One of my favorite songs by Florida’s own Against Me!, is called Unsubstantiated Rumors Are Enough For Me (to Base My Life Upon). Though the lyrics aren’t necessarily pertinent to the Tampa Bay Rays Stadium debacle, I can’t help but feel the song’s title speaks to the Stadium Saga — if only loosely.
Why loosely… Or why at all?
A verifiable statement isn’t an unsubstantiated rumor; not in the least. In the case of Stu Sternberg, his tells are quite obvious. Sternberg isn’t happy in Tropicana Field (for a few reasons), and he wants his team to have a new facility. I can’t blame him. Furthermore, he would like the opportunity to vet a few different locations, throughout the region, for a new facility — not just, as many would have you believe, Tampa. I can’t blame him for that either.
I feel a certain level of frustration when I read the words of supposed journalists, who focus solely on one and only one point/issue, while ignoring the general context or the totality of an argument. This has become a rather common concurrence when speaking about the Stadium Saga. Ignoring the context, or the totality of an argument (or statement), leads to unneeded hyperbole and zealotry. Case in point, a recent Associated Press article titled, Rays owner calls Tampa ‘very, very attractive’.
In the article, Sternberg was quoted as saying, “Tampa is obviously very, very attractive on the list, and we expect to at some point, hopefully sooner, look there as well as some other parts of the region,” during a panel at the MLB Diversity Business Summit. Sternberg went on to say, “We haven’t had the greatest success in attracting the what we call enough fans relative to the success we’ve had on-field, and we would like to explore other parts of the region, specifically Tampa and parts of St. Petersburg.”
Sports talk radio, among other media outlets, has been abuzz since news broke of Sternberg’s comments. Their obvious conclusion: Sternberg wants to look at Tampa, and Tampa only. Let’s break down what Sternberg actually said at the business summit.
Sternberg, indeed, said “Tampa is obviously very, very attractive,” however he also noted there are other locations “on the list,” meaning exactly what he said: he has his eye on few different locations. He also said he’d like to look in Tampa, “as well as some other parts of the region.” He wasn’t vague, he left nothing open to interpretation. Finally, and again, Sternberg blatantly said the Rays would like to explore other parts of the region, specifically Tampa and parts of St. Petersburg.
Was he asked specifically about Tampa in the business summit? One could only infer yes, based on the candor of his answer. Because of it, perhaps it’s unwise to jump to conclusions. After all, as the saying goes, “A man only has his word,” and we should take Sternberg at his word, devoid of spin and a lack of context.
Sternberg has essentially made the same argument, somewhat to a fault, for the better part of six years. That he said it once again is neither shocking or surprising. Rather, it’s fairly common place by now. Should his comments be heeded? Absolutely. Should his comments be misinterpreted or misappropriated? Nope. However, tell that to the contextual bandits who would like nothing more than to drive, or be a part of, the narrative. They can’t help but go bananas over anything, and everything, Tampa and Stadium Saga oriented.
In the end, Tampa is attractive… But so are other locations in the region. Can’t we just leave it at that for now?