there? I stand by my claim.) Not on the merits, but for what it meant, the first game in Devil Rays history definitely places in the Top 10.
9) Giants defeat Bills in Super Bowl at Tampa Stadium. No, this one isn’t big for Tampa Bay area fans. But it is one of the most famous Super Bowls of them all, and it happened here. From Whitney Houston’s rendition of the National Anthem (considered one of the best ever), to the military jet flyover (added significance because we had just invaded Iraq the first time only weeks earlier), to the comic relief of Thurman Thomas in a Super Bowl, to the nail-biter ending (Norwood’s kick that just missed) — it was one for the ages. No, it did not involve a Tampa Bay team, but I think it belongs on a list of the Top 10 Tampa Bay sports moments.
10) Wade Boggs’s 3,000th hit. He unsurprisingly made a mockery of it, capped off by kissing home plate (seriously???), but becoming the first player to hit a HR for his 3000th hit, in his home region, playing for the hometown team, was as far as I can remember the first-ever positive national news story involving the Devil Rays.
Honorable mention: Spurlock’s TD kickoff return; Lightning set all-time single game playoff attendance record vs. Flyers at Thunderdome; Bucs clinch first-ever playoff appearance; USF upsets West Virginia; USF upsets Auburn at Auburn; Storm’s various Arena Bowl championships; Plant and Armwood state football championships
Memorable, but not in a good way: Tony Saunders shatters his arm
by Not Whole View Gang survivor on Jul 28, 2010 12:50 AM EDT reply actions
good list, good arguments
as for L.A. not being a real sports town… I think there’s about 1 million Laker fans who’d like to have a chat with you. NBA does count as a major sport.
I didn’t have the inaugural D Rays game on my list. You’d have to give consideration then to the inaugural Bucs, Rowdies, Lightning, and Storm games. Spurlock’s Kickoff return I have to say is bigger because it was more cathartic… like what 30 years of no kickoffs, with the entire nation taunting your Bucs for never making one ever?
Witty's 2010 Draft review is full of meaty goodness. What you mean, you're vegan?! Sigh. Just read it.
Inaugural Bucs game is valid
Because that was our area’s first major league game. Period. You raise a very good point there.
I’m as big a hockey fan as anyone here — I have played the game since age 7 and still play now, many years later — but the Lightning’s first game in my opinion is less important/notable because the NHL is lower on the totem pole. Actually, I think I’d rate the exhibition game that Esposito and Gretzky arranged higher, because it was that game that made the NHL coming to Tampa Bay a possibliity. Rowdies and Storm? Surely you jest.
I was at the Spurlock game. It was a neat accomplishment, but I wouldn’t put it in the top 10. I’m fine with others rating it higher — it’s hard to imagine an exercise more subjective and standard-less than this one . . .
by Not Whole View Gang survivor on Jul 29, 2010 4:37 PM EDT up reply actions
this is a good list and i like that you explain why passionately
top ten lists are made on the internet, not on a spreadsheet.
Longo! (Ah-a-ah!) Fighter of the Upton! (Ah-a-ah!) Champion of the Rays! He's the master of batting and defense for everyone!
Miami Heat
Can’t wait for Lebron to self destruct in the playoffs again.
People who rely on stats have no feel for the game whatsoever.
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