Tampa Bay Fans Of The Week: Bob Dearie And Chris Melnik

Typically, this space is used to honor the fans of the teams that call Tampa Bay home. This week, in honor of Veterans Day, we’re spotlighting two of many, many people of whom WE are fans. Senior Master Sgt. Bob Dearie and Senior Master Sgt. Chris Melnik were among those service members on hand Tuesday night at the St. Pete Times Forum to participate in the Military Night festivities presented by the Tampa Bay Lightning. Both men are assigned to the 6th Communications Squadron (6CS) at MacDill Air Force Base. The 6CS is tasked with providing world class communications, airfield, multimedia, & conference support to the 6th Air Mobility Wing, two combatant commands, and 49 other mission partners while training and equipping communications professionals to support deployments worldwide. SB Nation Tampa Bay salutes these professionals, as well as all service members past, present and future, as well as heir families, for their sacrifices on our behalf and for their role in serving our nation. We’d also like to take this opportunity to wish everyone a happy and safe Veterans Day.

As part of the SB Nation Tampa Bay Fan of the Week series, we are learning more about the bloggers who cover your Tampa Bay area sports teams.

Today we’re chatting with an anonymous fan of your Tampa Bay Lightning hockey club. And though he prefers not to use a real name, he is known across the internets as someone with a passion for those bolts.

Here is a quick Q&A with the man known as Don’t Trade Vinny:

How did you come to be a fan of the Lightning?

The first year I really discovered hockey was the Lightning’s expansion year. Little kid logic therefore dictated that they become my favorite team. It’s been a wild ride to say the least.

Why did you start blogging about the Lightning?

Well, the ‘Cowboys’ and Rick Tocchet were running the team into the ground, and I grew sick of it.So, I took my angry disposition to the web, and people seemed to enjoy it.

How did you get involved with SB Nation?

Because of John and Cassie over at Raw Charge, I post a ‘real’ article about the team every so often, and frequent the game and open threads.

What’s your favorite Lightning story ever?

My favorite story is of Dave Andreychuk’s retirement.

After the lockout, and due to the rule changes, Andreychuk was having a hard time adapting and decided to retire. Through a careful process of handling waivers and what not, the Lightning handled Andreychuk in a way that he could retire midway through the season, but remain on the books and get paid to be with his family as a thanks to his captaincy, and leadership to the team.

The management realize his value, and put principle ahead of the ‘bottom line.’ The definition of class.

What’s the weirdest thing to ever happen with the Lightning?

This is hard to put in perspective, but the freshest thing that the Lightning have done that really made me scratch my head is the whole “Seen Stamkos?” ordeal. Creating an ad promotion for a player that not only was not on our team yet, but at the very start of it all was not guaranteed to be on our team was not only risky, but quite awkward in my opinion. And that’s not even mentioning the fact that rather frequently first round draft picks are complete flops. Thankfully he hasn’t been, but there was a lot of money put into those ads.

What do you hate hearing from opposing fans?

Critical comments about wasting expansion in the South. “No one cares about the Lightning.” So on. I am just as passionate about our team than anyone in Toronto or Montreal.

If you’d like to learn more about Don’t Trade Vinny, catch him hanging around Raw Charge and other SB Nation haunts, on Twitter, and on his own blog, tastefully entitled Don’t Trade Vinny.

We're always looking for Tampa Bay's most outrageous, outspoken, excitable, enthusiastic fans.  If you see anyone who fits the description, snap a photo, tell us what makes them such a great fan of our local teams, and send it to us at TampaBay@sbnation.com.

I know... here we go again.

Less than two weeks after naming an entire pro sports team a 'fan,' here we go bestowing a head coach with the 'fan of the week' honors.

Hey - I can't help it if they keep acting like they belong in the stands instead of in the game.

I'm sure you know why Coach Rah-Rah is on this list.  Because he's acting just like that Sammy from the accounting department.  You know -- the guy who really doesn't know much about the game, but insists that his team is the best, and won't shut up for a week after a win -- no matter how shaky.

And just as Sammy once declared "Look, we're FIVE DASH TWO!," Coach Rah Rah says his team is the best team in the NFC.  Check the quote from Sunday:

"I like where we are. We’re 4-2. We’re the best team in the NFC. Yeah, I said it."

Now sure, this is a bit understandable.  It was just after the game. Half of us fans around him walking down the ramps from the 300 level were yelling "Tampa" and the other half responding "Bay."  There was lots of hootin' and hollerin'.  I'm sure I heard someone yell out "Super Bowl." It must be that Coach Rah Rah just got caught up in the excitement, and screamed it out before downing that last swig of $9 beer.

