TSB in Tampa: The People Have Arrived Just in Time For Me to Leave

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

It was a fun exciting interesting Super Bowl week in Tampa, but my journey comes to an end this morning -- I’m skipping town under the cover of darkness. (Note to self: When booking a 7AM flight, consider that this requires waking up at 4:30AM.)

Last night, I made one final journey out to put my finger on the pulse, and a city that was flat-lining earlier in the week was now pulsing with life. Downtown was mobbed with fans, likely due in large part to the Snoop Dogg concert going on outdoors. Despite the unusual 30-degree temps, the people were out in force, overtaking the exact area where I took the photo of the sad man playing music for exactly no one a few days ago. Last year, Scottsdale was packed with people like this all week. This time around, it seems most made it a weekend vacation instead. Something about the economy.

Despite the lack of “buzz” -- and my ability to do the stalker bit -- I’d like to think it was another successful trip for TSB. I mocked Steelers fans (and others, too), found Cardinals followers, not to mention the sexiest man alive, and developed a budding bromance with Scott Van Pelt. Hopefully, I made the most of what I could given what was, or wasn't, going on in Tampa, and considering I was venturing solo without any transportation. And if I didn’t, it wasn’t for lack of effort. (Carrying a 25 pound laptop bag several miles a day is great for the delts, bro.)

I now turn this blog over to Tom Ziller for your weekend coverage, as usual. Don’t forget to join him, and Spencer Hall at FirstCuts, before, during and after the game tomorrow, as well.

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