If it weren't for the Yankees the rest of us in the AL East wouldn't have anyone to hate...er...kick our butts! Well, that's not true. There's also Boston. If the Rays could just get one or two consistent bats, there would be some real competition for the next 3 or 4 years. We just don't have the money to spend.
I share a season ticket to Rays games with a couple of friends and attend about 20 games a year. I can't stand all the negative B.S. that get's said about our area, stadium and attendance. Yes, there are problems with attendance but the real story behind it never gets told.
Do you remember learning in grade school that the United States is the "melting pot of the world" since we have such a diverse population of immigrants and blah, blah, blah. Well, Florida is the melting pot of the entire Northeast and Midwest of the United States! I myself grew up in northeast Ohio and was raised a Cleveland Indians fan (yes, they do exist). Do you have any idea how many New York and New England natives live in Tampa Bay? It is staggering. When you go to a Yankee or Red Sox game at Tropicana Field, it is almost a 50-50 split in fans. That's only counting the people that show up on a given night. Can you imagine the difference it would make if all those Yankees, Red Sox, Indians, Tigers, Orioles, White Sox, Cubs, Mets and Braves fans...who now call the Tampa Bay area their...home would change their CHILDHOOD ALLEGIANCES and support this 14-YEAR OLD franchise? I imagine it all the time.
I was living here in 1998 when the team was born, and I supported them from the start. It was hard at first. I used to wear a Rays jersey and Indians cap when Cleveland came to town. That lasted a few year until I got tired of seeing all fans of other visiting teams come to our stadium acting like it was theirs. Unfortunately very, very few in my same position have converted. This is a major reason we have such poor attendance. Also, as I said this team is only 14 years old. We still don't have ticket buying young adults, raised to be Rays fans. When you go to a Rays home game when they play and AL East opponent, you see the visiting team's fans...who now live here...all decked out in their team's gear. Including babies and school aged children. The're not even raising their kids to be Rays fans!
And then there are some who just won't go to a game in a dome. Or people from Tampa who don't want to drive in 1 hour bumper to bumper traffic over the bridges (we don't have public transit...just a few buses with limited routes). Oh yeah, and the economy. I called my mortgage company to see about getting a equity line of credit for some home improvement and when the agent saw the area I lived his mood changed. He stated our area is one of the worst effected by the recession. Nothing I didn't already know. Even the Buccaneer football games are all blacked out during home games because people just don't have the recreational money to spend.
Ugh! I had to vent sorry. There are Yankee fans everywhere. Our area isn't unique in that point. But we have a very, very large New York born and bred transplant population here. They are very loyal fans. The Rays are pretty much doomed if this doesn't turn around. It's sad really. They're a young, well-managed team with an incredible pitching staff. If we just had one or two sluggers we'd be dominant. I'm already looking forward to opening day.