OT: March 14th in Tampa

[RafterRat]

Well my long time perserverence finally paid off. Although the Tuesday game against the Bruins was a bummer to sit through in the old barn, some thing good came out of it. I was sitting there between the first and second periods and was asked if I want to answer a trivia question on the Jumbotron.... done it couple times before over the years. Why not?

They tell me they will be back with 6 mins left in the second and don't leave my seat.

They come back and Ashley (Dina's Ice Girl replacement) asks if I am excited. Well a little I tell her but I have done it before..... what is the prize another $25 Bagel Boss gift certificate or an Andy Hilbert autographed puck? She OH NO I can't tell you BUT it is the best prize I have ever gave out!!! OK then I think....

Then we wait for the whistle..... I can't hear crap due to the delay from the mike and the question pops up on the screen. I read it .... easily answer... and WOOHOO the crowd goes wild around me!!! I am like "What is going on?!?!?"

Then she hands me a paper stating:

Congratulations from JetBlue -- you have just won 2 tickets to see the Islanders play the Tampa Bay Lightning on March 14th in Tampa!!! You also receive air, hotel and travel accomodations for the same event!!!

OH CRAP!!! What am I gonna tell my wife...... I have to take my season ticket partner. Everything we have won at games we have split over the years..... this is not gonna go over well!! LOL Oh yeah I forgot to add that the partner is her best friend of over 25years (female).

Any suggestions on handling the issue or local hotspots from you Tampa guys?

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[Bones45]

Well my long time perserverence finally paid off. Although the Tuesday game against the Bruins was a bummer to sit through in the old barn, some thing good came out of it. I was sitting there between the first and second periods and was asked if I want to answer a trivia question on the Jumbotron.... done it couple times before over the years. Why not?

They tell me they will be back with 6 mins left in the second and don't leave my seat.

They come back and Ashley (Dina's Ice Girl replacement) asks if I am excited. Well a little I tell her but I have done it before..... what is the prize another $25 Bagel Boss gift certificate or an Andy Hilbert autographed puck? She OH NO I can't tell you BUT it is the best prize I have ever gave out!!! OK then I think....

Then we wait for the whistle..... I can't hear crap due to the delay from the mike and the question pops up on the screen. I read it .... easily answer... and WOOHOO the crowd goes wild around me!!! I am like "What is going on?!?!?"

Then she hands me a paper stating:

Congratulations from JetBlue -- you have just won 2 tickets to see the Islanders play the Tampa Bay Lightning on March 14th in Tampa!!! You also receive air, hotel and travel accomodations for the same event!!!

OH CRAP!!! What am I gonna tell my wife...... I have to take my season ticket partner. Everything we have won at games we have split over the years..... this is not gonna go over well!! LOL Oh yeah I forgot to add that the partner is her best friend of over 25years (female).

Any suggestions on handling the issue or local hotspots from you Tampa guys?

LOL.."don't worry honey, you have nothing to worry about.. we won't leave the hotel room"

 

[islesdave]

I'm not a Tampa guy, although I have been down there twice previously to watch our Isles play and will be down there again this year, along with taking in some spring training baseball. The arena is beautiful, Dave Andreychuk had a sports bar nearby, I believe it has closed. There is limited parking and the streets are one lane in each direction. The Channelside Bay Plaza is within walking distance, plenty of restaurants there. One of the best strip clubs in the country is in Tampa Bay, closer to where the Bucs play.

Where are they putting you up?

 

[Islesin93*]

what was the question that they asked?

 

[LAIslanderFan]

Well my long time perserverence finally paid off. Although the Tuesday game against the Bruins was a bummer to sit through in the old barn, some thing good came out of it. I was sitting there between the first and second periods and was asked if I want to answer a trivia question on the Jumbotron.... done it couple times before over the years. Why not?

They tell me they will be back with 6 mins left in the second and don't leave my seat.

They come back and Ashley (Dina's Ice Girl replacement) asks if I am excited. Well a little I tell her but I have done it before..... what is the prize another $25 Bagel Boss gift certificate or an Andy Hilbert autographed puck? She OH NO I can't tell you BUT it is the best prize I have ever gave out!!! OK then I think....

Then we wait for the whistle..... I can't hear crap due to the delay from the mike and the question pops up on the screen. I read it .... easily answer... and WOOHOO the crowd goes wild around me!!! I am like "What is going on?!?!?"

