“[I’m] really excited about our fans, I thought our fans were awesome today. They were behind us, they were loud, they gave us a lift, an energy lift. It was good to be home…” Vipers Head Coach Marc Trestman on the crowd at Raymond James Stadium

Despite their 0-2 record, the Tampa Bay Vipers managed the second largest turnout for a home opener thus far in the XFL. St. Louis is expected to draw 28-thousand or more for their home opener on Sunday, but as of now, Tampa owns the second spot.

It certainly didn’t look good early. At kickoff, the lower bowl appeared to be about a-third full. But as the game progressed, the crowd filed in. According to fans in attendance and the team’s social media, the crowd was actively involved in the game throughout.

During the fourth quarter, the team made the official announcement. The number was 18,117 which made Tampa Bay the second-highest attendance for a home opener and third-highest for attendance at an XFL game all season (Seattle, twice).

Today’s attendance was 18,117!



Thank you to the #FangGang for coming out & see you next week when we take on the Defenders. pic.twitter.com/HY1SpqtgEf — Tampa Bay Vipers (@XFLVipers) February 22, 2020

The newly formed #FangGang will have another chance next weekend to show up and separate themselves from the pack in attendance as the Vipers play host to the DC Defenders in Week 4.