Tropicana Field nostalgia hits fever pitch
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Scoring Saturday night's Rays game giveaway — a light-up replica of the Trop — required a fair amount of haggling. Photos: Kathryn Varn/Axios
We were so cocky, strolling into Tropicana Field 10 minutes before Saturday night's first pitch, spoiled by our easily obtained player bobbleheads and specialty jerseys at past Rays promotional games.
- Not only were the light-up Trop replicas already gone — we'd missed the wave of giveaways by 40 minutes, a staffer told us.
- Later that night, I checked eBay and saw that one had already sold for $75. More were up for bid, starting at $50.
Why it matters: In this season that's both a homecoming and the start of a long goodbye, Trop nostalgia is at an all-time high.
State of play: Fans were already lined up for Saturday's game before gates opened at 4:10pm, undeterred by the stormy weather.
- Heading to our seats empty-handed, my friend Brian (a Rays megafan and season ticket holder) and I (a kitsch enthusiast) eyed the yellow and blue boxes with cartoon villain levels of conniving:
- "I can take 'em," I said of an elderly couple who had the audacity to take one box each. (Two! For one household!)
Half a beer later, liquid courage coursing through our veins, we started approaching people.
- "Not even close," a woman said to my fiancé after he offered to buy her a beer in exchange, and that became representative of our fruitless quest. Even a group of Giants fans turned us down.
The big picture: For a ballpark considered one of the worst in Major League Baseball, the Trop commands a strong fanbase in its own backyard.
- "There are memories here," Tampa Bay Times editor Christian Blauvelt wrote in a recent love letter to the stadium. For a sampling, just look at the comments.
- It makes me think of my friend Brian's Trop tattoo. It shows the stadium, ringed by palm trees and rays of sunlight. "Another man's treasure," it reads, playing on the proverb.
What they're saying: That loyalty only strengthened after Hurricane Milton, Rays chief business officer Bill Walsh told Axios.
- "Now we've got this incredible comeback story," Walsh said, adding that the April 25 "Back in the 'Burg" T-shirt giveaway was also wildly popular. Some of those shirts, too, ended up on eBay.
- That just further speaks to the fervor, he said. (It also doesn't break any giveaway rules, he said. Trust me. I asked.)
Back beneath the dome, the Rays were winning, but Brian and I were losing, still empty-handed.
- Walking back to our seats, a man ran up behind us. He heard we were in the market for some Trop replicas, and had two he was willing to sell for $25 each.
- We bought them. Of course we did. "One man's trash," as they say.