TAMPA BAY, FL – The Tampa Bay Rays are one win from playing in the World Series, and if you are in the area, you honestly couldn’t tell. There is no real buzz for the Rays in Tampa Bay.
The team has no rings to show for their franchise, and this town should be hopping with anticipation. At a recent watch party inside Tropicana Field for Game 6, a stunning 42,000 empty seats outnumbered the 600 fans in attendance.
There was a 5 bucks admission and for 60 bucks, you got the V.I.P. package of free food and field access, where you can play catch in the rightfield area. 
The fans didn’t take advantage of this deal, and the few that attended tried to justify this by saying the Tampa Bay Bucs were playing a home game. Really now. An 0-4 Bucs team drew more interest than a Game 5 playoff game? D.J. Fresh was spinning the tunes between innings, as fan favorite and ex-Ray Brett Phillips was riling up the 600 devotees with trivia questions and autograph balls for the correct answers.
The only buzz came from this sparse crowd as crickets can be heard around the St. Pete area, where very little Rays’ gear is seen in the streets.
When Rays closer Bryan Baker shut down the Guardians and the sounds inside The Trop had Katrina and the Waves blasting their tune, “Walking on Sunshine,” the fans went nuts. It sounded like a full house, as the 600 faithful screamed and cheered.
Reality then set in when walking down Central Avenue felt like a ghost town. No dancing in the streets, No buzz and certainly nobody walking on sunshine.