I mean, come on, especially when the game is won in the last 10 seconds, it takes a good 20 minutes to come down from that.  Usually, I'm not really dissecting the game until I at least get across Himes Avenue.  Anything said before that is emotional, not logical.

But when given an entire day to reconsider (and go ahead and picture Sammy from accounting bounding down the stairs), you know this guy can't be shaken.  Monday:

"You are what your record says you are," Morris said. "Right now, we are tied for the least amount of losses, and that makes us the best team in the NFC."

That, my friends, is not a head coach, but a fan.

And the SB Nation Tampa Bay Fan Of The Week, no less.

We're always looking for Tampa Bay's most outrageous, outspoken, excitable, enthusiastic fans.  If you see anyone who fits the description, snap a photo, tell us what makes them such a great fan of our local teams, and send it to us at TampaBay@sbnation.com.

As part of the SB Nation Tampa Bay Fan of the Week series, we plan to find out more about the bloggers who cover your Tampa Bay area sports teams.

First up is a man who goes by the screen name of UNFNole.  Mike Neilson went to the University of North Florida, and writes about the Bucs over at Bucs Nation, one of the best Bucs blogs around, and a proud member of SB Nation. 

He says he is a 'die-hard Bucs, Noles, Braves and Magic fan,' loves everything about sports, and is an avid golfer with a 25 handicap.

He's in his mid-20s, happily married and lives in Atlanta.  We asked a few more questions:

How did you come to be a fan of the Bucs?

I've always loved football, even as a youngster. However, I have not always cheered for the Bucs. My dad wasn't much of an NFL guy. He taught me to despise the Florida Gators and so naturally I chose to be a Florida State Seminoles fan. I have specific memories of watching NFL games early on, but the first team I can ever remember cheering for was the Buffalo Bills during their run of four consecutive losing Super Bowls. I loved Thurman Thomas, Jim Kelly and Andre Reed. That was exciting football.

As a Seminoles fan it should be hard to pick my favorite 'Nole. It's not though. It's Warrick Dunn. I thought he was one of the most electric players in college football, a good human being and I loved watching him play. When he left Florida State, I 'followed' him to the Bucs and instantly became a Bucs fan. I started latching on to the team as a whole and have never lost my passion for the Tampa Bay Bucs.

Why did you start blogging about the Bucs?

I love talking about football. More specifically, I love talking about the Bucs. I joined SBNation after I found TomahawkNation (hence the name UNFNole). I soon found the Bucs site and started commenting there too. A reader of the site who also runs NFLTouchdown.com asked me to start writing, so I did. Niko then recruited me over to (formerly) BucEm.

What has been your most successful article, and why?

I've written a lot of articles I'm proud of, but the most "successful" is probably "Tampa 2 Defense Explained." It was an easy article for me to write. Perhaps my favorite part of football is strategy. I love breaking apart defenses and could watch game-film all day long.

Describe the sports scene and fans in Tampa Bay.

I have never lived in Tampa. I'd be just as qualified to talk about that as I am qualified to talk about the Dow Jones.

Can you explain the differences to another sports town?

I'll compare what I know of TB to Atlanta. Atlanta is a more casual NFL town. Their are far more Braves and Dawg fans here than there are Falcons. I would say if you go to Tampa you are going to hear far more people talking about their NFL town than their baseball team (albeit they have been incredibly successful the last two years).

What's your favorite Bucs story ever?

I used to love going to training camps in Orlando. I met several of the players, coaches and we generally had a great time. They should move it back.

What's the weirdest thing to ever happen with the Bucs?

Winning a Super Bowl. After failing to get there for so many years, it was weird. Not a fluke...just weird.

What do you hate hearing from opposing fans?

"Raheem Morris sucks."

I get sick of hearing it from our own fans though as well. If it is true (which I don't believe it is), it's way too early to tell and the sample size we have, shouldn't matter. It's ignorant. I hate ignorant fans from any city.

Hey Mike - thanks a bunch for all you do in keeping Bucs fans informed!  Make sure to keep an eye on those Falcons for us up there.

We're always looking for Tampa Bay's most outrageous, outspoken, excitable, enthusiastic fans.  If you see anyone who fits the description, snap a photo, tell us what makes them such a great fan of our local teams, and send it to us at TampaBay@sbnation.com.

I know what you’re thinking. How can a sports team be named as a ‘Fan of the Week?’

But the Lightning, or more specifically, coach Guy Boucher made the choice easy when he decided that the team would stick around after home wins and salute the fans.

After the Lightning’s 5-3 victory over the Thrashers on Saturday, the players stood at center ice and raised their sticks to salute the announced crowd of 19,791 at the St. Pete Times Forum.

