Growing Up in ChampBay
We have our meet and greet event with Super Bowl Champ Steve McLendon tomorrow so I thought I would share some fun memories of my life as a Tampa Bay Buccaneers fan! I hope you enjoy the throwback photos and stories. Here’s more info on the event happening this Wednesday June 9th, 2021 from 5-7pm at our Lutz location! Click here for event details!
Typical Sunday Afternoon
As you can see in this throwback picture on the cover of this post, my dad was blessed with two girls, and he is the best girl dad ever! But someone had to share his love for football and Star Wars, so I decided to step up to the plate. My dad has been an avid Bucs fan since day one and he was a season ticket member most of his life. My favorite memories are from those Sunday’s when the Bucs were on the road and my dad would watch the games at home. My dad can get quite excited and quite heated while watching Bucs games. There would even be a time or two where you would hear a certain four-letter word slip from his mouth! This isn’t such a big deal now, but my mom would get really upset when he did this when my sister and I were younger. There was one Sunday in particular that the Bucs weren’t playing very well and there were numerous four-letter words being shared. My mom got so upset that she packed my sister and I in the car and we went for a shopping spree! When we came home with all the shopping bags, my dad greeted us at the door with an apology. He learned to choose his words wisely for those Sunday away games moving forward! PSA to all the men out there, we play the local sports games in our customer lounge and your wives will not be mad if you bring home a souvenir for her :)
The Dream That Started at a Bucs Game
My parents had both worked in the jewelry business their entire lives but always for big corporations. They had dreams of owning their own business one day and doing things differently than the big chains. Funny enough, this dream would start to come true because of the woeful Bucs. For many years, the Bucs were the Yucs. As the Bucs found another way to lose a game, fans passed the time commiserating and bonding. Dad sat next to the same fans, now friends, for years, and one couple was from Dade City. They told him about a little jewelry store for sale there. My parents didn’t even know where Dade City was, but they figured it was worth checking out. So, they packed us up in the minivan and drove us out to meet Mr. and Mrs. Kiefer and the rest is history. Just goes to show that you never know when an opportunity may be sitting next to you at a sports game. Now that my dad had his own jewelry store, this meant he needed a baller Bucs necklace. He designed this custom Bucs pendant made in 18 karat yellow gold with real rubies in the eyes of the skull and diamonds in the swords. Want a baller piece like this? Click here to let us help you create the custom piece of your dreams!
The First Time I Met My Father-In-Law
I met and started dating my husband Dan in the fall of 2015. We had only been on a handful of dates when we realized that we were both going to be at the home opening Bucs game. He was going with his dad and I was going with my parents and my uncle. So we figured it would be weird to not meet up even though this would be the first time we would meet each other’s parents! This felt like a big moment to happen at such a casual event but we both knew it was going to happen eventually so why not at a Bucs game. We decided to meet halfway between our sections in the shade and of course I was nervous. Luckily everyone hit it off right away and our dads were sharing bad dad jokes within minutes. Unfortunately, Dan and I did not get a photo from this game but here’s a fun pic of my family at that game before we met up with Dan and my now father-in-law.
Champa Baby
What a time to be born! My daughter Mia was born on November 17, 2020 right in the height of the Champa Bay reign. Not only was Mia jumping around in my belly when the Lightning won the Stanley Cup, but she was only a few months old when the Bucs won the Super Bowl in Tampa! Hopefully she doesn't think this is normal! Here’s a fun pic of Mia’s first Super Bowl and her first pic with the Stanley Cup!
I can't wait to get a photo with Mia with the Lombardi Trophy!
Shop Our Champ Bay Jewelry
Sterling Silver Large Bucs Pendant $95
Sterling Silver Super Bowl LV Champs Necklace $65
Sterling Silver Super Bowl LV Champs Bracelet $79
Sterling Silver Bucs Dangle Earrings $59
Meet and Greet Steve McLendon & the Lombardi Trophy!
I hope all of these stories can provide some insight as to why the Bucs are so special to my family. I think it's safe to say that the fans of Tampa Bay felt somewhat robbed of a proper celebration for both the Stanley Cup and the Super Bowl because of Covid-19. This is just another reason as to why we felt passionate about hosting this event at our store. While Steve McLendon might not be the first name that comes to mind when you think of the Tampa Bay Buccaneers, here's why we chose to partner with him for this event. Steve McLendon is a true NFL veteran with over 10 years in the league. He was the team captain at the Jets before he was traded to be a part of the Super Bowl team. The Bucs knew they had a great line up of talent and Steve was the missing ingredient that they needed to pull it off. He is also a family man and very down-to-earth guy. He even started a gym called Team MVP outside of Atlanta that focuses on inspiring young athletes to better their life through sports! I really hope you can make it out to this event and meet Steve McLendon and get your pic with the Lombardi trophy, click here for more info on the event! Shoutout to Whitney Holtzman at Social Victories for making this event possible!