Tampa is a city full of entertainment. Unfortunately, sports fans, it’s not rare for the Tampa Bay Buccaneers’ games to be blacked out due to a lack of ticket sales (and talent). In the off-chance that a game is televised, the most entertaining part might be listening to the announcers struggle to find something positive to say.
“And the Bucs line up with four receivers on first down…. And the Giants score a touchdown. Leftwich once again demonstrating his powerful arm…. If only he weren’t throwing interceptions, this guy could lead the team to a solid five wins.”
Students complain that UT doesn’t have a football team, but Buccaneers football is definitely solid division II play at its finest.
Along with the Bucs, Tampa also homes NHL team Tampa Bay Lightning, which are downtown at the St. Pete Times Forum. After one exciting game you’ll be wishing Tampa had an NBA team.
Last (in the league, most years) but not least, we have the MLB team Tampa Bay Rays. The Rays were on track to be one of the best teams in their division this year and even made it to the World Series in 2008.
But in Tampa-sports-fashion they have disappointed us once again. Nothing says “Tampa Bay” like having all three sports teams ranking in the ten all time worst franchises.
But to get back to what I was saying about entertainment, there are numerous bars and clubs to visit after the game.
Including in Ybor city, which is just outside of the downtown Tampa area. The best way I can describe Ybor city is to describe a Plies music video, minus Plies and security.
Ybor is basically a row of clubs, bars, and restaurants you can maneuver, until the streets turn into train tracks and post-industrial depression. Ybor’s 13th street is like Bourbon Street, except on heroin and hit in the face with a brick.
With that being said, it’s actually a pretty fun area: if you’ve ever wanted to see what a 1980s Chevy looked like with a hot pink paint job and rims worth more than the car itself, then you know where to go.
There are also many clubs and bars in the surrounding UT and downtown area. If you prefer to party like you’re well-off, The Kennedy, on Kennedy Boulevard is a great place to go on a Thursday night.
It’s one of the nice clubs in Tampa where you’ll quickly realize how much nicer places are outside of Ybor.
Celebrities even stop in occasionally, which makes for a great story between classes the next day:.
“It was great man! Chris Tucker was there, Derek Jeter was there, even Michael Jordan was there!”“That’s so cool bro, what’d you end up doing the whole night?”“I was pretty much just staring at Chris Tucker, Derek Jeter and Michael Jordan the whole night…”
Basically any noun you can think of has a building named after it that serves beer. But to name a few other (more affordable) spots close to UT, there’s Cheap, Drynk, Hyde Park Café, The Deck, The Rack and Mangroves.
Don’t worry, if you can’t decide where to go (because deciding how to have fun can be the most stressful thing of all), you’ll quickly find out how many kids on campus have a part time job as a club promoter.
If your friend is one, you’ll figure it out when you’re talking to one of your friends:
“Dude, we should go by the Kennedy tonight. I told my friend David I’d go with him and he said we could get to the front of the line for an extra $30!”
“You realize David’s a promoter and doesn’t really care right?”“Wait. Really? He never mentioned that to me… and he’s my roommate.”
Promotion companies basically run every place you’ll end up going to in Tampa. They all have some “special” event every night of the week and their own website with appropriate names like “nightsontheedge.com.”
A word to all the returning students: I’m afraid I have terrible news. First, The 7 Seas is officially closed forever. Yes, the strip club that no one (would admit they) had been to is finally gone.
The strip club that looked like it was run on a public bathroom off the Jersey Shore boardwalk will forever stand as a memorial to mediocrity.
This was the kind of place where you almost wanted to pay the women to put their clothes back on. If you ever wanted to see a woman in her third trimester stripping (not that anybody ever would) you’ve missed your chance.
Now if you want to go to a strip club, you’ll be forced to go at least two blocks further down the road to visit one of the other 15 or more clubs within the two mile radius.
The second part of the terrible news is that Saturday nights at The Hut are also gone forever.
Yes, the place where every student at UT had their “I can’t believe (blank) happened last night” moment is gone.
With $1 pitchers of beer, showing up to the hut with $10 could erase your memory and still leave you with enough money to buy two hot dogs from the cart.
