Quote:Hey D6, you ever make it to a game at The Sombrero in Tampa? I got to see Barry, Rodney Peete, Herman Moore and a bunch of other good Lions players down there growing up. Got to see Sweetness, The 46, the Magic Man, Favre, and the Viqueens every year too. Saw the K Gun, Joe and Jerry, Marino every preseason and a bunch of others too. Life was good with cheap tickets to see a bad team get whooped.

 

  I never made it to a game at Tampa Stadium or the current Bucs facility,  RJS.   But i have great memories and some not so great memories of Lions-Bucs games that were played in Tampa.   Barry Sanders and Rodney Peete won for the 1st time in the NFL in Tampa in game # 6 in 1989.   It was a similar late type of comeback that Matthew Stafford has engineered this season many times.

 

  Barry had one of this most explosive games in 1997 in Tampa,  with 215 yards.   The Lions playoff game in Tampa that season though was a huge disappointment,  as it was another reinforcement that Scott Mitchell wasn't a solution at QB.   

 

 Herman Moore provided many great overall memories.   Much like Barry Sanders and Calvin Johnson,   Herman Moore was a humble NFL Superstar,  which contributed greatly to him being one of my favorite NFL Players.  

 

  You definitely saw plenty of very good and even great NFL teams and players growing up in Tampa.   One thing that stood out was the real high # of opposing fans in NFC Central Divisional games.    In some cases,  probably around 50% of the people that attended the games at Tampa Stadium.

 

  Regarding the K Gun,  a year before his illness became public knowledge,  I met Jim Kelly at a charity event.   I can't recall ever meeting someone with a stronger handshake.  Jim Kelly had a prototype QB build.   As an NFL fan,  I got great enjoyment out of watching the Bills Offense and overall team under Marv Levy and led on the field by Kelly. 

 

  The Bears from the mid 1980's were as dominant as any Defensive unit I've ever seen.  

 

  Brett Favre was the closest thing to the NFC Central/ North version of John Elway.   Along with Walter Payton,  they rank for me as the most respected opposing divisional players.  Payton was arguably the most complete RB of my lifetime.   He did everything well and with class.

---