pooter Posted January 20, 2006 Share Posted January 20, 2006 I will try and get a picture of one of them this weekend.From: Tampa TribuneWelcome To Tampa; Rah-Rah Yankees?By ELLEN GEDALIUS egedalius@tampatrib.comPublished: Jan 19, 2006TAMPA - Add this to the list of debates between the city council and Mayor Pam Iorio: Should the New York Yankees be recognized on city welcome signs that herald the area's professional sports titles?Iorio says no. The Tampa Bay area has its own baseball team.Council members John Dingfelder and Rose Ferlita say yes. They have spring training here, and team owner George Steinbrenner gives millions to community causes.The debate is expected to simmer at today's council meeting.In July, the city replaced "All America City" signs that had been posted since the early 1990s with signs proclaiming Tampa a "City of Champions." The signs give a nod to the Buccaneers' Super Bowl win, the Lightning's Stanley Cup win and the Storm's arena football victories. But not the Yankees and their World Series triumphs.Although proud to have the Yankees, Iorio said the Devil Rays are the home team."The signs were intended to celebrate the national championships of our home teams," Iorio said. "It would likely cause confusion."She pointed out that the signs don't list teams by name. Instead, they list "Super Bowl," "Stanley Cup" and "Arena Bowl."The Yankees declined to comment, but Devil Rays spokesman Rick Vaughn said: "We appreciate the fact the mayor recognizes we are the team that represents the entire Tampa Bay region 365 days a year."Is that the same Rick Vaughn that pitched in "Major League"? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
agentrygraphics Posted January 20, 2006 Share Posted January 20, 2006 I'm not quite sure I follow....there's got to be more to this....Tampa recognizing New York Yankees on city championship signs? (staring up at the sky....trying to figure this out...cause it's gone WAY over my head) "This isn't just the Oregon Ducks, it's Football's Future Turf Soldier War Hero Steel Robot Tech Flex Machine Army." -CS85 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bleujayone Posted January 20, 2006 Share Posted January 20, 2006 Hey I know the Rays stink, but this is the first time I've ever heard of a place with its own team try to cheer for a different team in a completely different part of the country as their own. I mean if they didn't already have the a team of their own I could see adopting another team as a substitute for nothing at all- but even then I would have expected them to latch on to whatever team was closest to them (like Miami or Atlanta). 30 year lease or not, I would think this would be grounds for the Rays to pack up and move out. Bad enough the local fans are hard pressed to come to Rays games but if the local leaders are trying to muster support for the one team in all of baseball that really doesn't even need it instead of the team in their own backyard, well maybe some other more worthy city should host this team instead."Hey, they might be losers- but they're OUR losers!" We all have our little faults. Mine's in California. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Gothamite Posted January 20, 2006 Share Posted January 20, 2006 this is the first time I've ever heard of a place with its own team try to cheer for a different team in a completely different part of the country as their own. I'd venture a guess that the Yankees are more popular in Tampa than the Rays.A study by the St. Petersburg Times last year found that among people in the market who considered themselves baseball fans, only 28% of them picked the Rays as their favorite team.Consider that for a moment. Only 28% of baseball fans in Tampa Bay call the Rays their favorite team. That's pathetic. That's beyond pathetic. The Green Bay Packers Uniform Database! Now in a handy blog. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
twi Posted January 20, 2006 Share Posted January 20, 2006 Yeah, this been a Yankee town for a long time now. All the transplanted New Yorkers still are diehards, or at least the vast majority of them. I'm sick of it, and hope they don not get on the sign. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jm1266 Posted January 20, 2006 Share Posted January 20, 2006 It's based on where the teams actually play. The Yankees play in Tampa, so you'll see a more Yankees flags and banners hanging from streetlights and telephone poles there. Drive over the Skyway into St. Pete and you'll see D-Rays banners on the streets around the Trop and Florida Power Park where they play their spring training games just a few blocks away.What always got me were the huge signs on the Interstate that say: "New York Yankees - Legends Field - Next Exit." Huge Signs!!! The Interstate signs over in St. Pete aren't as big and don't make reference to the Rays, just Tropicana Field. You can also tell "Tropicana Field" is covering the two other previous names of the facility. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
pooter Posted January 20, 2006 Author Share Posted January 20, 2006 I'm not quite sure I follow....there's got to be more to this....Tampa recognizing New York Yankees on city championship signs? (staring up at the sky....trying to figure this out...cause it's gone WAY over my head)They also broadcast Yankees games here in the Tampa Bay area on the radio.I know that this has already been covered in Tampa Bay Devil Rays Name Change? (I don't want to offend the Forum Gods/Police by re-stating it.)I have always found that strange that one MLB team would broadcast in another market. I'm not talking about Chicago-Milwaukee, Detroit-Cleveland, etc., but a team that is 1,200 miles away??? No wonder people don't support the Rays. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