So many UT students were at The Hut every Saturday that it was only a matter of time before John Sykes put his name on it.
You would see more kids from one of your classes show up to “The Hut” than would show up to class. “Oh wow, all 23 kids from my criminology class are here tonight…. Only 15 of these kids actually show up to that class.”
So whether it’s going to bars or clubs, watching failing teams or (in the very sad situation) going to strip clubs, Tampa is a city anyone can enjoy.
There’s also other stuff like museums and libraries and classes, but nobody really pays attention to those things.
John Jacobs can be reached at jjacobs@spartans.ut.edu.
If anything Tampa Bay is a powerhouse city in sports, in the past decade most of our teams have taken 1st place in national leagues. Either, I just wanted to point out the many other alternatives to watching games and fights like Peabody’s, Brass Tap, World of Beer, etc… Check out tbnight.com for more places.
What I’m saying is I wrote the article specifically profiling Tampa’s sports and nightlife in a fun sarcastic way and nowhere in the article did I “bash Tampa”. Stating facts about the sports teams records (emphasis on RECORDS not specific players) is not bashing and sarcastically making remarks about Ybor is the closest thing to bashing in the whole article. If you TRULY believe I’m bashing Tampa and I mean TRULY believe, as in your not just saying that to try to make a point in an argument, you clearly don’t understand the sarcasm and never have in any of the articles I’ve written over the last three years if you’d bothered to read them. Do you really think I’d write a story as a means to just bash the city? What good is that to anyone? After three years at UT don’t you think I would have left by now if I really didn’t enjoy the city?
When I referred to places like the museums and libraries as so called “important” things, that’s because that’s what the cultural norm would be, to refer to places such as museums and libraries as more “important” whereas clubs and bars would normally be considered less significant. I’m not saying the readers have never been to a museum or library, but for this specific story writing about clubs, bars and sports is more widely relatable among the student body (especially in the first issue directed toward freshman who already know of the Tampa sports franchises but know nothing of the nightlife yet). What I’m saying is, for a first story previewing Tampa I truly believe more kids would like to hear about sports and nightlife than local museums and libraries. Am I wrong for thinking that?
Going back to the Lightning once again, yes the league gives out specific awards for great players (such as Stamkos) but do you not see that just fuels my point for the city of Tampa being disappointed? Another perfect example would be Lebron James playing on the Cavaliers for 8 seasons never to bring home an NBA title. Sure he made the team better and more relevant, but do you not think that it frustrated the city of Cleveland EVEN FURTHER knowing that they had the best player in the league for that long and never won a title? That’s like saying an NHL team has the leading goal scorer but can’t make it to the playoffs (sound familiar?). That would be pretty frustrating and disappointing wouldn’t it?
What is the point of your article then? To bash Tampa under the veil of sarcasm and then say that not one cares about “the so called ‘important’ things”?
If you’re going to write an article on the cultural offerings of a city, it’s a good idea to actually discuss them. Your statement that “by writing about the club/bar scene in Tampa everybody can relate and draw from their own experiences of those places” is flawed logic. Do you believe that your readers have never been to a museum or a library or theater?
Also, my argument wasn’t that the Lightning are a great team. I was disputing your claim that “one player can’t completely change an entire team”. There’s a reason the NHL hands out separate MVP awards for the regular season (Hart and Ted Lindsey) and the playoffs (Conn Smythe). The dynamic of team sports often comes down to the difference one player can make and that doesn’t always have to do simply with “HOW FAR THAT TEAM GOES IN THE PLAYOFFS”.
You realize a lot of the things in this article are written sarcastically right? The last sentence is making fun more of the fact that the actual so called “important” things such as art and school in general are under appreciated in Tampa (which i’d love to hear you argue against). if i wrote an in-depth preview or profile about the new art museum only so many people would care or be able to relate to that experience. By writing about the club/bar scene in Tampa everybody can relate and draw from their own experiences of those places.
