We were down at Raymond James Stadium today to take part of a NFL Super Bowl tradition, the NFL Experience. With rain in the forecast for most of the afternoon and evening, we didn’t expect much of a turn out, boy were we wrong. Unlike past Super Bowls, this year many fans waited to get in town until today, with planes constantly arriving, and the constant flow of cars leaving the airport, everyone wanted to jump right into the festivities, and what better place then the NFL Experience. 

Starting off, traffic is horrific by the stadium, among all of the fans arriving to the stadium area, you have news trucks, radio trucks, golf carts, R/V’s, any type of vehicle you can imagine, you saw. I will commend our local Tampa police department. All officers we ran into were very friendly, and willing to help you as best as possible, as were all security and NFL officials around Raymond James Stadium.

When you first arrive to the Experience, you walk down what many know as Tampa Blvd, and in the middle of the road is a huge sign in Roman numerals, XLIII, you know you’ve arrived.

As you walk into the actual gates to the NFL Experience you have fields on both sides of you, and a walk way that guides you through out the area. Along the walk there is one dummy for each team in the NFL, made for fans to step behind and get a picture pretending to be a player on their favorite team. 

As you further explore the grounds, you come across many more game areas such as throwing and kicking fields and running grounds, but this is just the physical stuff the Experience has to offer. There are also many exhibits around the grounds, some player’s old gear, football programs, helmets, and more, some dating back to the beginning of the NFL. There also is a display that has one Super Bowl ring that was made from each year.

In another part of the Experience, there were autograph signings with major NFL players, both past and present. Clinics were held by cheerleaders and football coaches. But what was the longest line for in the whole place? In the center of the Experience stood what every NFL team wants, and what every fan could only hope to see, the Vince Lombardi Trophy. At all times the line to see the trophy was the longest, even in the middle of the downpour Tampa saw this evening.