DUNEDIN, Fla. — Dave Gesacion met Allison about six years ago while watching a Lightning game together. They were both diehard sports fans.
Allison was all in on her hometown Tampa Bay teams. Dave, an Ohio transplant, had adopted them as well.
“As a kid, I was a Cleveland guy. Browns, Indians, Cavs,” he said. “I still follow them for sure but this is definitely home.”
It’s a big reason why the couple, now married, decided to start a t-shirt company in the middle of a pandemic to help other Bay area sports fans quite literally wear their passion on their sleeves.
“We’ve been in Wesley Chapel to Dunedin to Safety Harbor to South Tampa. The passion from the city is incredible,” Dave said. “We wanted to spread passion and bring pride one t-shirt at a time to Tampa Bay.”
They started For The Bay Clothing and launched on Aug. 7. They designed their own shirts and hoped those styles would take off.
It certainly helped that six months later, the three major sports teams were top playoff performers or league champions.
“Once we got rolling, the Bolts went on their run to the Cup and it took off from there,” said Dave from the Dunedin weekend market on Saturday. “Seeing each team advance is truly amazing.”
It was also a bit fortunate. Starting a business in the middle of a pandemic was a risk, something Dave and Allison both acknowledge, but winning has really helped sales.
“It was concerning at first but for our lives, it was a blessing in disguise to learn the craft and learn the trade,” said Dave, who loves hockey.
The company has dozens of styles and designs. Their orange Buccaneers-theme shirts seem to be most popular. They saw many fans wearing them out at the Super Bowl boat parade the week after the Bucs beat the Chiefs.
Super Bowl Sunday marked six months from the company’s launch date.
They hope the winning continues and that they’ll be able to see games in person soon.
“To not be there live and in-person has been a little tough,” said Gesacion. “I think the rest of the county is seeing that Tampa Bay is Title Town.”
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Instead, the mayor tweeted, flags will be lowered for fallen Pinellas County Sheriff's Office Deputy Michael Magli.
Credit: 10 Tampa Bay
Author: Andrew Krietz
Published: 4:27 PM EST February 22, 2021
Updated: 4:27 PM EST February 22, 2021
ST. PETERSBURG, Fla. — The City of St. Petersburg will not lower flags to half-staff following the death of conservative and controversial talk radio host Rush Limbaugh, Mayor Rick Kriseman tweeted.
He announced the city's stance in a reply to another Twitter user, who asked the mayor not to follow through on Gov. Ron DeSantis' recent order to lower flags in honor of Limbaugh.
The governor's decision hasn't been widely accepted, with the state's top elected Democratic official, Agriculture Commissioner Nikki Fried, saying she won't direct her offices under her direction to lower flags.
Limbaugh, 70, died Feb. 17, following complications of lung cancer. He became one of the top-rated radio hosts during his decades on air, and a polarizing one at that. While promoting conservative causes and ideals, he routinely attacked liberals, mocked Michael J. Fox and his battle with Parkinson's disease and joked about those who were dying from AIDS.
DeSantis called Limbaugh "an absolute legend...a friend of mine, and just a great person.
"Not lowering flags for Rush," Kriseman tweeted. "In St. Pete we don't honor hatred, racism, bigotry, homophobia, or anything else he has spewed over the years. We are, however, honoring the life of Deputy Michael Magli of the Pinellas County Sheriff’s Office."
Kriseman made mention of Magli, who was killed Feb. 17, in a crash involving a suspected drunk driver. The fallen deputy's funeral is scheduled for Tuesday.
DeSantis ordered flags lowered for Magli after Kriseman tweeted his response.
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