pooter Posted January 20, 2006 Author Share Posted January 20, 2006 Drive over the Skyway into St. Pete and you'll see D-Rays banners on the streets around the Trop and Florida Power Park where they play their spring training games just a few blocks away. You don't drive over The Skyway from Tampa to St. Pete. The Skyway goes from St. Pete into Manatee Co. where Bradenton is. But I knew that you meant it that way. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
IceCap Posted January 20, 2006 Share Posted January 20, 2006 They shouldn't add them. The Yankees play in New York, not Tampa. PotD 26/2/12 1/7/15 2020 BASS Spin the Wheel, Make the Deal Regular Season Champion 2021 BASS NFL Pick'em Regular Season Champion Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jkrdevil Posted January 20, 2006 Share Posted January 20, 2006 this is the first time I've ever heard of a place with its own team try to cheer for a different team in a completely different part of the country as their own. I'd venture a guess that the Yankees are more popular in Tampa than the Rays. They are. This area is mostly like me and are transplant people from the New York metro area. When the Yankees are in town it's almost 100% Yankee Fans. I went to 2 games at the trop when the Yankees were in town and it took me a few innings before I could find a Devil Rays fan. In fact in the sovenier shops they had Yankee jersey's in the window. My mom had got cold because of the AC and wanted to get a long sleeve shirt. The guy in the store said they only had Devil Ray long sleeve shirts. My mom responded by saying,she wasn't going to wear a Devil Ray shirt in a stadium full of Yankee Fans."The Tampa area is a good baseball area, it's just most of the people are tansplant fans. People aren't going to change their favorite team becasue they live somewhere else. And that is the problem with teams in Florida for any sport. I went to a Devils-Lightning game back in November in Tampa and there were a ton of Devils fans there. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jm1266 Posted January 20, 2006 Share Posted January 20, 2006 You're right Pooter... my bad. It's the Howard Franklin Bridge that connects Tampa to St. Pete. I'm glad you knew what I was saying though... But to follow up on Icecap79's post... I know what you're saying about the Yankees playing in New York, but I think the Tampa City Council members look at it like this... The Yankees may play in New York during the regular season, but we're their spring training home and host of their Florida State League affiliate. The Yankee complex is here and the club itself is headquartered here year round, not in New York... They've won 26 world championships... lets capitalize on that. We're not the home of the D-Rays, St. Pete is. "Tampa Bay" is a regional name. We're "Tampa" and we're damn skippy to have the association we do with the Yankees. Plus, like the story says... Steinbrenner lives there and dumps a ton of money into the community every year. I'm not saying it's right... but go to any Florida or Arizona community that hosts a major league team during spring training and they promote the hell out of that. It's something to be proud of. Tampa is proud to have the Yankees as much or maybe moreso than St. Pete is to have the D-Rays. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
rmackman Posted January 20, 2006 Share Posted January 20, 2006 I think the Tampa City Council members look at it like this... The Yankees may play in New York during the regular season, but we're their spring training home and host of their Florida State League affiliate. The Yankee complex is here and the club itself is headquartered here year round, not in New York... They've won 26 world championships... lets capitalize on that. We're not the home of the D-Rays, St. Pete is. "Tampa Bay" is a regional name. We're "Tampa" and we're damn skippy to have the association we do with the Yankees. Plus, like the story says... Steinbrenner lives there and dumps a ton of money into the community every year. I'm not saying it's right... but go to any Florida or Arizona community that hosts a major league team during spring training and they promote the hell out of that. It's something to be proud of. Tampa is proud to have the Yankees as much or maybe moreso than St. Pete is to have the D-Rays. This is EXACTLY the reason why the city of Tampa did what it did. It's unfortunate, but the state of Florida really doesn't have its own identity. It's a transient state. This has been said time and time again. A lot of states have their own identity, Florida doesn't. If you really wanted to break it down it's more or less 48% New York, 48% Cuba/Latin America, and 4% Georgia. Florida is the state that welcomes all...including immigrants and criminals. This is the only state I can think of where the government can seize everything EXCEPT your residence. So then criminals take all their illegal money and put it into art that they put in their house. Then when they get out of jail, their house is worth millions upon millions, and they sell it. Bingo