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Bay Area Also A Big Winner

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The Tampa Tribune

Published: February 3, 2009

The Pittsburgh Steelers weren't the only big winners when the game ended Sunday night. Tampa scored as a Super Bowl host, departing football fans said.

Those at Tampa International Airport and car rental agencies gave the area 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:

Average grade: B+

"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. Ybor was much cleaner and had nicer shops and restaurants."

***

Average grade: C-

"Well, we got burglarized. Someone broke in to our car. I lost 400 bucks."

***

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.

***

Average grade: B

"I loved it," he said of Tampa. "Except the roads."

***

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."

***

, 49, Phoenix, human resources manager 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."

***

, 25, Pittsburgh, advertising sales and Steelers fan
Average grade: A+

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."

***

, 43, Pittsburgh, building code officer and Steelers fan
Average grade: B

"I love Tampa, but it was a little quiet around here. A little mellow."

***

, 54, San Antonio, Texas, homemaker and Steelers fan
Average grade: B+

"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."

***

Average grade: B

"I liked the weather, and we had a lot of fun."

Sherri Ackerman, Shannon Behnken, Ted Jackovics and Neil Johnson contributed to this report. For information, go to TBO.com, Keyword: Tampa Rating.

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