TBO.com - TBO is Tampa Bay Online

TE Gilmore Is Learning To Like His New Home

ADVERTISEMENT

By ANWAR RICHARDSON | The Tampa Tribune

Published: September 21, 2008

TAMPA - One thing is true about residents of Tampa Bay - we love our area.

New York City might be bigger, Los Angeles is more exciting and Ronda Storms might be viewed as a conformist in Washington, D.C., but most of us would not give up one Gasparilla bead to live in those cities.

Tampa Bay tight end John Gilmore played in Chicago for the past six years, and our newest resident compared the areas for this week's Wide Right column. If I had $1 for every category our area won, there would be enough money to buy one drink at Tampa's Blue Martini.

Anwar: Which is better - Chicago River or the Hillsborough River?

John: I'm going to have to say the Chicago River, just because I know it a little bit better than the Hillsborough River, but Tampa definitely has them when it comes to beaches.

Anwar: If we dyed our river green every year for St. Patrick's Day would that make a difference?

John: I think you guys might want to go in a different direction, just to switch it up a little bit. Maybe red. They are all ready doing the green thing, so you might want to do something different.

Anwar: Compare Chicago's Hyde Park to Tampa Bay's Hyde Park.

John: I have not been to Tampa Bay's Hyde Park yet.

Anwar: If you go, just stay out of the bars. Cops in South Tampa are ruthless. OK, snowstorms vs. tropical storms?

John: That's a no-brainer. Tropical storms all day. They really jump the gun around here with tropical storms. I looked at my wife when the first storm came through and asked her 'Are we supposed to evacuate?' You don't want those snowstorms. They are hard to get around. The effects of those last a long time.

Anwar: Which is better - a Chicago deep-dish pizza or a Tampa Cuban sandwich?

John: I'm going to have to go with a Cuban sandwich. I'm a fan of Cuban sandwiches. I like pizza, but I never did become a big fan of the deep dish. I'm an East Coast guy, so I'm more into a New York-style kind of pizza. If I had to pick, I'd take a good Cuban all day long.

Anwar: Kayne West or Plies? Sorry, Plies is the only rapper we have close to here.

John: I'm going to have to go with Kayne. We have a saying here: "Put it on tape." Well, Kayne has put it on wax. He's definitely a great artist.

Anwar: Chicago's own Mr. T or Tampa Bay's Hulk Hogan?

John: That's a good one. I'm going to have to go with Mr. T. I don't know what Mr. T is up to nowadays, but I know Hulk is dealing with some issues right now. I'm going with Mr.T, but I grew up a Hulk Hogan fan. How could you not love Hulkamania?

Anwar: Hulk Hogan taught us to say your prayers and eat your vitamins. What did Mr. T ever teach us?

John: You're right. Mr. T's "I'm going to get you sucka" with the A-Team ... I was a huge fan of him. Hulk does have longevity.

Anwar: Which is better - the Magnificent Mile or International Plaza?

John: I like International Plaza because it's a one-hit spot. You can go there and hit up all the high-end stores and they're all in one place. The Magnificent Mile, if you want Coach and then Louis Vuitton, it's going to be a few blocks. You have to do a lot of walking in that magnificent mile, but you don't want to miss an opportunity to see the mile.

Anwar: Rush Street vs. Channelside?

John: Potentially, I like Channelside. What they could do there could be very big. Right now, Rush is on an established street in the Chicago community. It's been around for years. A lot of high-end restaurants, but I like the upside of Channelside.

Anwar: Wrigley Field vs. Tropicana Field?

John: You got to go Wrigley. There is so much tradition. I can't even fake that one.

Anwar: Joe's Seafood, Prime Steak and Stone Crab restaurant vs. Bern's Steakhouse?

John: I haven't been to Bern's, but from what I've heard, they are pretty similar, but Joe's isn't touching Bern's wine list.

Anwar: Here is an "American Idol" battle - Chicago's Jennifer Hudson vs. Tampa Bay's Jessica Sierra.

John: Didn't Jennifer Hudson win an Oscar?

Anwar: Yes, for her role in "DreamGirls."

John: Then Jennifer Hudson all the way. She won an Oscar.

Anwar: Last one. This year's Bucs team vs. this year's Chicago team?

John: Dude, we have so much talent on this ballclub. You just look across the board, it would be a hard case to argue that too many other teams, not just the Bears, have the personnel we do. It's just about us going out here and getting the job done. Yeah, I'm definitely in a better situation.

Reporter Anwar S. Richardson can be reached at (813) 259-8425 or arichardson@tampatrib.com.

Share this:

Loading Comments...

Email Print

ADVERTISEMENT