The Arizona Republic

Tampa sees sports year like no other

- Fred Goodall

TAMPA, Fla. – This has been a year for Tampa Bay sports like no other, though the area’s three successful profession­al franchises haven’t had a chance to truly capitalize on the boom and energize pockets of a fan base that in recent years have earned the tag of front-runners.

It has been – and continues to be –a missed opportunit­y because of the coronaviru­s pandemic.

“As fans you can’t ask for much more, and you couldn’t be prouder of all the teams,” said Hall of Fame linebacker and former Tampa Bay Buccaneers star Derrick Brooks. “You feel for them, though, not being able to go to the games and enjoy winning that much more.”

● The Bucs, who usually rank near the bottom of the NFL in attendance, are off to their best start in a decade behind Tom Brady. But they are restricted from filling thousands of seats ecstatic fans rushed to purchase after the six-time Super Bowl champion signed a two-year, $50 million contract with the team in March.

● The Lightning, a young, talentlade­n hockey team that’s sold out every home game for the past five years, won a second Stanley Cup title but were forced to make their entire playoff run on neutral ice in Canada. They haven’t been able to celebrate their first crown since 2004 in a traditiona­l way.

● The Rays, whose attendance woes across the Bay in St. Petersburg have ownership pondering splitting future home schedules between Florida and Montreal, hosted two playoff games at Tropicana Field before a limited number of family and friends before heading to San Diego and Arlington, Texas for the rest of a journey to the World Series.

Brooks knows what fans are missing.

The 2002 NFL defensive player of the year led the Bucs to their only Super Bowl title 18 seasons ago and will never forget returning to Tampa with the Lombardi Trophy to celebrate with an appreciati­ve community.

“A blast,” Brooks recalled. “The passion, the pride was unbelievab­le. Winning a championsh­ip gave the whole city a sense of accomplish­ment.”

With Brady leading the way, the Bucs (6-2) are excited about the prospect of ending a long playoff drought and maybe even becoming the first franchise to appear in a Super Bowl played in its home stadium.

For Brooks, co-chairman of the Tampa organizing committee hosting the NFL title game as well as an executive vice president with the Stanley Cup champion Lightning, that would be a storybook finish to a year like none other for the area’s sports teams.

But it will be little respite for disappoint­ed fans forced to follow the simultaneo­us success of the Bucs, Lightning and Rays from afar due to coronaviru­s pandemic restrictio­ns that have limited attendance.

The restrictio­ns have kept Brady from packing the stands at Raymond James Stadium, the Lightning from extending a five-year, 235-game string of consecutiv­e sellouts at Amalie Arena, and the Rays from filling normally empty seats at Tropicana Field during a deep playoff run that ended with the AL champions losing to the Los Angeles Dodgers in the World Series.

Tampa Bay ranked 30th among the NFL’s 32 teams in home attendance in 2019, averaging 51,898 per game.

Adding Brady not only heightened expectatio­ns for winning but filling 65,618-seat Raymond James Stadium, where a limited number of fans have been allowed for two of the three home games they’ve played so far.

Attendance was announced as 6,383 for a “soft” opening against the Los Angeles Chargers on Oct. 4 and 15,540 vs. the Green Bay Packers two weeks later.

But Rob Higgins, executive director of the Tampa Bay Sports Commission, said all is not lost.

The success of the area’s three major pro sports teams, he noted, has been a boom for the community’s image and figures to help a sagging tourism industry. “Sports have a way of galvanizin­g people,” said Higgins, also the executive director and chief executive officer of Tampa Bay Super Bowl 55 Host Committee. “It’s been incredible to watch … and has kept us (in the spotlight nationally) at a time when it’s needed most.”

Tampa toasted the Lightning with a boat parade on the Hillsborou­gh River, followed by an outdoor celebratio­n that drew about 16,000 socially-distanced fans to Raymond James Stadium, where the Stanley Cup has made two appearance­s in the past month.

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