Stars come out for the Rays.

Andrew Knapp Posted on: The Offlede an article about Wrestling Superstar John Cena and Hulk Hogan as well as celebrites Barry Melrose and (Subway) Jared Fogle cheering on the Rays.

(Personal Opinion – the thing that annoys me in this article is how he calls John Cena a “Former Professional Wrestler” – and how he tends to bag Cena.)

St. Petersburg is no New York. It’s no Los Angeles. It’s no Boston.
Even so, it has its share of characters who showed up for the first game of the Tampa Bay Rays series against the Boston Red Sox.

Resident reality TV star Hulk Hogan, his 20-something girlfriend and another former wrestler, John Cena, sat in the luxury box behind yours truly.

The Offlede scored some press-level seats for Game 1. They were purchased at a slight discount from a journalist from Clearwater who needed to unload some of the tickets included in his 20-game package francona_0082There’s something about indoor baseball at a place like Tropicana Field that isn’t right: Indeed, a homer by the Sox’s Jason Bay hit the ceiling and never came down. That’s just wrong.
But there’s something about sitting in comfortable seats, soaking up the air conditioning and watching replays on big-screen TVs nearby that is just exhilarating. The concessions on the press level were never crowded, though the same ripoff prices were still applicable: 5 bucks for a Pepsi. Ouch.
But having celebrities sit behind me dulled that pain.

Hogan and his girlfriend canoodled and drank alcohol most of the time. When the Rays hit some home runs later in the game, they clapped a few times.
During stretches between innings, I would unknowingly glance behind me. I happened to have a camera in my hands, so I snapped a few shots.

Cena chatted up a few young women as he drank a beer with a cozy that said “Betty Ford Clinic Outpatient.” I’m sure it’s just for decoration, but I seriously wouldn’t doubt it.

Barry Melrose of hockey fame, currently as the head coach of the Tampa Bay Lightning, threw out the first pitch: a lame dribbler that would embarrass a T-ball player.
My personal favorite, Jared Fogle, gave away some Subway sandwiches to section 216. I was in 207. I had a Cuban sandwich for dinner anyway, so I wasn’t hungry.
Meanwhile, there was a baseball game happening. My team, the Sox, nailed homers throughout the game as Boston pitcher Daisuke “Dice-K” Matsuzaka mowed down the Rays hitters with an arsenal of sliders and fastballs.

After a Sox batter was hit by a pitch in the first inning, the umpire warned both benches that nonsense would not be tolerated. In the vertical photo, umpire Jerry Meals serves up a dish of caution to Sox manager Tito Francona.
Of course, the teams have a long history of violence. It’s funny: The Sox show their hatred to the Yankees by beating them; they show it to the Rays by beating them up.
The only thing I needed to see to make the game complete was an all-out brawl. It didn’t happen, but having WWE wrestlers sit behind me somehow made that need go away.