Tampa Bay Lightning C Steven Stamkos Eager To Get Back On The Ice

Tampa Bay Lightning C Steven Stamkos Eager To Get Back On The Ice by Tasha St. Pierre

Tampa Bay Lightning fans have showed their anger towards the City of Bradenton after the city shows their support for the Pittsburgh Penguins by trending #BoycottBradenton.

There is no denying in the world we live in, companies live and die by their advertising prowess. If a company or an organization wants to make money, they have to capitalize on the opportunities in front of them. Unfortunately, there comes a point and time when you cross a certain line and the people you are hoping to reach and not quite amused by your tactics.

This brings us to what happened today. The Tampa Bay Lightning have eliminated both of their previous postseason opponents, the Detroit Red Wings and New York Islanders respectively, in five games apiece to make their way to the Eastern Conference Final, which they will kick off in just under an hour at the Consol Energy Center in Pittsburgh.

This is where this story starts to get interesting. As we took to Twitter to see what all the chatter was in preparation for the game, and guess what we should stumble upon? Thanks to Dan Lucas at WFLA here in Tampa Bay, we got a closer look at the rally towels the Pittsburgh Penguins will be handing out prior to tonight’s Game 1 against the Tampa Bay Lightning.

Well…you should probably see this for yourselves.

Just in case you think we’re making this up…

We're gold rushing into the Eastern Conference Final! Shoutout to @VisitBradenton for the rally towels! pic.twitter.com/v34rUrlW4y — Pittsburgh Penguins (@penguins) May 13, 2016

Apparently, the Penguins rally towels come to them courtesy of the Bradenton, Anna Maria Island, and Longboat Key area. You know…the places that are less than one hour from 401 Channelside Drive here in Tampa where the Tampa Bay Lightning are the biggest team in town.

As you can imagine, Tampa Bay Lightning fans didn’t take too kindly to our neighbors to the south showing their support for the Lightning’s Eastern Conference Final opponent. Why don’t we take a look at what some of you have to say on the matter?

Well #BoycottBradenton is now in effect — AJ Capistran (@_capistran) May 13, 2016

@VisitBradenton #BoycottBradenton sponsoring Pens giveaway. You should be ashamed of yourselves. Supporting the HOME team should be priority — Drogheda Cook (@DroghedaC) May 13, 2016

@VisitBradenton wow disgusting to see you not supporting your home team. This is the reason our sports markets suffer. #boycottbradenton — Tim Hunter (@__Mr_Tim__) May 13, 2016

@VisitBradenton What the hell are you supporting the Penguins for? ITS THE TAMPA BAY LIGHTNING!!!! EMBARRASSING!!!! #BoycottBradenton — Michael Pozzi (@MichaelPozzi2) May 13, 2016

Hopefully the area reached the demographic they were targeting in this advertising campaign. We think it’s pretty safe to say no Tampa Bay Lightning fan will be paying a visit to Bradenton or any of their local businesses anytime soon. There are lines you just don’t cross and this is one of them.

Meanwhile, Tampa Bay Lightning fans have something much more important to do this evening. The Tampa Bay Lightning and Pittsburgh Penguins are about to kick off Game 1 at the Consol Energy Center. The Lightning may be in enemy territory, but the Bolts have been strong on the road thus far and we shouldn’t expect anything different tonight.