Tampa Bay fans dont particularly care for South Florida. Perhaps its the fact that we had an NFL team long before they were even considered for one. Or that when they built a domed baseball stadium to lure an MLB team from another city, Miami ended up getting a team first. At least they got hockey before we did: The Tampa Bay Lightning started in 1992, and the Florida Panthers were born a year later.
The two will go stick-to-stick this Sunday at the BankAtlantic Center. As rivalries go, it never seems that both teams are surging at the same time. The Panthers have the edge in the season series 2-1, with two games decided by a goal, so maybe theres something about the Lightning that gets the Panthers going after all.
Sun., March 21, 5 p.m., 2010