If the opening week numbers are any indication, Arena football is as popular in the Tampa Bay area as at any time since the Storm moved from St. Petersburg to Tampa in 1997.
Fresh off its fifth championship and first in Tampa, the Storm drew a 3.9 overnight rating, according to Nielsen Media Research, for Sunday's game against Orlando, which was televised regionally (Florida, Ohio, West Virginia) by NBC. Each ratings point represents 1.05-million homes.
The rating represented a 200-percent increase over the 1.3 the Orlando-Chicago game drew in the Tampa market the first week of last season. The Storm's 2003 opener against Carolina was not televised. Only the expansion New Orleans (7.0) and Philadelphia (5.8) markets and Orlando (4.3) had higher ratings than Tampa.
Put into perspective, more viewers in the Tampa market watched the Storm-Predators than the Pebble Beach National Pro-Am (3.5), NASCAR Daytona qualifying (2.8), Magic-Lakers (2.2), NHL All-Star Game (1.6) and NCAA basketball (1.1).
Numbers also were up at the St. Pete Times Forum. The announced attendance of 15,404 was comparable to the Storm's best regular-season numbers from last season and almost twice the 8,354 it drew for the opener against Carolina.
SIDELINED: Offensive/defensive lineman Kelvin Kinney will not play Friday against Georgia and could miss 2-4 weeks after aggravating a pulled groin in the third quarter of Sunday's game. Emil Ekiyor is expected to replace Kinney on defense, with Nyle Wiren possibly filling in on offense. More help is on the way from ex-Indianapolis Colts and Carolina Panthers defensive end Shawn King, eligible to come off injured reserve next week.
HOLDING HIS OWN: Defensive specialist Shea Showers had his hands full with Orlando's 6-foot-2, 215-pound Cory Fleming, who caught 13 passes for 151 yards and three touchdowns.
But Showers (5-10, 185) won his share of one-on-one battles. The Florida product had a team-high 61/2 tackles and a pass breakup. His pursuit after a Fleming reception led to a Lawrence Samuels forced fumble that was recovered by Del Lee.
"You've just got to make a play, pick your places," Showers said. "If you try to get physical with him, he's big and strong, but you've got to do your best to try to hold him up and let your teammates come and help you out."
TWO DIMENSIONAL: T.T. Toliver's speed and elusiveness as a receiver and kick returner are well-known. But his defensive play quietly has improved over the past two seasons, capped by Sunday's four-tackle, two-pass breakup performance.
"He has really come on," coach Tim Marcum said. "We forced him into defensive specialist last year because of injury, and he hadn't been (there) since high school, and I don't think he played that much in high school because he was a quarterback."
Toliver said he worked to improve his defense during the offseason. "I'm pretty much trying to be a shut-down corner."
CAUGHT REDHANDED: Orlando coach Jay Gruden said he thought Predators defensive specialist Kenny McEntyre, a two-time Defensive Player of the Year, was unfairly singled out when he was penalized three times for defensive holding and once for pass interference.
"I just want an equally-called game, that's all I ask for," Gruden said. "(Officials) are going to make mistakes. It happens. But when our guys are running down there and their jerseys are getting tugged and we don't get a flag and every time it happens to Kenny, he gets flagged. ... His were probably legit, but their's were, too."
MORE TO COME: Marcum said former Buc Joe Hamilton has the potential to become a great Arena quarterback. Though his throws were off-target at times, Hamilton passed for 270 yards and four touchdowns and escaped sack attempts by Kinney and Wiren. "For a first-year guy, I think he did a nice job," Marcum said. "It's tough to be thrown into the thick in this league at the quarterback position."
STORM FLURRIES: With three touchdown catches, offensive specialist Freddie Solomon moved to fifth on the Storm's career list with 31. He trails Stevie Thomas (150), George LaFrance (127), Samuels (78) and James Bowden (35).