As for Hockey, as much as one player can help a team when it comes down to it what matters is HOW FAR THAT TEAM GOES IN THE PLAYOFFS. You realize when people refer back to how great a team was, it’s usually because they did something in the post season. It’s not that i don’t like Tampas sports teams i want them to do well and yes they do show potential, but until they actually make something out of that, you’re just basing those statements off potential. When all i have to go off is prior seasons (excluding 04 when they won the cup) they’re not a great team.
First off, you’re ignorant of any hockey sense if you think one player can’t change a team. One player can change a franchise (e.g., Lemieux, Messier, Ovechkin, Crosby, etc). While those type of players don’t come along very often, Stamkos is of a level where coupled with Lecavalier, St. Louis and 2 other 20 goal scorers last season, that we don’t have to rely on just him. Don’t get me wrong, the Lightning disappointed last season, but your dismissive tone makes me believe you’ve never been to a hockey game.
As for Ybor, yeah, it’s a little hit or miss, but what are you doing on 13th street? Judging Ybor based on 13th street would be like judging The Kennedy based on it’s douchey exterior rather than the douches inside it.
Lastly, your final sentence, which I believe was an attempt at humor just comes across as obtuse when you have the new Tampa Museum of Art, designed by a world renowned architect, within walking distance, not to mention the museum you have on your campus that any UT student can get into for free.
Your article basically makes you seem like a promoter for The Hut and The Kennedy, rather than an actual guide of Sports and Entertainment in Tampa. I’ll bet your friends found it hilarious though. But hey, that’s just my opinion.
I know leftwich isn’t on the team anymore, but i was writing based off the Bucs tragic last season as the new season hasn’t started yet. Yea, for that Rays part it should have read “had disappointed us again” instead of “have” because i was referring to the World Series. I know Lightning’s Stamkos is great, but one player can’t completely change an entire team, and if i can’t judge the Lightning based on their record, what should i judge them by? Their effort and potential? And by mentioning that the Lightning only missed the playoffs by 8 points once again confirms the idea that Tampa sports constantly dissapoint by playing somewhat well in the regular season just to be cut short by not making the playoffs.
btw, thanks for reading i guess?
My first sentence implied that the games were going to be blacked out this season. I was simply refuting your claim that it’s not rare because it’s something that hasn’t happened in 12 years. Also, Byron Leftwich isn’t even on the team anymore and now plays for Pittsburgh, another completely inaccurate detail in your article.
You then followed your statement of the Rays success by this, “But in Tampa-sports-fashion they have disappointed us once again” which completely contradicts the fact that they are doing well.
And so what if the Lightning didn’t make the playoffs last year. They missed it by eight points and now have new ownership that will actually put a more talented team on the ice to surround Stamkos. But I’d say watching a guy that has as many goals as Sidney Crosby and one more than Ovechkin is a better alternative than an NBA team.
All I’m saying is that if you aren’t from this area, which judging by this highly misinformed article you’re not, then do a bit of research before publishing something you know little about. And the fact that all three teams are in the top 10 worst franchise list is a reflection of the overall history and doesn’t take into account the recent surge of Tampa Bay sports since 2001.
all three of Tampa’s sports franchises are still currently ranked in the top 10 for worst records of all time. Yes, I did mention that the Rays are doing well this season. The lightning didn’t make the playoffs last year. One of the Bucs preseason games has already been blacked out…
The Bucs haven’t had a game blacked out since 1998 so yes it is rare that they’ll be blacked out this year. The Lightning also had the league’s top scorer last year, yano that Stamkos guy. And how exactly have the Rays been a disappointment this year? The best record in baseball is disappointing? A first place tie with the defending WS champs is disappointing? You know nothing of Tampa Bay sports so do a bit of research first before writing an article like this please.
So the Rays do everything but pay fans to come to a game, are in a playoff spot, and play exciting baseball…but it’s there fault fans can’t be bothered to drive 45 mins to see them? The Lightning are finally owned by a class guy who is willing to spend money, managed by Steve Yzerman, and have one of the most exciting top six groups in the NHL, and ought to be exciting to watch…but it’s fine to slam on them it’s just hockey, right? The Buc’s, yeah well I’ll give you that one. And decent entertainment in this town has always been hit or miss. You, my friend are hard to please.