Any Tampa Bay Lightning regulars?

[devores 382]

Hey Lou, I didn't know you liked fried chicken. Why do you always bring pizza to the GGs then??

[Starbuc71 162]

I suspect you're refering to me. That's ok, I like it.

I'd like to take your post as tongue in cheek trash talk, but I'm not sure that's the case. Fell free to correct me if I'm wrong though.

Assuming, for now, that I'm right, I recall a while back you took a post I made tongue in cheek as serious. This last post I made was just kidding around, stirring the sports pot.

There is something about me that makes you think I'm being serious. Maybe it's me. I'm hardly ever serious, it's trash talk and you shouldn't take it any other way. Maybe it's because we've never met, don't know.

Anyway to set the record straight and to maybe change how you look at me, I lived in the Tampa Bay area for a long time after leaving New England. We raised kids there. Had a successful law practice in Clearwater.

I was very active in the community and am solely responsible for forming the first high school robotics team in Florida that competes in a national competition. That high school is in St Pete and the team still competes.

We were there when the Devil Rays were formed. We were there when the Lightning were formed. We've gone to numerous Rays games. Supported the Bucs. Attended Rays and Bucs practice sessions. I was there for the Bucs Super Bowl victory.

To put it in perspective, if Jacksonville had a baseball or hockey team and there were Fiends that were fans, I'd trash talk them too.

Not you Lou, just Boston folk in general. Seems like the majority of them (not all) hate Florida sports. Like I told you before, I can be snarky as the next person. I love to joke around more than you most likely. I would think if you lived here in Tampa bay for a while you would have more respect for the teams (even though your just kidding around) Tampa Bay sports get enough slack and need better supporters. Many fiends are not from FL and don't know the Sh us die hard Tampa fans take. I didn't mean to offend you, but some snarky stuff just gets old in my book. I guess I need to keep my opinions to myself since you have way more fiends and respect on this site than me. The bruins still suck....lol

[North7... Jeff 2]

Yes they have a will call window. It is seperated alphabeticly by the name of the purchaser. Really easy to use. If you need them mailed, I can give you my address and you can mail them to me and when you get into town we can get them to you.

Thanks devores and I really appreciate your offer. Unfortunately, they will only mail the tickets to the billing address of the credit card.

It shouldn’t be this difficult to purchase tickets in this electronic age… I’ve called both Ticket Master in the US and in Canada and both confirmed the only “delivery” method is standard mail with the tickets arriving at least 48 hours prior to game day. The problem with that is that I will be in FL a week prior to that and can’t take the chance the tickets don’t arrive before I leave. The “will call” window is available for international purchases, but apparently Canada doesn’t qualify as international!! :rofl2:

The good news is that Ticket Master has a retail outlet at the Wal-Mart on 535 just outside of WDW. I have family members who will arrive January 11^th, so they are going to purchase the tickets for me at Wal-Mart.

[Starbuc71 162]

Thanks devores and I really appreciate your offer. Unfortunately, they will only mail the tickets to the billing address of the credit card.

It shouldn’t be this difficult to purchase tickets in this electronic age… I’ve called both Ticket Master in the US and in Canada and both confirmed the only “delivery” method is standard mail with the tickets arriving at least 48 hours prior to game day. The problem with that is that I will be in FL a week prior to that and can’t take the chance the tickets don’t arrive before I leave. The “will call” window is available for international purchases, but apparently Canada doesn’t qualify as international!! :rofl2:

The good news is that Ticket Master has a retail outlet at the Wal-Mart on 535 just outside of WDW. I have family members who will arrive January 11^th, so they are going to purchase the tickets for me at Wal-Mart.

If I recall when I buy Rays tickets, you have the option to print the tickets directly on your printer or have them emailed to you. You could then goto the outpost up front, check your email then print them out. No ticketmaster service charge when you do it that way

[North7... Jeff 2]

If I recall when I buy Rays tickets, you have the option to print the tickets directly on your printer or have them emailed to you. You could then goto the outpost up front, check your email then print them out. No ticketmaster service charge when you do it that way

Those 2 options are only available to people using a credit card with a US billing address. These should be available options for anyone buying tickets online regardless of country of residence, but there must be some bureaucratic reason why it isn’t.

[North7... Jeff 2]

Please post here after you're experience. Would love to read your thoughts on 'southern hockey'! Enjoy!

My son and I attended the February 2nd game against the Winnipeg Jets. Let me start by saying this was one of the best experiences I've had in a long time and one I would recommend to anyone who is considering it. I will definitely repeat this when the Lightning are playing home games on any of my future trips. Here are a few thoughts on our experience...

1. Tickets - we had great seats. They were near center ice and 14 rows up. The sightlines were great and the best part was that they were only $100 each. In Ottawa, these same seats would be pushing $300 per and in Toronto, they would be in the $400-$700 range for each ticket.

2. The trip to/from Tampa - The trip was quicker than I thought it would be... we left at 4:15 and we arrived at 6:00. It would have been quicker but we were held up 10-15 minutes just west of the last Disney exit due to 2 wildfires along I4. Based on recommendations here, I had prepaid for parking in the South Regional Garage next to the Forum and that was great advice. It was very easy to get to and when we exited the garage, it was probably less than 150 feet to the steps leading into the Forum. Once the game ended, we were back in the car at 10:10 and arrived "home" at 11:45. There was a bit of a traffic jam exiting the parking garage and on the surrounding streets, but it was minor considering over 19,000 people were making their way out of the area.

3. Tampa Bay Times Forum - formerly the St. Pete's Times Forum, it was renamed on January 1st. I was really impressed with the Forum. All the employees were very friendly and helpful. The selection of food/drinks available was good and the concourse on the lower level was wide enough to accommodate all the people who leave their seats between periods to stretch their legs, grab food or drinks, etc. During pre-game, the scoreboard/video screen displayed relevant information and videos and the music wasn't so loud that you couldn't talk to someone. One of the biggest differences from games in Ottawa/Toronto were the Lightning girls that were outside the Forum when we arrived mingling with fans and then dancing in the aisles on commercial breaks during the game. My 15 year old commented that it was a good thing they sat down during the game or else he would have missed most of it. :rofl3: We wore shorts and t-shirts to the game and also took a sweatshirt. It was a bit cool when we first entered (without the sweatshirt) but once the game started, it warmed up quite a bit to the point where we were quite comfortable without the warmer sweatshirt.

4. The Fans - we had seats next to season ticket holders and I had a great chat with him about the history of the Lightning, their Stanley Cup run, and hockey in general... he's been a season ticket holder since the first season. On this night, there were a large number of Jets fans and probably as many Winnipeg sweaters (that's what we call them in Canada!!) as Lightning ones. The Jets fans were loud and there were probably more "Go Jets Go" chants than "Let's Go Lightning", but it was all done in a fun festive way much like a party atmosphere and I didn't see/hear any taunting or animosity between the two side at all.

It was a great experience and one we'll do again and to the Lightning fans, I hope for your sake that you have Stamkos a long time... he is an unbelievable talent and I'm guessing he'll be the face of your franchise for many years to come!!

[Tri-Circle-D 2,059]

Thanks for taking the time to post about your experience in Tampa.

Good to know that you had a great time!

I'm glad that your drive wasn't bad. Traffic into and out of Tampa where I-4 meets I-275 can get very bad at times.

TCD