Then she hands me a paper stating:

Congratulations from JetBlue -- you have just won 2 tickets to see the Islanders play the Tampa Bay Lightning on March 14th in Tampa!!! You also receive air, hotel and travel accomodations for the same event!!!

OH CRAP!!! What am I gonna tell my wife...... I have to take my season ticket partner. Everything we have won at games we have split over the years..... this is not gonna go over well!! LOL Oh yeah I forgot to add that the partner is her best friend of over 25years (female).

Any suggestions on handling the issue or local hotspots from you Tampa guys?

I'll be in Tampa from March 5th to March 12th for to shoot a commercial. If I get wind of anything worthwhile, I'll get back to you.

 

[OlTimeHockey]

Congrats!

 

[IceAce]

OH CRAP!!! What am I gonna tell my wife...... I have to take my season ticket partner. Everything we have won at games we have split over the years..... this is not gonna go over well!! LOL Oh yeah I forgot to add that the partner is her best friend of over 25years (female).

Any suggestions on handling the issue or local hotspots from you Tampa guys?

Dear Penthouse,

I never thought this would happen to me but.....

 

[Dutch Frost]

my cousin is getting married that weekend in Tampa and Ill be in town and was planning on going to see the game. Ill let you know where Im sitting lets start an HF Boards chant.

 

[The Underboss]

I'll be there also!


Channelside around the arena has a lot of places to eat. You're going to LOVE the Tampa Bay Times Forum.

Head over to the Tampa section of HF and see there thread for more local stuff. There is quiet a bit.

Always a good Isles contingent at Lightning/Isles games.

 

[The Underboss]

Oh and Congrats on the win!

 

[LAIslanderFan]

I'll be there also!


Channelside around the arena has a lot of places to eat. You're going to LOVE the Tampa Bay Times Forum.

Head over to the Tampa section of HF and see there thread for more local stuff. There is quiet a bit.

Always a good Isles contingent at Lightning/Isles games.

I'll be in Tampa from March 5th to March 12th. I'm thinking of catching a Bolts game while I'm there.
I'll be staying at the Intercontinental. How long a drive is it to the arena and what do you recommend for parking and dinner? I'm probably going to try and catch the Canadian game, saturday night.

 

[PhysicalGraffiti]

I'll be in Tampa from March 5th to March 12th. I'm thinking of catching a Bolts game while I'm there.
I'll be staying at the Intercontinental. How long a drive is it to the arena and what do you recommend for parking and dinner? I'm probably going to try and catch the Canadian game, saturday night.

Not too far, I wanna say 10-15min. depending on traffic. There are parking lots all around the arena, some public parking places with meters than might be off that you can snag for free depending on how far you want to walk. But there are quite a few lots right around the arena.

Depending on what you want for dinner, Channelside has a few places within walking distance of the arena. Where you are staying is right near Westshore Mall which has alot of nice restaurants, Maggianos is awesome Italian food. Also not too far away is International Mall that has some cool places, Cheesecake Factory and others.

Hopefully that helps RafterRat too. It all depends on what you're looking to do. There are bar scenes, such as South Howard that are more of the college scene on weekends, but both malls have nice restaurants attached to them. Anything in particular you like to do? Depending on where exactly you're staying and what you want to do about driving, closer on my side of town has the beaches on the Gulf with some nice places to go.

 

[A Pointed Stick]

Well my long time perserverence finally paid off. Although the Tuesday game against the Bruins was a bummer to sit through in the old barn, some thing good came out of it. I was sitting there between the first and second periods and was asked if I want to answer a trivia question on the Jumbotron.... done it couple times before over the years. Why not?

They tell me they will be back with 6 mins left in the second and don't leave my seat.

They come back and Ashley (Dina's Ice Girl replacement) asks if I am excited. Well a little I tell her but I have done it before..... what is the prize another $25 Bagel Boss gift certificate or an Andy Hilbert autographed puck? She OH NO I can't tell you BUT it is the best prize I have ever gave out!!! OK then I think....

Then we wait for the whistle..... I can't hear crap due to the delay from the mike and the question pops up on the screen. I read it .... easily answer... and WOOHOO the crowd goes wild around me!!! I am like "What is going on?!?!?"

Then she hands me a paper stating:

Congratulations from JetBlue -- you have just won 2 tickets to see the Islanders play the Tampa Bay Lightning on March 14th in Tampa!!! You also receive air, hotel and travel accomodations for the same event!!!

OH CRAP!!! What am I gonna tell my wife...... I have to take my season ticket partner. Everything we have won at games we have split over the years..... this is not gonna go over well!! LOL Oh yeah I forgot to add that the partner is her best friend of over 25years (female).

