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Times Staff WriterNot just protestors flocked to the Times Forum but fans of the Dixie Chicks too, one of whom told protestors to "get over it."
TAMPA - Before Monday, the Dixie Chicks "Top of the World" tour saw few protesters.
In Orlando on Saturday, one showed up, a Texan, who held a sign: "I am ashamed the Dixie Chicks are from Texas."
And in Sunrise on Sunday, there was another lone voice against the country trio: "Bush ain't proud you're from Texas either," chided the T-shirt on Mark Ewbank of Miami.
Then came Tampa, the home of U.S. Central Command. Or more like: The home of competitive radio stations.
In a protest organized by WFLZ, 93.3-FM, a pop and dance station, about 25 people congregated near the parking lot of Beef O'Bradys across from the St. Pete Times Forum on Monday.
"Fester," a DJ with the MJ Morning Show, wouldn't explain why the station spearheaded the protest. "Let the people have their say," he said.
And so, one protester, Jeanette Planchard, a construction supervisor from Zephyrhills, held up a white plastic toilet seat cover.
"Dixie Chicks, here's your career," she said, pointing to the center of the seat.
"They finally came to my area, now I'm expressing my views," said Joe Nirenberg, a 22-year-old who graduated from USF on Saturday.
To passing cars, they waved signs: "Big Chicks, Small Brains" and "Shut up Dixie Twits."
"I like country music, and Dixie Chicks don't represent country music," said Grant Adkins, a University of Florida junior.
Across the street, WQYK, non-stop country, broadcasted live. And most Dixie Chicks fans ignored the protesters.
One little girl in a cowboy hat shouted: "Everyone has the right to their opinion."
"Get over it, get a life," said Leah Hussey, 22, from Tampa.
The Chicks have survived ridicule before, she said.
Last year, when their single Sin Wagon came out with lyrics about "mattress dancing," the public was outraged, saying the song was not suitable for young kids.
"But it made me like them more," said Hussey.
On March 10, on the eve of war, Dixie Chicks lead singer Natalie Maines told a London audience: "Just so you know we're ashamed the President of the United States is from Texas."
It started a landslide.
Their hit song Travelin' Soldier tumbled completely off the charts.
Sales of Home, their latest CD, plummeted.
So what did the Chicks do?
They posed nude on the cover of Entertainment Weekly, their bodies stenciled with the names people called them: "Saddam's Angels," "Dixie sluts," "Traitor."
In an interview with ABC's Diane Sawyer, Maines stopped short of apologizing.
"Am I sorry that I asked questions and that I just don't follow? No," she said.
Now, their CD is back on the charts. And their tour is selling out. The audience at the Forum on Monday was a near sellout at about 16,000.
"We forgive them," said Casey McMillan, 21, a fan.
Yet, others haven't.
"Wait til they play Texas," said Scott Young, 19, waving an American flag. "It's going to be ugly."
- Times researcher John Martin contributed to this report.