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Departing Super Bowl Fans Pat Tampa On The Back

News Channel 8 photo by DAVID KRAUT

Visiting fans rated Tampa high in many categories.

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By BAIRD HELGESON | The Tampa Tribune

Published: February 2, 2009

TAMPA - Take a bow, Tampa. The week of Super Bowl XLIII went off without any notable hitches or black eyes for the community.

Visitors found us friendly and fun, with decent food and hotels. They were less thrilled with the traffic, though not enough to dull the good vibe.

Victorious Pittsburgh Steelers fans didn't set the city ablaze. The national media painted us as a tropical, mojito-sipping community with a naughty side. Nobody ripped away Bruce Springsteen's shirt to reveal his nipple during the halftime show.

"Tampa Bay showed again why it is such a great place to hold a Super Bowl," said Frank Supovitz, the NFL's senior vice president of events. "The participation of the entire community ensured that Super Bowl XLIII will be remembered fondly."

Mayor Pam Iorio said she was thrilled the see visitors fill restaurants, shops and attractions. "To have them filled during a recession makes it even more meaningful."

The "very good week" is a key reason the community is a contender to host the game again in 2014 or 2015, said Reid Sigmon, executive director of the Tampa Bay Super Bowl Host Committee.
"The whole Tampa Bay community should be very proud," he said.

Departing football fans say Tampa scored as a Super Bowl host in a variety of areas.

Those at Tampa International Airport and car rental agencies gave the city and its residents grades in five categories: friendliness, getting around, food, accommodations and fun factor.

In our unscientific survey, "Getting Around" came up as the weakest category, with visitors complaining about highway construction and after-the-game traffic control. A few had choice words about accommodations and weather (hey, we can't control that!).

And a majority gave the area an A for "Fun Factor" – even disappointed Cardinal fans.
Here's what they said:

Barbara Moore, 62, of Irvine, Calif., speech therapist and Cardinals fan
Average grade: B-plus
"We were here for the Super Bowl eight years ago and it was terrible. Back then, Ybor City was crowded and seemed to have a gang element. It was great this time this time. Ybor was much cleaner and had nicer shops and restaurants."

Jim Keating, 40, of California, family doctor and Steelers fan
Average Grade: A
Keating, still wearing Steeler face paint on each cheek, hit the Tampa Bay area 10 days before the game and celebrated his 40th birthday at Mike Ditka's Gridiron Greats. He also went to the Leather and Laces party. "I had a great time."

Kendrick Byson, 20, of Big Spring, Texas, Howard College student and Steelers fan
Average Grade: A
He enjoyed the shopping. "The malls are a whole lot bigger." Byson got to attend the game after winning a Sprint NFL Mobile contest.

Jake Dorame, 33, of Phoenix, Cocso employee and Steelers fan
Average grade: A-minus
Dorame was heading home to Phoenix wearing a Steelers jersey. Being a Steelers fan in Phoenix usually isn't much of an issue. "Until last week," he said. "It was the most amazing event I've ever been to."

Marty Falk, 49, of Phoenix, human resource manager for a semi-conductor company and Cardinals fan
Average grade: A
Fans of the Arizona team were hard to find, but Falk was pleased with his team. "It was a great game. Nobody gave us a chance to be there. You have to give the team credit."
He stayed with a friend on Florida's east coast until coming to stay Saturday night in Clearwater, his first visit to the Tampa Bay area. "The people here are fantastic."

Yussef Johnson, 55, of Philadelphia, ninth-grade teacher and Steelers fan
Average grade: A
He stayed in Sun City Center. His main complaint was transportation and difficulty getting around.

Greta Falvo, 25, of Pittsburgh, Advertising sales for CBS radio and Steelers fan
Average grade: A-plus
Falvo stayed with a friend and arrived Thursday morning. "We hit the beaches, bars and clubs."
She made plans in October to attend the game before knowing the Steelers would play. That made it even better. She enjoyed Channelside. "There was a lot of energy there."

Jedd and Zack Blinder, 17 and 20, respectively; of Scottsdale, Ariz., students and Cardinals fans
Average grade: A-plus
The brothers stayed in Brandon and got in Saturday afternoon. They met with other friends from Scottsdale.
"I'd come back for another Super Bowl," Jedd said.
"The game was unbelievable," Zack said. "I'm really proud of our guys. The Steeler fans showed a lot of class."

Lenny Perlman, 69, splits time between West Palm Beach and Port Jefferson, N.Y., retired from the garment industry and a N.Y. Giants fan.
Average grade: A
He took his son to a Super Bowl 25 years ago. It was his son's turn to take him to this one. They got to Tampa on Saturday.
Perlman noticed a huge difference in the event. A quarter-century ago there was no NFL Experience. He bought is son, now 42, a jersey from a street vendor.
"He still has it."

Pat Shields, 45, of New York, self-employed, Cardinals fan
Average grade: C-minus
"Well, we got [burglarized]. Someone broke into our car. I lost 400 bucks."

Chad Middleton, 33, of Cincinnati, accountant and Cardinals fan
Average grade: A
"Beautiful weather! We just got 11 inches of snow back home. It was a wonderful experience – except we lost!"