That, in essence, makes the team a fan of the fans.

Boucher’s thinking:

“People pay to get a show,” Boucher said. "They’re the ones who make this team do what it has to do. It comes on the ice to make a show, and once the show is made, I think it’s important the players recognize the people (who) paid to get in here.’’

Still not convinced?

Let’s compare, shall we?

Rays fans stayed away in droves, and the response from at least two players was to chastise fans and talk about embarrassment.

Bucs fans stay away in droves, and their response is to deny local fans the opportunity to watch on television.

So, for being fans of the fans, the Tampa Bay Lightning has earned the right to be SB Nation Tampa Bay’s Fan of the Week.

Karen Fassett is a snowbird.  She usually heads to Florida in January, after the holidays. But this year, she came down early.

Richard Scofield has been a Buccaneers season ticket holder for a decade or more. But recent medical issues have put him in a wheelchair.  He needs help getting around and taking care of those things we all have to take care of.

So Karen came down from Irwin, Pennsylvania early this year to help Richard get around.  Irwin is about fifteen miles east of Pittsburgh, and many Irwinnians (?) are Steelers fans, as is Karen.

It just so happens that the Bucs had those Pittsburgh Steelers on the home schedule, and so Fassett was more than happy to help Richard get to the game on Sunday.

And she wore her feelings on her terrible towel yellow t-shirt, proudly proclaiming "I'M A FAN" of those despicable Pittsburgh Steelers.

Richard, meanwhile, had the good sense to be decked out in Buccaneers white and red, with Cadillac's jersey number 24 on his shoulders.

Still, for coming all the way from Irwin to do what she can to help out, Karen Fassett is the SB Nation Tampa Bay Hero Fan of the Week.

We're always looking for Tampa Bay's most outrageous, outspoken, excitable, enthusiastic fans.  If you see anyone who fits the description, snap a photo, tell us what makes them such a great fan of our local teams, and send it to us at TampaBay@sbnation.com.

Of the three nominations below, leave a comment and your choice for which should be named the Buccaneers v. Steelers enemy fan of the week.

Jonathan
Derek & Jeff
‘Little’ Alyssa

This is Jonathan.  Or it might be Johnathon, Jonathan, or Johnathan.  Doesn't matter, really.  Just look at this display.

Where do we start?

I guess with the mohawk, painted black and yellow (maybe he's with Derek and Jeff?), and spiked forward.

Then there's the Joe Maddon glasses.

And the earring (maybe he's with Derek and Jeff?).

All of which is fine and good.

But then we have the artistic flair around the sides of the dude's head.

Had it just been a painted mohawk, we could have ignored this guy, and moved on, simply shaking our heads.  But it just wasn't that easy.

The guy looks like a tennis shoe.  'Steelers' is etched in his head. The two ees never end, zig-zagging down his head back and forth like a ski slope.  Just odd.

We caught Jon walking around Buccaneers Cove before the game, and wonder if he got a sunburn on the top of that thing by the end.

We're alwlays looking for Tampa Bay's most outrageous, outspoken, excitable, enthusiastic fans.  If you see anyone who fits the description, snap a photo, tell us what makes them such a great fan of our local teams, and send it to us at TampaBay@sbnation.com.

Kindergarteners Derek and Jeff drove down from Pittsburgh to play in Tampa Bay.  They wore no shirts to show off their fascination with fingerpaints (and hairpaint and face paint and who-knows-what-else paint).

They also showed their expertise in working with construction paper.  In addition to the tried-and-true "D Fence," a play on words with a modern song from 1977, and sucking up to the network who showed the game (in some markets), someone reported seeing a paper doll.  I think it was of Troy Polamalu.

It gets worse.

Since Heat Miser was doing his thing, puddles of yellow & black sweat formed around these two, covering the seats and forcing their neighbors to move away.

See those yellow towels?  They didn't bring them along to clean up their disgusting mess. 

Apparently, on the trip from Pittsburgh, they ran out of gas, and they used them in an attempt to flag down passersby to thelp them out.  Being Steelers fans, no one helped them out. But they waved those rags so much they couldn't stop even when they reached Raymond James Stadium.  They stood up at various times throughout the game, waving these things around still hoping someone would come to their rescue.

They were ignored, and by the start of the fourth quarter, Bucs fans nearby had simply left them there to melt in the sun.

It is not known if they made it back to Pittsburgh, or if they are still there trying to flag someone down.

We're alwlays looking for Tampa Bay's most outrageous, outspoken, excitable, enthusiastic fans.  If you see anyone who fits the description, snap a photo, tell us what makes them such a great fan of our local teams, and send it to us at TampaBay@sbnation.com.

