TAMPA, Fla. Tampa Mayor and dedicated sports fan Jane Castor seems willing to do almost anything to secure a Super Bowl title in her city, telling ESPN jokingly that she will even rename it after Tom Brady if he and the Buccaneers win Sunday.
“I told him we were not discussing changing our city’s name until he brought home the Lombardi trophy. So Tom and I will be booking at the right time,” Castor said. ‘Yes, we’ll talk about it and change’ Tampa ‘as we become a title city, to’ Tompa Bay ‘. We will have those discussions. ‘
Brady’s welcome in Tampa began when he was looted from a public park without a ceremony in April during a home order. This led to Castor writing an open letter to Brady with a slight apology for the misunderstanding in which she told him, ‘Tom, this is Tampa Bay. Not Tampa Brady. You win us a Super Bowl and we discuss Tampa Brady. ‘
Outside the city “renamed”, Castor did promise ways in which the city would honor Brady, saying “without a doubt we will have a Tom Brady day.”
Castor is also open to the idea that Buccaneers in linebacker Devin White – probably their best performer in the post-season – ride his horse Dream in Raymond James Stadium, something he would like to do. He calls his horse riding Daisy Mae in the Tiger Stadium of LSU ‘the best day of my life’.
“It’s definitely an option,” Castor said. “But it will only happen one way, and that is if I can ride a horse with Devin White. We can definitely do that. … I grew up with horses so he and I can both ride and that Lombardi can he. trophy on horseback together. ‘
The Tampa Sports Authority, which manages the Raymond James Stadium, and the Buccaneers told ESPN that they would discuss internally the possibility of getting a horse into the stadium. But even if that does not happen, Castor, the former Tampa police chief, said she would be happy to go with White for a ride through the city.
“Are you kidding me? We’re holding a parade for the patrol,” Castor said. ‘I was just down at the [Tampa] Convention Center with our mounted patrol unit. Yes, definitely. I just went horseback riding the day before last Sunday, so I know my horse. And I will find my way around that Lombardi trophy! ‘
As for the Super Bowl, Castor is pleased that the area is complying with its executive mandate to wear masks in certain outdoor areas, including the nearly three-mile-long Riverwalk along downtown Tampa. Tampa’s existing mandates did not require outdoor masks.
“The areas were determined by the idea that there would be large crowds who could not distance themselves socially,” Castor said. “And so far we’ve met a lot of that.”
She also said that dr. Anthony Fauci said on Wednesday when he told people to avoid Super Bowl parties and ‘just lay low and cool down’.
“We also join the mantra. We want everyone to stay home and enjoy the Super Bowl excitement and the Buccaneers victory in the safety of your own home,” Castor said. “But we also realize that individuals are going to be very excited and that a lot of people are going to come out. That’s why we encourage the use of masks inside and out if you can not distance yourself socially.
“We want everyone to have a safe and healthy Super Bowl experience. Everyone who comes to visit the city, we want them to come healthy, and to leave healthy. The only people who will be disappointed are the KC fans. “