On the ground in Tampa

As PA mentioned in the first post under our new format, all of the contributors to this site are Tampa natives. That being said, I am actually the only one living in Tampa at this time. I plan on posting periodically to comment on random Rays-related issues, as well as commenting on the local attitude regarding the team for you Rays fans living in other locales.

New Uniforms and Name:

Excellent post by PA and DN on the issue.

Two interesting things I happened upon in the 11/12/07 Sports Business Journal regarding the name change:

-The “name change” is apparently the closest any MLB team has come to changing names (except in cases of relocation) since the Houston Colt .45s changed their name to the Astros before the 1965 season.

-Matt Silverman said that the name change will end up costing “a couple million” dollars overall when all costs are taken into account. We couldn’t have spent this money on player payroll?!?!? I have a feeling that most fans would rather have seen the Rays spend a couple of million dollars on the product on the field. I realize that I am oversimplifying the finances involved in this situation, but, I just think it looks bad to the fans.

Local Attitude

Well, my co-workers in my office are certainly fired up for Tuesday’s home opener. I know that many of them are attending the game and most of them are very optimistic and are looking forward to this season. They range anywhere from “casual Rays fan because they live in the Bay area” to “Tampa native serious Rays fan.” I don’t think I will be attending Tuesday’s game, but hope to get to a game soon and will have my thoughts on the atmosphere and possibly some photos.

In an unrelated note, I also hate the Yankees.

-ER