TAMPA, Florida – Tampa Mayor and sports fan Jane Castor seems willing to do almost anything to secure the Super Bowl title in her hometown, jokingly telling ESPN that she will even change her name to Tom Brady if he and the Buccaneers win on Sunday.
“I told him we wouldn’t be talking about changing the name of our city until he brought home this Lombardi trophy. So Tom and I will have this discussion in time,” Castor said. “Yes, we’ll talk about it, changing ‘Tampa,’ as we’re becoming a titular city, for ‘Tompa Bay.’ We’ll have those discussions.”
Brady’s reception in Tampa began when he was unceremoniously ripped from a public park during home stay orders in April. This led Castor to write Brady an open letter with a cheerful apology for the misunderstanding, in which he said, “Tom, it’s Tampa Bay. Not Tampa Brady. You win us a Super Bowl and we’ll talk about Tampa Brady.”
Beyond the city’s “renaming”, Castor promised ways the city would honor Brady, saying, “We’ll definitely have a Tom Brady Day.”
Castor is also open to the idea of the Buccaneers within defender Devin White, possibly his best performer in the postseason, riding his Dream horse inside Raymond James Stadium, which he has expressed a desire to do. He called riding his horse Daisy Mae at LSU’s Tiger Stadium “the best day of my life”.
“This is definitely an option,” Castor said. “But it’s only going to happen one way, and that’s if I can go horseback riding with Devin White. We can definitely do that … I grew up with horses, so he and I can go out and lift the Lombardi trophy on horseback together.” .
The Tampa Sports Authority, which manages Raymond James Stadium, and the Buccaneers told ESPN they would internally discuss the possibility of leaving a horse at the stadium. But even if that doesn’t happen, Castor, the former Tampa police chief, said she would be happy to join White for a walk around town.
“Are you kidding me? We’re going to do a mounted patrol parade,” Castor said. “I was just going down [Tampa] Convention Center with our patrol unit mounted. Yes, definitely. I just rode on Sunday before the last one, so I know my way around a horse. And I will find my way around this Lombardi trophy! “
As for putting on the Super Bowl, Castor has been pleased with compliance with the area of his executive order to wear masks in certain outdoor areas, including the nearly 3-mile riverfront along the promenade. downtown Tampa. Tampa’s existing mandates did not require outdoor masks.
“These areas were determined by the idea that there would be large crowds that could not distance themselves socially,” Castor said. “And so far we’ve seen a lot of support for that.”
It also echoed what Dr. Anthony Fauci said Wednesday, when he told people to avoid Super Bowl parties and to “just calm down and cool it down.”
“We also join this mantra. We would like everyone to stay home and enjoy the excitement of the Super Bowl and the Buccaneers’ victory in the safety of your home,” Castor said. “But we also realize that individuals will be very excited and a lot of people will come out. So we encourage them to wear masks indoors and outdoors when they can’t get away socially.
“We want everyone to have a safe and healthy Super Bowl experience. Everyone who comes to visit the city, we want them to arrive healthy, we want them to leave healthy. The only people who will be disappointed are KC fans.”