TBO.com - TBO is Tampa Bay Online

Newfound Success Has Rays Fever Spreading

ADVERTISEMENT

By JOE HENDERSON

The Tampa Tribune

Published: June 21, 2008

ST. PETERSBURG - They always said it would be like this. There would be crazy fans wearing funny hats and people waiting in line to buy tickets. Tropicana Field would be a lively place, not the drab mausoleum with catwalks it is so often depicted to be. There would be noise. There would be victories for the home team.

There would be a buzz.

So it is with the Tampa Bay Rays.

A decade of constant losing sapped the area's interest in the team, but all that is gone now. The Rays are hot, the Trop is a hoppin' place, and suddenly it's hip to make the trip to watch a team that used to be a national joke.

So, naturally, Bobbi Dougherty, who lives in Carrollwood, no longer watches the team.

She held season tickets during the Rays' first 10 seasons in the American League when no one else would go, but she gave them up because she thought it might change their luck if she wasn't around. Now she's afraid to watch because she doesn't want to jinx them as the Rays drive for what they hope will be their first playoff berth.

"I just cry every day when I can't watch them," she said. "I just want them to win. This is my little experiment."

There is no shortage of people willing to take her place at the Trop.

Although the Rays still rank next to last in attendance out of 14 teams in the league with an average attendance of 20,079, they were 227,122 fans ahead of last year's pace before Friday night's home game against Houston.

The trend is even healthier than that.

Crowds Picking Up

As the Rays solidified their status as legitimate playoff contenders, they've had five crowds of 30,000 or more in their past nine home games. Large crowds are expected tonight, lured by baseball and a post-game concert, and Sunday before the Rays go on a weeklong road trip.

When they return June 30, it will be to start a three-game series against Boston that will be one of the most anticipated sets in club history.

The fun has not been confined to one side of the Bay, either. Hillsborough County and Tampa are joining the party.

"People talk that no one wants to come here from the other side of the Bay, but I know a big contingent that is starting to make the drive from Lutz," said Rays radio broadcaster Dave Wills, who should know since he lives there.

"I've got people coming up to me at Ferg's a sports bar after the game just to talk about the Rays."

The Rays have a ticket office in downtown Tampa. It used to be a lonely place. The team says about half its single-game ticket sales now come from around Tampa, and the Rays expect sharp increases next year in season-ticket sales from Hillsborough County.

Team merchandise sales also are way up since last year - 75 percent across the board, second only to the Colorado Rockies.

Television ratings for the Rays are up about 29 percent over 2007. Thursday's 8-3 win over the Chicago Cubs was the Rays' highest-rated single-game telecast ever on the Fox Sports cable outlet.

Then there is what senior vice president Mark Fernandez called the "anecdotal evidence."

"Everywhere you go, you see people wearing our stuff. For me, that's exciting," he said. "And I'm getting a lot of calls that go, 'You may not remember me but we went to Forest Hills Elementary together and ...'"

They want tickets.

"I love it," he said.

The drive back to Tampa that used to be a snap after the game is taking longer now. Interstate 275 is filled with cars headed back across the bridge many said could never be crossed by baseball fans. And it seems you can't turn on satellite radio or ESPN without hearing chatter about the Rays.

They are America's darlings right now.

'I Feel Like I'm Missing The Party'

Over the years, the Rays have made it hard to believe at times how badly we wanted a baseball team around here. The constant losing ate away at any enthusiasm people might have held for this team - well, anyone but Bobbi Dougherty.

"I did peek at the TV when we were up 8-3 against the Cubs, but I turned away real quick," she said. "I'm afraid if I watch, something bad will happen. I still have a deposit for tickets at the Trop. I was thinking maybe I could go to one game ... but no, no! I feel like I'm missing the party, I do."

Yes, after all these years of waiting, there is something worth watching at the Trop and it is quite a party indeed.

But don't invite Bobbi. She wouldn't come anyway.

Can't be too careful.

Share this:

Loading Comments...

Email Print

ADVERTISEMENT