just outta jail and you're rich! Oh yeah and you can shoot anyone who comes into your house. Anyways I got way of topic.I think the Devil Rays have a right to be ticked off because it really hurts their shot at building a fan base. At least the city of Miami embraces the Marlins...even if its getting to the point where it's LOS MARLEENS as it's pronounced. People wave their Cuban flags in the stands. Don't even get me started on that. Still...as far as what teams are loved here...in the state of Florida it will always be New York. That's just how it is. I think I've dated 3 Yankees fans...while living in Florida. Anytime the Knicks, Rangers, Islanders, Jets, Giants, Yankees, or Mets come to town, they have the benefit of the fan base making it a home game for them. That's just how it is. At my gym I get made fun of if I wear Marlins or Dolphins gear and they all run around going J-E-T-S JETS JETS JETS. At a South Florida gym no less. Heck the girl I'm dating jokes around all the time saying don't get upset when I have an attitude, I'm from Florida so I'm a Brooklyn b***h. That's why I want to kinda get up and get out of here. I was rased with a midwestern mentality (family from Milwaukee) so I kind of don't fit. Anyways...I hope everyone learned something about the state of Florida. "Every morning in Africa, a gazelle wakes up. It knows it must run faster than the fastest lion or it will be eaten. Every morning in Africa, a lion wakes up. It knows it must outrun the slowest gazelle or it will starve. It doesn't matter whether you're a lion or a gazelle. When the sun comes up, you'd better be running." - Unknown | Check out my articles on jerseys at Bacon Sports Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bleujayone Posted January 20, 2006 Share Posted January 20, 2006 By that logic does that mean the Yankees should be known as the "New York Yankees of Tampa, Florida"? We all have our little faults. Mine's in California. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
markar14 Posted January 21, 2006 Share Posted January 21, 2006 I was in Tampa for a day before my cruise on winter vacation, and I have been collecting MLB team pennants from wherever I go (pennants are around $4-6 when in stores, a lot more online). Anyways, in the Tampa airport there's a store entirely designed for Tampa/Florida sports. I asked the lady at the front desk if they had Rays or possibly Marlins pennants, and first she asked "Who?" like I was the first person to ever ask for anything DRays (maybe I was), and continued to show me the Yankees wall, with pennants. Kind of surprising that a Tampa sports store didn't even carry more than a hat for the DRays; I know they have barely any support for their team, but come on! People ought to be a bit embarrassed (at themselves, not just the team) at a total lack of support. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
FiddySicks Posted January 21, 2006 Share Posted January 21, 2006 Well it does kinda help that the Yanks spring training stadium is in Tampa, and they conduct their business out of Tampa, and have their single A team in Tampa. On 11/19/2012 at 7:23 PM, oldschoolvikings said: She’s still half convinced “Chris Creamer” is a porn site.) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Cyclopsis Joe Posted January 21, 2006 Share Posted January 21, 2006 Just because there are more Yankees fans in Tampa doesn't mean that they should be recognized as a "home team" as they're attempting to do here.It would be one thing if this was the Mets intruding on D-Ray territory, or the Yanks in Miami..but the Rays and Yankees ARE IN THE SAME DIVISION IN THE SAME LEAGUE."That ain't right, no sir." I don't speak for democrats, democrats don't speak for me. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
otherwilds Posted January 21, 2006 Share Posted January 21, 2006 This just in Atlanta has designated itself as "Stopover of CHampoins" besause so many champoinship teams all the sity hone for few minutes at the airport or at least a few hours when playing one of the city's own professional teams.I cannot decide which is more lame and schtoopid. One city celebrating another team championships or some body thinking you could overcome the Yankee bandwagon in that market and create a loyal following with that horible franchise. Las Vegas Devil rays anyone? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Swiss Posted January 21, 2006 Share Posted January 21, 2006 The Yankees declined to comment, but Devil Rays spokesman Rick Vaughn said: "We appreciate the fact the mayor recognizes we are the team that represents the entire Tampa Bay region 365 days a year." Until when? Dropping out or moving away the bad franchise? It's great to be young and a Giant! - Larry Doyle Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Grandmaster C Posted January 21, 2006 Share Posted January 21, 2006 Should the New York Yankees be recognized on city welcome signs that herald the area's professional sports titles? No.There, I solved it for them. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DaytonBlue Posted January 23, 2006 Share Posted January 23, 2006 BTW: issues like this are nothing that the devil rays winning some games wouldn't fix...hint hint Stu. "I did absolutely nothing and it was everything I thought it could be." -Peter Gibbons RIP Demitra #38 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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