STANLEY CUP, WORLD SERIES, & THE GOAT (#41): Despite Covid-19, 2020 was a huge year for sports in Tampa Bay. The Tampa Bay Lightning won their second Stanley Cup, the Tampa Bay Rays played in their second World Series, and now, thanks to the Goat, the Bucs are playing in their second Super Bowl. To make things even better, the Bucs are the first team team to ever play a Super Bowl in their home stadium.
One could argue it doesn’t get any better than this, unless one is a Florida Gator. Then it could be argued that the best trifecta ever was the Gators’ 2006 Basketball Championship, followed by the 2007 Football Championship (This was the only time an NCAA team held both the Basketball and Football Championships in the same year. It could have been Ohio State, but they lost BOTH Championship games to the Gators), followed by the 2007 Basketball Championship. Three national Championships in 366 days!
The Bucs won Super Bowl XXXVII for the 2002 season, when Jon Gruden, using what was essentially Tony Dungy’s team, beat his old team the Oakland Raiders 48-21. The Bucs paid a high price for the win, trading Al Davis, the tight fisted owner of the Raiders, two 1st round picks, two 2nd round picks, and $8,000,000 for Gruden.
I never liked Gruden, who was pretty much a bust after his Super Bowl win, taking the Bucs to the playoffs just twice in the next 6 years. Tony Dungy, on the other hand, took the Bucs to the playoffs 4 times in his 6 seasons. Who knows what Dungy could have done with the 4 draft picks and cash the Bucs gave Davis? Tony Dungy did win a Super Bowl, only it was with the Indianapolis Colts. When the Colts beat the Chicago Bears in Super Bowl XLI, Tony Dungy became the first black head coach to when a Super Bowl. It is interesting that Doug Williams and Tony Dungy became the first black men to quarterback or coach their teams to Super Bowl wins, after both were unwanted in Tampa Bay.
Tonight’s game should be one of the best ever! After a 7-9 record last year, the Bucs are in the Super Bowl at home, thanks to the GOAT! Tom Brady is the Greatest of All Time in the modern football era. This will be his 10th Super Bowl appearance in 21 seasons and he already has six Super Bowl wins. Terry Bradshaw and Joe Montana each have only four Super Bowl wins.
If Brady wins his seventh title, he will tie former Cleveland Browns great Otto Graham, who played from 1946-55. Graham, the other quarterback who could be considered the GOAT, went to the pre-Super Bowl era Championship Game 10 years in a row for coach Paul Brown. Graham never missed a game and played most of his career without a face guard, so he wins on toughness. But there were only 12 NFL teams in 1955, Graham’s last year. There are now 36 teams in the NFL. With this increased competition, there is no doubt that the one and only GOAT of all time is Tom Brady.
In 2020, the Tampa Bay Lightning won their second Stanley Cup beating the Dallas Stars 4 games to 2. Pictured above with the 2020 Cup is Tony Reyes, whose wife works with the Lightning. Tony is a friend of my best friend in the U.S, Joe Vinciquera, and before we moved to SMA full time, I went to several games with Tony and Joe. There is no doubt that the Ice Palace Rocks! It is the most exciting sports venues I have ever visited.
In 2002, the year the Lightning won their first Stanley Cup, Cathy and I went to 5 Lightning games with Jerry Newsom, a friend from Pass-a-grille. Jerry wasn’t too thrilled to have Cathy come along, but after she out whistled him at the game, he adopted her as one of the guys. The Lightning weren’t drawing sellout crowds in 2002. In fact, one of the big draws was a downtown bar, Hattricks Tavern, with $1 drafts and 25 cent wings. After we ate and drank our dinner, we would walk to the Ice Palace and buy our tickets on the way. The going price was $10 a ticket. For one game a young boy of 12 or 13 was asking $15 for 3 tickets. I like to bargain, so I asked him if he would take $20!
Jerry was 6’8” and played forward for Indiana State. He held the University’s scoring record until it was broken by Larry Byrd. Jerry’s best friend was a 6’10’ college basketball referee. At 6’ 4”, going out with them was the only time I was ever called “Shorty”.
But perhaps the greatest accomplishment of 2020, was St. Petersburg’s Tampa Bay Rays going to the World Series for the second time. Tropicana Field has always been a pleasant place to watch a baseball game. Even with a facelift in 2006, and a renovation in 2014, over the years, it has become one of the smallest and least popular MLB stadiums. And the crowds don’t always please the owners.
This has lead to small payrolls and the feeling, at least when I was still in St. Pete, that our young rising stars were always traded for future prospects when it comes time for their contracts to be renegotiated.
When the Rays lost to the Philadelphia Phillies 4 games to I in 2008, the Rays’ payroll was $43 million. The Phillies’ payroll was $98 million and the Yankees’ was $209 million. In 2020, when the rays lost to the Dodgers 4 games to 2, the Rays’ payroll was $72 million. The Dodgers’ payroll was $228 million and the Yankees’ was $254 million. Stuart Sternberg sure knows how to get the for his money!
The Rays lease at Tropicana Field runs through 2027 and the City is obviously going to hold them to the lease. I always thought 2028 would see the Rays in Tampa in a new stadium near the Ice Palace. But the land needed may not be available.
In a recent interview, Stuart Sternberg said, “We are getting towards 2028 and you can’t snap your fingers and just have the stadium show up.” He went on to say the “only option” is a plan to split seasons between Florida and Montreal. That may not satisfy the City of St. Petersburg, which will then be holding a large and valuable piece of property for redevelopment.
ENJOY THE SUPER BOWL TONIGHT! February 7, 2021
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