It was a great city to host the game. Lots of great restaurants, nightlife, beaches nearby. I give Tampa an "A" for host city. Gameday seemed to be smooth. We parked at our hotel for free and walked. It was a 10 minute walk, not bad at all. The stadium itself was nice with great views from most seats. I'm not so sure about smaller stadiums hosting games like this, but honestly 30,000 more seats may have been 30,000 more Clemson fans. I think Bama playoff/championship fatigue/finances have finally kicked in. This was a road game for Bama. Clemson fans were all over the Bama section. They were loud. I would hope in the future Tide Pride members would at least sell only to Bama fans if you can't make it. It is VERY expensive to follow the Tide these days. I get. it. I couldn't do this again for about 4 years after paying off this trip. It just sucked to seem them everywhere. All over town, hotel, stadium. I think it made a difference. On positive side I got to meet Tank from the board here before the game. As for the game I will take the blame on the loss. I broke a big mirror at the Y a few days before kickoff. Shattered our chances. That was on me. I'm guessing it will take each of us a different amount of time to let this one go. I will chalk up this experience as a W. Got to take my two oldest kids to see the Tide in an amazing game. The sting of the final score likely won't go away until kick vs. FSU. I hate losing to anyone in any game. But there is no better time in our lives to be a Bama fan. I had a chance to chat with Herbie for a few minutes after the game in the media hotel. He said one thing's for sure, Bama will be back. Sure hope so.
