They call it “Champa Bay” for a reason.
While the Tampa Bay Buccaneers are just a year removed from defending a Super Bowl victory, the Tampa Bay Lightning have won back-to-back Stanley Cups.
The Bolts are gunning for their third straight championship, this time facing off against the Colorado Avalanche in the Stanley Cup Finals, and both teams have the same connection to the Bucs.
Ryan Jensen, Tampa Bay’s Pro Bowl center, grew up in Colorado as a huge fan of Denver’s professional sports teams. He was in the house for Game 2 between the Lightning and the Avalanche, but his loyalties were clearly divided:
Bucs’ center Ryan Jensen is a Colorado-native and grew up a Denver sports fan.
But after living in Tampa, his father-in-law stitched together this custom Lightning/Avs jersey just today for Game 2. #GoBolts #StanleyCup #GoAvsGo #GoBucs pic.twitter.com/Hx69j3q1d6
— Kyle Burger (@kyle_burger) June 19, 2022
The Bolts are down 2-0 in the series to the Avs, and coming off a shocking 7-0 defeat in Game 2. That said, they were down 2-0 in the previous series to the New York Rangers (and losing 2-0 in Game 3) before winning four straight to advance to the finals for the third straight year.
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