Rays’ Longoria: L.A. vs. the LBC
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There is a region called Tampa Bay, but there is no city called Tampa Bay. The Rays do not play in Tampa -- they play across the bay, in St. Petersburg.
In an interview with Yahoo Sports, Evan Longoria appeared to disrespect L.A. in favor of Long Beach. Should be fun if Longoria, who played at Long Beach State, and the Rays face the Dodgers in the World Series:
Q: Can you tell yet if there’s a difference between the kind of person who lives in Tampa vs. St. Petersburg? EL: Oh, yeah, absolutely. It’s almost like — from my perspective — the difference between being from Long Beach and being from L.A. I don’t want to say there’s a — I don’t want to say ‘stuck up’ — but the St. Pete natives come to the game dressed as baseball fans. Tampa people come dressed to go out. There’s girls in heels dressed up and ready to go out. Usually, the St. Pete people that are fans, are FANS. They’re there to watch the game and support us. Q: How do you know this? EL: That’s just the way it is. Tampa’s a smaller version of L.A. I think it’s because the night life is better there. The people there are more prone to being more up[scale] socialites. I don’t know how to explain it more, but there is a definite difference. -- Bill Shaikin