Raymond James Stadium

And here I am in Raymond James Stadium!

Finally--two weekends deep in November and I'm seeing my first football game of the year. It's almost embarrassing. But, I don't create the schedule and this game was picked for good reason. You see, Big Blue is in town, along with a bunch of my closest Big Blue buddies. Just like last year in Jacksonville, we circled this date on the calendar when the schedule came out.

My day started with yet another stupid early flight, and once again I somehow woke up 2 minutes before my 4:00 am alarm, initially panicking since I thought I might have missed it. Though it was a nice crisp early morning with temps in the 30s, there was no snow in the yard like last year. The night sky created the beauty this time, with a sinking crescent moon being chased to the horizon by a bright Venus and Jupiter, coupled with some clearly visible Leonid meteor shower bursts that were actually a bit alarming in my pre-caffeinated drive down 684.

I didn't allow myself to get distracted, though, and arrived safely at LGA in ample time for my 7:15 flight. Plenty of other fans in Giants gear joined me at the gate. Big Blue surely would be well represented.

I arrived in Tampa in time for a late breakfast, opting for a recommended place near my hotel. I had packed lightly because it's just an overnight trip, but also because it is hot and humid, with temperatures now in the 80s: no jacket or long sleeves required. Changing to shorts was my first order of business. This is not football weather, especially for November. Some places out west have opened ski resorts, but warm weather in the east means no hopes of skiing for a few more weeks.

Before the game, I wasn't sure what to expect. I didn't expect the offense to repeat its six-TD effort (plus one on defense), and I certainly hoped the defense didn't yield seven more. I did hope, however, that the return of JPP would strengthen the defense big time. The gang discussed this all over our informal tailgate. Once inside the stadium, the next noteworthy occurrence was the pregame Veteran's Day tribute, which included veterans sky-diving into the stadium, a low flyover of military helicopters escorting a huge prop plane and Buzz Aldrin in the Bucs' iconic pirate ship. Great stuff!

One of three military veterans coming in for a landing (circled) during pregame ceremonies.

All of the pregame hopes proved true. The Giants started by being intercepted on the first play of the game and yielding a FG. Then, the Giants got ahead and stayed ahead. Nothing spectacular, but they oddly felt in control most of the way and never surrendered the lead. JPP ensured that with some strong fourth quarter play. I'll take a conference road win any time. 

Opening kickoff!

JPP on the sideline
(with the coach in front of him, and another pass rusher behind)

As for my all-important stats, the Bucs become the 28th team I've seen play at home. I'm 7/8 of the way there! I have four teams and seven stadiums to go. Seeing the Bucs at home means I've knocked off the NFC south, and have seen all four teams of half of the eight NFL Divisions. Not bad...

Reveling for just a bit post game at our seats, fans took pictures of each other.
I obliged and let mine be taken...

One final bit of bemusement awaited me when opening my hotel curtains the next morning. I had dropped my bag off at the hotel after the late breakfast, and walked over to the tailgate party. Checking in to the hotel after the game and well after dark, I had no idea that a fine view of the stadium was right outside my window.

The stadium view from my room.

I'm really glad I made the trip, and got to see the Giants win on the road for the first time since seeing them in Indy...in 1990. It was also good to see the gang from last year (and note to self: start eyeing the 2016 matchups). I also should mention the very friendly crowd. Despite the very large number of Giants fans who once again made the trip to Florida for a November game, it was a passive crowd. A bitter taste in my mouth remains from a Yankees at Rays game in 2010, but there was nothing resembling that here. Also noteworthy is George Steinbrenner field right across the street from the Stadium. Surely I'll be back for a Baby Yankees' game...

Go Blue!

And, for good measure, here is my updated stadium chart:

Year	Date	Home team	Stadium	Opponent, score, notes
1988		Giants / Jets†	Giants*	Giants & Jets home games
1990	11/4	Browns†	Municipal	BUF42-CLE0
	11/5	Colts†	Hoosierdome	NYG24-IND7
1991	9/8	Bengals†	Riverfront	HOU30-CIN7
	9/15	Bears	Soldier Field	CHI20-NYG17
1993	12/11	Redskins	RFK	NYJ3-WAS0
1997	12/7	Ravens	Memorial Stadium	BAL31-SEA24
1998	11/1	Redskins	Jack Kent Cooke* (Fedex)	WAS21-NYG14
2000	11/19	Ravens	PSINet*	BAL27-DAL0
	12/3	Chargers	Qualcomm	SF45-SD17
2001	12/2	Dolphins	Pro Player	MIA21-DEN10
2002	10/20	Saints	Superdome	NO35-SF27
2003	10/12	Packers	Lambeau Field	KC40-GB34 OT
2006	11/12	Raiders	McAfee Field	DEN17-OAK13
2007	10/14	Seahawks	QWest Field	NO28-SEA17
2008	11/9	Falcons	Georgiadome	ATL34-NO20
2009	10/4	Patriots	Gillette	NE27-BAL21
	11/15	Titans	LP Stadium	TN41-BUF17
2010	10/24	Panthers	Bank of America Stadium	CAR23-SF20
	11/28	Giants	New Meadowlands Arena*	NYG24-JAC20
2011	9/24	Rams	Edward Jones Dome	BAL37-STL7
	11/6	Bills	Ralph Wilson Stadium	NYJ27-BUF11 (day)
		Steelers	Heinz Field	BAL23-PIT20 (night)
2012	9/9	Vikings	Mall of America Field	MIN26-JAC23 OT
	9/30	Cardinals	Phoenix Stadium	ARZ23-MIA20 OT
	11/18	Chiefs	Arrowhead	CIN28-KC6
2013	11/3	Jets	MetLife	NYJ26-NO20
	12/12	Broncos	Sports Authority Field	SD27-DEN20
2014	11/23	Eagles	Lincoln Financial Field	PHI43-TEN24
	11/30	Jaguars	EverBank Field	JAC25-NYG24
2015	11/8	Buccaneers	Raymond James Stadium	NYG32-TMP18