TAMPA BAY LIGHTNING - - - GAMEDAY

The Tampa Bay Lightning will be holding auditions for the 2004-05 Ice Girls. The Ice Girls last year were seen at all Home Lightning Games, Community Events, Concerts, Hospitals, Lightning Watch Parties and Corporate Events.

Click on the linka bove to see the dates and to sign up!

Paul at Witty Librarian posted on the Usenet a simple FAQ for all those from North of the Border who will be flocking to Tampa to see the Stanley Cup Finals up close (note, this is all humor so try not to be offended :smile ):

1) the really lousy drivers down here in Tampa are actually from New York.

2) for God’s Sake, don’t bring your bloody useless quarters down here! You keep sticking’em in our vending machines and then we’re stuck with coins that can’t be exchanged back for American quarters. You’re doing that on purpose, aren’t you! :mad :evil

3) Please tip well at our strip clubs. They’re under a lot of stress lately and they need all the love they can get…

4) Okay, it’s the Bucs that are the football guys and the Devil Rays that are the baseball guys. And the Devil Rays, well, if you’ve seen Montreal then you know what the Rays look like…

5) Clearwater and Treasure Islands across the Bay waters are the good touristy beaches.

6) All the great Greek food is in Tarpon Springs, but don’t do Pappas, that’s a tourist trap. Try Palatka’s, the really great gyros!

7) Yes, there IS a Yeehaw Junction just down the road on State Rd. 60 (uh, about two and a half hours east, but hey it’s there!)…
There’s the Dali art museum in St. Petersburg down near the USF Bayboro campus, there’s the Ringling art museum in Sarasota about 45 minutes south of Tampa, and there’s the Weeki Wachee mermaid show up US 19 about an hour north of Clearwater…

9) Buy my book! No, wait, shameless plug…

10) The password at Mons Venus is “Buckbeak” Remember that. “Buckbeak”

And if no one has a twisted sense of humor about any of this, well then, whoops…

I’m just running across a few Tampa Bay “Fans” (read: people rooting for Tampa Bay and those who haven’t necessarily been following the team more than a season) who have been running smack on both Calgary Flames forums and in Philadelphia Flyers forums.

Frankly I think this is low class and I apologize on behalf of the few and the proud Tampa Bay fans who actually stuck with this team since their inception, through the dark days of the franchise and to this point in time. There IS the fact Tampa has the rivalry with Philly between two sports that would cause more gloating in front of Flyers fans, but I have absolutely no qualms with Calgary fans and neither should any Tampa Bay fans.

Many of those on the Tampa Bay forums and newsgroups don’t venture into others forums… nor do they tend to run smack in other forums. Most of those fans that do post have been through the down times of this team and realize there is nothing to take for granted with the Stanley Cup run of this team. Anyone who does is either a bandwagon fan or just a troll that comes out of the woodwork when any certain team loses.

So, on behalf of Tampa Bay Lightning fans, I apologize for any idiots that post on others forums or newsgroups - gloating. I also ask that other Lightning fans not run smack or gloat. Be responsible… Would YOU have liked it if the Bolts had lost in the EC Final? (or would you have been running Smack in the Lightning forums / newsgroups, claiming to be a Flyers fan?)

People will look at the Tampa Bay / Calgary series with questionable eyes… They’ll see a Canadian City — Canada is Lord Stanley’s proper home - and they will see a Sun-Belt start-up franchise. You’ll hear about the oil in Alberta and the lack-of-it in Florida. The warm and humid conditions in Tampa Bay and the dry, cool-to-cold conditions of Calgary.

Lets just drop the differences for a moment and think of the one thing that both cities can boast…

Brother…..

We’ve got the best there is, the best there was and the best there ever will be to brag about - and I ain’t talking hockey teams.

Tampa Bay and Calgary both boast links - if not all-out homes — to Professional Wrestling. For every crowd-rallying speech by Hulk Hogan we’ve seen this post-season, Calgary would erupt at the sheer site of Bret “The Hitman” Hart.

Calgary can brag the Dungeon and Stu Hart, and Tampa Bay can chime in that it was home to Rocky Johnson for a time — and there son Dwayne — AKA, the Rock. Home to Dean Malenko and a plethora of transplanted Wrestlers.

SO lets rally around one thing we have in common instead of trying to tear ourselves down in differences before we play a good series of hockey, eh? :biggrin