TAMPA, Fla.- You know summer is over when the blue and white show up at Amalie Arena.
“Why do I bleed blue? Only thing to bleed here in Tampa Bay … the Tampa Bay Lightning,” says fan Joe D’Angelo.
For some—going to the game is to a game isn’t about the team, it’s about one player.
“Steven Stamkos,” says a teenage girl.
The Lightning have come so close the last few years to playing for the Stanley Cup.
D’Angelo says, “It all ends this year. Tampa Bay Lightning will win the Stanley Cup.”
To get there, what will the Lightning need to do?
“Go Bolts,” shout a group of junior hockey players who gave their expert advice. “Not hogging the puck,” said one young boy.
“They’re going to need hard work, passing, protect the net,” said the other young boy.
“Let’s go, Lightning, Let’s go, Lightning,” chants D’Angelo. He says he’s been a fan since day one and a season ticket holder.
D’Angelo says this season his team has what it takes.
“You’ve got a couple of kids on the roster this year that will make a difference. Vazzy (Andrei Vasilevskiy) will be the elite goaltender, he is too good. They’re number 1, the number 1-rated team this year.”
The first home game of the season was also the first for 11-year-old Sophia Bellino. She said, “I expect it’ll be a little crazy and really fun.”
It’s an exciting start to the season that fans say will end with the Lightning raising the Stanley Cup once again.
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