The Big Story: Get ready for the worst day of the year
January 23, 2008 at 11:10 am by Wayne Garcia
It’s always hard for me to tell which is more embarrassing and horrendous to have to live through in Tampa: Guavaween or Gasparilla. But Gasparilla is much bigger and more widely known, so I gotta go with that one. I’m not a fan; sure, I’ve been a handful of times over the years, and sure, I’ve caught some beads. Never got real drunk or pissed in somebody’s yard or attended a big, lavish Gasparilla Day bash at somebody’s Bayshore Boulevard home, so I know that doesn’t make me much of a South Tampan.
I got off on this tangent after reading a helpful prep list over at Sticks Of Fire:
Here are my top ten tips for successfully getting through Gasparilla Day:
- Eat a decent breakfast. You never know where your next meal might be.
- Pack light. Leave the coolers at home.
- Hide a $20 in your sock. You will need it later.
- Sunscreen. Trust me on this one.
- Charge your cell phone the night before.
I’ll let you wander over there to find the other five suggestions, one of which is to take it easy on the kids 
and seniors as you drunkenly blast over them to grab a set of $0.002 beads. Which is why I hate Gasparilla; it brings out the worst in people, which is saying something when you consider this is Tampa Bay so the bar isn’t set real high anyway. I have not attended one of the piratefests at which I didn’t see exactly that happening, kids getting mowed over or shoved aside from idiots in pursuit of the prized beads.
(Photos: Jimmy theSuperStar/flickr.com)
