TBO.com - TBO is Tampa Bay Online

Opinions Mixed, But Fans Buy In To Rays' Changes

JAY NOLAN / The Tampa Tribune

Renee Evans gets an autograph from Grant Balfour in Lykes Gaslight Park in downtown Tampa on Friday as the Rays showed off their new look.

ADVERTISEMENT

By NEIL JOHNSON | The Tampa Tribune

Published: November 9, 2007

Previous Coverage: Rays Unveil New Logo, Uniforms | Audio Slideshow

TAMPA - The new look of the Tampa Bay Rays is only a day old and already has started one family spat.

Well, a small spat.

"I like it. It looks really traditional," James Bates said of the team's new uniform that ditched the devil ray and substituted a small sunburst logo.

"I think it looks really plain," Tricia Bates said. "He calls it classic. I call it boring."

The deciding vote for the Palm Harbor family that attended the team's free food and autograph event in downtown Tampa today would come from 2 1/2-year-old Amanda, who sported a T-shirt featuring outfielder Carl Crawford.

"She likes anything new so I guess that's it," said Tricia, her mom.

The two-hour event at Lykes Gaslight Square drew autograph seekers, the curious and the hungry, who grabbed the free hot dogs, peanuts and drinks along with signatures from Rays players.

It also drew a lot of Rays fans.

Not all, though, were great fans of the newly designed team uniform or colors.

Robert Goodson of Zephyrhills, also wearing a Crawford T-shirt, liked the new look but not the colors, even though the prominent blue is his favorite color. He preferred the old green hue.

"No one else had green," he said. "I understand wanting to look more traditional, but now they'll blend in with everybody else."

That isn't an opinion shared by Kevin Fern of Tampa.

He stocked up on new team gear Thursday, when the Rays unveiled their new name and threads in St. Petersburg, including the shirt he wore while waiting for autographs from the Rays players who lined tables under a tent.

"At the thing last night, there was a lot of excitement," Fern said. "I like it more than I thought I would."

The new uniforms mean Derek Labezzo of Dunedin will have a closet full of old stuff.

Labezzo is a serious fan. Really serious. He wore a blue mask that had fright-wig hair, an old Devil Rays logo on the forehead and cap; plastic beads with the old logo; and a Devil Rays shirt and pants

All that will have to be replaced with the new design.

"I'm going shopping. It's all on my Christmas list," Labezzo said.

When Labezzo reached the autograph table, Rays manager Joe Maddon greeted him personally.

Jeff Bower of Largo, a fan of the team since its inaugural season in 1998, liked changes, especially dumping "Devil" from the name.

"We need more rays of sunshine and to get rid of the devil," said Bower, who was wearing a jersey with the number and name of long-departed player Vinny Castilla.

"Anything negative, we don't need," he said.

Beth Brown took a vacation day and drove an hour from Auburndale along with his nephew Braxton Brown and grandmother Renee Evans to attend the event. They would have gone Thursday night to St. Petersburg, but the trip was too long.

"I like it. It's a good change, and hopefully they'll have a good year," Beth Brown said.

Braxton Brown already has a cap with the new design, although it doesn't fit. At 17 months old, Braxton will have to grow into it.

"He'll have to wear the old one," Evans said.

Share this:

Loading Comments...

Email Print

ADVERTISEMENT