TSB in Tampa: Found! Cardinals Fans!

Chris Mottram is on the loose in Tampa this week. He'll be posting about various goodness and misadventures here on no particular schedule.

One of the objectives I set for myself upon arrival Monday was to find a Cardinals fan. Any Cardinals fan. (The guy I photographed in Radio Row yesterday doesn’t count -- he was part of the media.) I knew the hunt would be a difficult one, and indeed, it was. But this morning, after staking out a shady spot outside of the Media Center, and patiently, silently waiting, two 12-point bucks strolled into my scopes. BAM:

Meet Larry and Larry from Phoenix, two brave souls who must shoulder the rooting interests of an entire state by themselves. They arrived in Tampa last night, saying they “saved 1,600 bucks” to come in Wednesday instead of today or tomorrow. Still, this was no cheap trip for the duo. They didn’t divulge the total amount of their seven day trip (they leave Florida on Tuesday), but this should give you some idea of the total cost: The $825 they spent, each, for their upper level tickets to the game was “the cheap part of the trip.” (This was face value, by the way.)

If this seems like a lotta loot to spend on a football game, you’re intuition is correct: it is. But the two told me it was worth it because “this doesn’t happen for the Cardinals very often.” Or ever. Before parting ways with my huntees, I let them know I’ll be rooting for Arizona, hoping they didn’t blow all that cash in vein. They assured me the outcome doesn’t matter, just as long as it’s a close game. We’ll see how well that “just happy to be here” state of mind holds up if Jeff Reed kicks a game-winner in the final seconds.

(Also worth noting: Neither Larry broke any of the rules of jersey wearing. Bravo, sirs.)

This post originally appeared on the Sporting Blog. For more, see The Sporting Blog Archives.