What happens when we send our brand-new intern to Tampa to cover the biggest celebration in local hockey history.
By Times Online Staff
Published June 9, 2004
[Times photos: Tanya Caldwell]
Janice and Ron Strand of Land O'Lakes, outside the St. Pete Times Forum this morning, took a vacation day to attend.
Illinois resident Jeff Johnson, 42, camped out in Tampa for two weeks during the Stanley Cup Finals. The goalie was a little much for him during Wednesday's celebration. "I'm starting to drip," he said.
Eric Yung, 59, may resemble Santa Claus, but the Safety Harbor resident and Lightning fan couldn't be farther from the North Pole.
Did you develop an unexpected cough this morning? Perhaps feeling a little light-headed? Maybe even a bad sore throat? Something serious enough to keep you out of work today, coincidentally the same day of the Tampa Bay Lightning victory celebration parade?
Then you're playing hooky for hockey, and we've got someone looking for you.
Tanya Caldwell, the multimedia intern for the Times Online, is covering the Lightning parade live today from downtown Tampa. She's interviewing fans on the street and reporting back, while providing photos via cam phone. Later today, she'll write more on the experience.
9:15 a.m.: Tanya leaves our downtown St. Petersburg office for the trip over to Tampa. With her, she's carrying a camera phone, digital camera and digital video camera.
10:55 a.m.: Camped out outside the St. Pete Times Forum, she sends us her first two photos of the day.
11:30 a.m.: The phone in the web editors' office rings. When we pick it up, all we hear is thumping loud music. Finally we hear our first report: "I'm outside the Forum, there's probably a few thousand people here right now, where they'll have the concert later today." We ask for a few crowd photos, which we hope to post soon.
12:41 p.m.: Our intern is lost -- in a sea of fans, we believe. If you see her, tell her to phone home!
1:29 p.m -- Contact. We've found Tanya. She has resurfaced at the Forum after the parade ended.
"I stayed near the Forum for most of the parade. Most of the crowd stayed near there," she reported. "The biggest cheers were for Habby (Nikolai Khabibulin). People were bowing down to him."
Interviewing the fans, Tanya found some people who were probably expected back at work. One fan, Katt McLean of Clearwater, at least fessed up to her bosses.
"I just told them I had to go to the parade," McLean said. "I'm probably supposed to go back after this, but I'm probably just going to go back home, download these pictures and e-mail them to my friends."
"As far as I'm concerned, I'm playing hooky for the day."
Another parade spectator, Jeff Johnson of Illinois, said he had attended every game this season, producing handful of ticket stubs to back up the claim. "I'm a bandwagoner. It's got me hooked," he said. Johnson, who sported a goalie mask while watching the players drive by, had a little more spare time than the average fan -- he was laid off from his job before coming to Tampa.
2:45 p.m. -- As the indoor ceremony winds down, there's more news. While there is no official attendance figure yet, the Forum appeared filled. (Though the seating configuration allows for about 22,000 people, fans were seated on the floor, too). "The place is packed inside, except for the nosebleed seats," she reports.
Among the souvenirs for sale, championship T-shirts and hats are the top-sellers. But fans weren't shy about the $6 beers either.
As an intern and newcomer to the Tampa Bay area, Tanya isn't the most savvy hockey fan (yet). When we asked who got the biggest cheers, she replied, "Number 25." (That's Dave Andreychuk, the team captain who carried the Stanley Cup onto the stage) Similarly, she was confused why the crowd seemingly turned against another player. "They booed No. 35!" she reports.
Ummm, not really. That's Nikolai Khabibulin, the goalie who draws chants of "Buuuuu" when he makes a stellar save between the pipes.