Levi Frasier, 32, of Cincinnati, machinist and Cardinals fan
Average grade: A
Frasier said there were too many Steelers Fans here. That aside, "Tampa is a nice, clean city. Cleaner than the last time I was here."

Kevin Rathbun, 46, of Atlanta, restaurant owner and celebrity chef, and Cardinals fan
Average grade: A
"I liked Tampa. We stayed in St. Pete for the Taste of the NFL."

Joe Laia, 51, of Silicone Valley, Calif., techno geek and Cardinals fan.
Average grade: A
"Tampa was cool … a nice place."

Bret Stutzman, 39, of Pittsburgh, investment adviser and Steelers fan.
Average grade: A
"Tampa is lovely. It's laid out well. Pretty user-friendly."

Bruce Weber, 50, of Raleigh, N.C., former TV broadcaster now in sales and a Steelers fan
Average grade: A
"This is my 13th Super Bowl; I covered five of them." He said Tampa should be in the permanent rotation of cities to host the Super Bowl.

Marc Fine, 41, of West Palm Beach by way of Pittsburgh, in the insurance business and a Steelers fan
Average grade: B
Fine said a lot of streets were blocked and he didn't like that they had to go back to their cars after the game in the dark. When his group asked law enforcement for directions, they didn't know.

Eric Dasta, 45, of Pittsburgh, accountant and Steelers fan
Average grade: B
"I loved it," he said of Tampa. "Except the roads."

Ricardo Tucker, 43, of Pittsburgh, building code officer and Steelers fan
Average grade: B
"I love Tampa, but it was a little quiet around here. A little mellow."

Rich "The Scrapper" Martin, of Port Norris, N.J., in sales for an oil company and a Steelers fan
Average grade: B
He was a first-time Tampa visitor and said, "Overall it was a great experience. The game was the best… Construction on the highways was a pain."

Kris Walewski, of Shelton, Conn., and a Cardinals fan
Average grade: C
"It was fun and friendly. It took two hours to get out of a parking garage near the stadium after the game. I was disappointed there wasn't something like a Taste of Tampa outside the stadium where you could sample local foods.

Jason Horst, of Hagerstown, Md., in computer technology and a Steelers fan
Average grade: A
"We had direct transportation to and from the game, so that worked out well."

Ann Drew, of Pittsburgh, software developer and a Steelers fan
Average grade: B
"Everyone my husband and I met in Tampa was excited and they went out of their way to be accommodating. It was tough to get a taxi. We stayed pretty far out in Pinellas Park because we booked late, but it was OK. The Steelers Bar at O'Brien's Irish Pub in Tampa on Saturday night must have had 500 to 600 Steelers fans around."

Stanley Crevier, of Chicago, retired and a Steelers fan.
Average grade: B
"We go to the Super Bowl sites but never go to the games because tickets are so expensive. But that way we get to see different parts of the country. We watched the game at a sports bar in Largo. I got lost in St. Petersburg and ended up going across the Sunshine Skyway Bridge and had to drive back. But they didn't charge me. If you follow the road signs, you do OK"

Eileen Dontonio, 48, of Long Island, N.Y., mother and Cardinals fan
Average grade: A
"We had so much fun. A little too much fun, actually."

Kurt Bergmann, 49, of Albany, N.Y., a program manager and Cardinals fan
Average grade: A
"I came as a fan for Arizona, but I'm leaving as a fan of Tampa Bay. The only negative was the weather. But I left with 4 inches of snow falling, so it wasn't that bad here overall."

Arnersie Holloway, 54, of San Antonio, Texas, a homemaker and Steelers fan
Average grade: B-plus
"I would love to come back and visit. But I did have to buy a turtleneck because I wasn't prepared for the cooler weather.

Richard Goldstein, 49, of Pittsburgh, a purchaser and Steelers fan
Average grade: B
"I'd have to give the city a B overall because of the price gauging. The food drinks and cover charges were more expensive than they should have been, and I paid $300 a night for a flea-bag hotel that should have cost $20 a night."

Rick Kent, 44, of Los Angeles, a construction manager and Cardinals fan.
Average grade: A
"What really struck me was the cleanliness. Tampa kept it really clean considering the amount of people who were downtown."

Jeff Layman, 40, of Springfield, Mo., a financial adviser and Steelers fan
Average grade: B-plus
"It was my fist trip here, and I thought it was nice. We had four or five inches of snow where I was so this was much better."

James Nix, 80, of Chicago, a retired firefighter and Steelers fan
Average grade: B
"I liked the weather, and we had a lot of fun."

Barbara Moore, 62, of Irvine, Calif., a speech therapist and Cardinals fan
Average grade: B-plus
"We were here for the Super Bowl eight years ago and it was terrible. Back then, Ybor City was crowded and seemed to have a gang element. It was great this time this time. Ybor was much cleaner and had nicer shops and restaurants."

Sherri Ackerman, Shannon Behnken, Ted Jackovics and Neil Johnson contributed to this report.

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