Any suggestions on handling the issue or local hotspots from you Tampa guys?

Easy - Buy the exact same package for air and car, and upgrade the hotel room to a suite with two bedrooms, and split the cost with your wife's friend and husband. Everyone wins.

 

[Uncle Lou]

Lol that was you! I was like wow that lucky SOB when I was at the game Tuesday hahaha congrats

 

[The Underboss]

I'll be in Tampa from March 5th to March 12th. I'm thinking of catching a Bolts game while I'm there.
I'll be staying at the Intercontinental. How long a drive is it to the arena and what do you recommend for parking and dinner? I'm probably going to try and catch the Canadian game, saturday night.

What PG says is right, about 15 minutes away. Their is a parking garage right across from the Forum, parking is $12 bucks. This is the cheapest and closets parking I've ever seen. the arena is not even 50 yards away. They also have a bar and food on the plaza during pre-game. Doors open at 630 for a 730 game. They have music too on the plaza, also known as Thunder Alley.

Not too far, I wanna say 10-15min. depending on traffic. There are parking lots all around the arena, some public parking places with meters than might be off that you can snag for free depending on how far you want to walk. But there are quite a few lots right around the arena.

Depending on what you want for dinner, Channelside has a few places within walking distance of the arena. Where you are staying is right near Westshore Mall which has alot of nice restaurants, Maggianos is awesome Italian food. Also not too far away is International Mall that has some cool places, Cheesecake Factory and others.

Hopefully that helps RafterRat too. It all depends on what you're looking to do. There are bar scenes, such as South Howard that are more of the college scene on weekends, but both malls have nice restaurants attached to them. Anything in particular you like to do? Depending on where exactly you're staying and what you want to do about driving, closer on my side of town has the beaches on the Gulf with some nice places to go.

There are a lot of good places to eat outside the arena, but the arena itself has good places to eat too.

 

[JeffNYI]

I live in Fort Myers and was pondering going to either the Tampa or Panthers game..

But as for YOUR situation - dude, you can't go with your wife's friend no matter what agreement you have about splitting prizes..

You have to either give the ticket to your wife and let THEM go, or do what A Pointed Stick said and go as couples..

 

[RafterRat]

Well I solved part of the problem....

I bought the wife a new car and that settled that issue. She knows she has nothing to worry about. I have been going to all the home games with her best friend for 12 years... if something was gonna happen it would have by now, especially with the Marriot in the same parking lot as NVMC.

The question was What NHL player holds the record for 9 consecutive 50 goal seasons..... Gretzky, Bossy or Lemieux?

Thanks guys for the tips on food and all...

The Isles have my preliminary info so as soon as they get back to me I can ask more questions.

Hope to meet some of you while I am down there!!

 

[ScaredStreit]

What PG says is right, about 15 minutes away. Their is a parking garage right across from the Forum, parking is $12 bucks. This is the cheapest and closets parking I've ever seen. the arena is not even 50 yards away. They also have a bar and food on the plaza during pre-game. Doors open at 630 for a 730 game. They have music too on the plaza, also known as Thunder Alley.



There are a lot of good places to eat outside the arena, but the arena itself has good places to eat too.

I like to park on Morgan a litte bit before you hit the overpass (heading towards the arena from the interstate). It's quick to get out, and honestly only adds maybe 5 mins time walking-and there will be tons of people making the walk too-police all around, perfectly safe. The music and festivities are cool at Bolt games!

I will give one warning though to those not familiar with the arena: the beaches are great, the night-life is great (if that's your thing), BUT the food is almost always awful/sub-par. Tons of chains everywhere, so I suggest heading over to the Bolts' section of HF and asking them for specifics.

 

[Islanderfan17]

Well my long time perserverence finally paid off. Although the Tuesday game against the Bruins was a bummer to sit through in the old barn, some thing good came out of it. I was sitting there between the first and second periods and was asked if I want to answer a trivia question on the Jumbotron.... done it couple times before over the years. Why not?

They tell me they will be back with 6 mins left in the second and don't leave my seat.

They come back and Ashley (Dina's Ice Girl replacement) asks if I am excited. Well a little I tell her but I have done it before..... what is the prize another $25 Bagel Boss gift certificate or an Andy Hilbert autographed puck? She OH NO I can't tell you BUT it is the best prize I have ever gave out!!! OK then I think....