Look at her, but do not be fooled.

Sure, she's not very tall, and her appearance may seem to indicate that she's just an innocent young little girl waiting to see a football game. And that's exactly what Alyssa wants you to think.

Look closer, and you'll see the oversized hat, the oversized glasses, and the oversized jersey - all tricks to make her look even smaller than she is.

Even worse, the colors of the gear she is wearing belies her allegiances. The blackest black contrasts wickedly with the yellowist yellows.  Zoom in, and you can see the Steelmark logo.  Twice.  Even says STEELERS on that huge brain shield.

But focus on those glasses for a minute.  In the bright sunshine, many of us - even Floridians - wear sunglasses.  But only a very few of us wear sunglasses that are bigger than our head.  And we all know you can't trust anybody with big sunglasses. Alyssa's are so big, they are obviously protective shades - normally used for welding or forging or some kind.

Anyway, Aunt Lisa (in the Bucs jersey) knew of the girl's true powers.  You'll notice she has her in custody, and is just inches away from putting a choke hold on the (supposed) youngster.

Alas, it also looks as if the tiny Pittsburgher painted Aunt Lisa's fingernails black, weakening her.  She eventually got free of her grasp, and was able to cheer the terrible Pittsburgh Steelers on to victory at vaunted Raymond James Stadium.

And that's why Alyssa is a finalist for the SB Nation Tampa Bay Enemy Of The Week.

We're alwlays looking for Tampa Bay's most outrageous, outspoken, excitable, enthusiastic fans.  If you see anyone who fits the description, snap a photo, tell us what makes them such a great fan of our local teams, and send it to us at TampaBay@sbnation.com.

You might remember Heat Miser from his unforgettable role in The Year Without a Santa Claus. We learned all about Heat Miser in a musical number that has been seared into our head.

We know that some call him Mr. Green Christmas, he's known as Mr. Sun, others call him Heat Blister or Mr. Hundred And One. Everything he touch starts to melt in his clutch. He's too much. Too much.

We kinda figured he spent a lot of time in Florida, but what we didn't know is that Heat Miser is a Buccaneers fan.

We found him in section 103, which I would guess is his favorite temperature.

From the beginning of every football season through to the time change in October, Mr. Heat Miser ensures that game day temperatures are in the 90s and above.

You know he was there on Sunday, 'cuz it felt like a thousand degrees in the stadium.  And I must say it was a good plan.

With the Bucs wearing white, the Steelers were forced to don black jerseys to Raymond James Stadium on Sunday, and those same Steelers having had some temperature troubles last week.  Meanwhile, Heat Miser was there with his bag of tricks trying to help your hometown heroes get a bit of an edge.

You can see in the photo he's getting ready to throw the ol' heat ray in the direction of the Steelers sideline.

The Steelers were ready for him, though. Steel Miser minions were holding up a reflective shield specifically to avoid the heat rays.

In the end, Heat Miser's efforts were not quite enough, as the Steelers whooped up on our beloved heroes.

But the grand effort by Heat Miser Buc Fan earns him the SB Nation Tampa Bay designation of Fan of the Week.

We're alwlays looking for Tampa Bay's most outrageous, outspoken, excitable, enthusiastic fans.  If you see anyone who fits the description, snap a photo, tell us what makes them such a great fan of our local teams, and send it to us at TampaBay@sbnation.com.

You might remember Amelia Lamoscatella.  She's the one who caught two foul balls after getting hit in the face with one - all in a single inning. Joe Maddon rightly gave her props for sticking in there after the smack.

The incredible feat landed her a spot on the CBS morning show, complete with a misspelling of her name on the web copy, and morning show host Harry Smith calling the team the "Devil Rays" - not once, but TWICE (he's a Yankee fan, so go figure). Lamoscatella is way too classy to correct Smith, but she made sure to call 'em by their proper name.

Smith presented a gift bag from the Rays, including a baseball autographed by the entire team, and four tickets to last night's game against the Yankees.

In return, Lamoscatella gave Smith a baseball from Joe Maddon.  He showed his appreciation by saying he would bury it underneath his Yankee stuff.  Yep. (Watch the entire video below.)

Lamoscatella, on the other hand, is a class act, a great Tampa Bay Rays fan, and a wonderful example of the fans we have here in the Tampa Bay area.  That's why Amelia Lamoscatella is the inaugural SB Nation Tampa Bay fan of the week!

We are always on the lookout for Tampa Bay's most outrageous, outspoken, excitable, and enthusiastic fans.  If you know of anyone who fits the description, snap a photo, tell us what makes them such a great fan of our local teams, and send it to us at TampaBay@sbnation.com.