Then we wait for the whistle..... I can't hear crap due to the delay from the mike and the question pops up on the screen. I read it .... easily answer... and WOOHOO the crowd goes wild around me!!! I am like "What is going on?!?!?"

Then she hands me a paper stating:

Congratulations from JetBlue -- you have just won 2 tickets to see the Islanders play the Tampa Bay Lightning on March 14th in Tampa!!! You also receive air, hotel and travel accomodations for the same event!!!

OH CRAP!!! What am I gonna tell my wife...... I have to take my season ticket partner. Everything we have won at games we have split over the years..... this is not gonna go over well!! LOL Oh yeah I forgot to add that the partner is her best friend of over 25years (female).

Any suggestions on handling the issue or local hotspots from you Tampa guys?

Wow that is awesome and funny, congrats!

 

[Pnut]

Dear Penthouse,

I never thought this would happen to me but.....

Ha! That made me lol literally.

Oh and congrats to RafterRat!

 

[PhysicalGraffiti]

What PG says is right, about 15 minutes away. Their is a parking garage right across from the Forum, parking is $12 bucks. This is the cheapest and closets parking I've ever seen. the arena is not even 50 yards away. They also have a bar and food on the plaza during pre-game. Doors open at 630 for a 730 game. They have music too on the plaza, also known as Thunder Alley.



There are a lot of good places to eat outside the arena, but the arena itself has good places to eat too.

It does, just pricey for most of it. You can go to a real Outback for the same price and get way more food at better quality.

The buffet is actually freaking awesome. We got it for free earlier in the season for some reason, and the food was pretty killer.

I think it's rather expensive though, but definitely an option.

It all depends on what kind of travel you'd want to do. I think Tampa Bay has some really great restaurants, I don't think it's all chains ScaredStreit. Jackson's right near the arena, kind of expensive, but some really good food. Berns is well known all over, although you'd have to open up your wallet for that one more than anything in the arena.

The Tampa area, more specifically Ybor City, is where the Cuban Sandwich was invented. Get one while in town! The Floridian has a location in Tampa and has some good Cubans. There's others I can't think of right now.

I can add to this if you need. I'm just as knowledgeable as anyone on the TB board would be, I know the Tampa area as well as surrounding areas very well.

 

[LAIslanderFan]

Thanks guys, for all recommendations. Ideally I would like to get to the arena early and eat very close to the building, or inside the arena. The rest of the time there, I'm sure I'll eat very well, so I don't mind eating food inside the arena, just want a good recommendation in the building.

By the way, this is my second trip to Tampa. I worked on a commercial back in 2003 with Hideki Matsui when he first signed with the Yankees. Back then I ate at a very good seafood house, I looked for it on Yelp and I think it's The Oyster House. The food was amazing, so I'll be paying another visit there while I'm in town.

Interesting side note. When I did the commercial with Matsui, Steinbrenner wouldn't let us use the Yankees facility, so we ended up filming the commercial in Clearwater at the Phillies complex

 

[The Underboss]

Can't wait for this game!

 

[The Underboss]

Well my long time perserverence finally paid off. Although the Tuesday game against the Bruins was a bummer to sit through in the old barn, some thing good came out of it. I was sitting there between the first and second periods and was asked if I want to answer a trivia question on the Jumbotron.... done it couple times before over the years. Why not?

They tell me they will be back with 6 mins left in the second and don't leave my seat.

They come back and Ashley (Dina's Ice Girl replacement) asks if I am excited. Well a little I tell her but I have done it before..... what is the prize another $25 Bagel Boss gift certificate or an Andy Hilbert autographed puck? She OH NO I can't tell you BUT it is the best prize I have ever gave out!!! OK then I think....

Then we wait for the whistle..... I can't hear crap due to the delay from the mike and the question pops up on the screen. I read it .... easily answer... and WOOHOO the crowd goes wild around me!!! I am like "What is going on?!?!?"

Then she hands me a paper stating:

Congratulations from JetBlue -- you have just won 2 tickets to see the Islanders play the Tampa Bay Lightning on March 14th in Tampa!!! You also receive air, hotel and travel accomodations for the same event!!!

OH CRAP!!! What am I gonna tell my wife...... I have to take my season ticket partner. Everything we have won at games we have split over the years..... this is not gonna go over well!! LOL Oh yeah I forgot to add that the partner is her best friend of over 25years (female).

Any suggestions on handling the issue or local hotspots from you Tampa guys?

You fly in yet?

 

[Bunk Moreland]

At the last two games I went to they gave away the same package to fans so I assuming there's going to be a group of them.