Good job Tampa team!
Rouser was loud and proud on TV.
“When your best friend is the son of God, you get tired of losing every argument.”
― Christopher Moore, Lamb: The Gospel According to Biff, Christ's Childhood Pal
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Added extra from the day off... Time for my voice to recoverGood job Tampa team!
Rouser was loud and proud on TV.
B1G refs... corrupt, or just incompetent?
Second that. But I didn't see a video of the band at the pep rally?Good job Tampa team!
Rouser was loud and proud on TV.
Saturdays festivities.
- Saturday, April 8 - National Championship
5:45 P.M. ET - Red Carpet Arrivals
Gather along the red carpet outside Amalie Arena - Thunder Alley (15-Minute Circle located on Channelside Drive just East of Morgan Street) and cheer loud, welcoming the Gophers to the arena for their game against Boston University. - After Red Carpet Arrival - Gopher Fan Rally
Join the University of Minnesota Pep Band, Hockey Cheer, and special guests from the Gopher Men's Hockey program by the main stage at Frozen Fest (located at Thunder Alley) for a 15-minute pep rally featuring the Minnesota Pep Band & Spirit Squad, and hosted by Mike Grimm. - 6:00 - 8:00 P.M. ET - Gopher Fan Gathering
Get together with fellow Gopher Fans at Splitsville to enjoy food, drinks, and games prior to heading over to Amalie Arena for the semifinal game. - 8:00 P.M. ET - Minnesota vs Quinnipiac
I'm 50% factual and 50% sarcastic. When you get to know me, you will know which is which.
The bartender at Splitsville said she has worked here for 15 years and the Minnesota fans are the best she has ever dealt with.... #MinnesotaNice
I'm 50% factual and 50% sarcastic. When you get to know me, you will know which is which.
Our nephew is a bartender in FL. Said Minnesotans are the nicest customers but the poorest tippers.The bartender at Splitsville said she has worked here for 15 years and the Minnesota fans are the best she has ever dealt with.... #MinnesotaNice
Our nephew is a bartender in FL. Said Minnesotans are the nicest customers but the poorest tippers.The bartender at Splitsville said she has worked here for 15 years and the Minnesota fans are the best she has ever dealt with.... #MinnesotaNice
Well, we are making up for those ?
I'm 50% factual and 50% sarcastic. When you get to know me, you will know which is which.
Just landed, where's everybody at?
@chris-eckes Splitsville and the outside bar is full of Gopher fans now.
I'm 50% factual and 50% sarcastic. When you get to know me, you will know which is which.
The guy that got the 2023 national champion tattoo a week ago is in at Splitsville
B1G refs... corrupt, or just incompetent?
Splitsville! Been here since 2. Feeling, uh, good.
I was at Splittsville from around 1:30 until 3:30 with my young daughter and elderly father. Cool place and we all liked our food. We left because my daughter and father wanted to get some rest before the red carpet arrival. It was starting to fill up with Gopher fans and for my daughter’s sake, it was probably fine to pay our bill and leave. Nonetheless, I hope you all have fun! Can’t wait for the game!
Our nephew is a bartender in FL. Said Minnesotans are the nicest customers but the poorest tippers.The bartender at Splitsville said she has worked here for 15 years and the Minnesota fans are the best she has ever dealt with.... #MinnesotaNice
Well, we are making up for those ?
You are mean but big tippers? ?
Our nephew is a bartender in FL. Said Minnesotans are the nicest customers but the poorest tippers.The bartender at Splitsville said she has worked here for 15 years and the Minnesota fans are the best she has ever dealt with.... #MinnesotaNice
Well, we are making up for those ?
You are mean but big tippers? ?
Lol. YES ?
I'm 50% factual and 50% sarcastic. When you get to know me, you will know which is which.
Anybody planning to head back to Tampa airport tonight at some point after the game? I’d love to hitch a ride / pitch in for splitting an Uber if so! PM me.
Had a couple visitors stop by our table to chat a bit.
B1G refs... corrupt, or just incompetent?
Jim Boo is everywhere!
Jim Boo is everywhere!
Is that him seated with the “number one” finger? That’s Paul Ostby over his shoulder I think. And Mayasich, of course. I should know the guy behind Mayasich. The rest I need some help with.
Yes, Jim is closest to the camera.Jim Boo is everywhere!
Is that him seated with the “number one” finger? That’s Paul Ostby over his shoulder I think. And Mayasich, of course. I should know the guy behind Mayasich. The rest I need some help with.
B1G refs... corrupt, or just incompetent?
Orlando airport is a shit show and a half. Yikes.
Orlando airport is a shit show and a half. Yikes.
This was true at 5am today also. Security lines on B side went all the way across to A side. People were missing flights because of it. We were short 17 people and we waited an extra 10 for them to show (it was 30 at first).
Luckily TSA precheck was shorter. Even Clear had a line.
Was through security in 2 minutes in Tampa with TSA precheck. Would have been quicker but my souvenir pucks had to be checked/verified by an agent.
I need to get tsa pre check. I didn’t get stopped with pucks this time but have in the past.
We may have made our flight because of pre-check today. I actually have Clear, but was traveling with someone who doesn’t.
Clear + TSA pre-check is the way to go if you travel 4-5x a year.
We have a travel credit card so get TSA pre-check reimbursed. I get a discount on Clear with my airline status. Places like Atlanta, Orlando, Chicago that can be life saving. Places like MSP, it’s nice to essentially walk through security no wait at all.
Yeah Clear with TSA is the only way to go these days.
I have become a backpack traveler. I can make a backpack trip for 4 or 5 days for business or pleasure. If there's a laundry at my destination, I can go indefinitely.
I zip right through Clear, no bag check, no overhead. It's a sweet deal Wade. It's the cheapest, fastest way to travel.
I'm also a backpack traveler. I flew into Tampa tuesday night and I was fine for 5 days. Would have been even better if I hadn't brought a sweatshirt and jeans just in case.
Leaving today was interesting. I flew out of St. Pete. Security was about 10 seconds, and they were by far the most friendly TSA agents I've ever encountered. The airport is tiny.
Also, It's been a few years since I've flown Sun Country. I used to fly them almost monthly when I was out in Vegas for work all the time. Man have they gone downhill. I swear their planes are tighter than Spirit. I fly mostly Delta and United these days and the planes are drastically more comfortable and by the time you pay for a carry on the price is the same.
As far as airport problems, Orlando is always horrible. The only airport that's worse is Newark. If you flown United a lot, you know when things go wrong you're going to end up in Newark.
Sun Country is trash. Unless I am really desperate I avoid them like the plague. A standard carryon does not even fit under the seat half the time. And their customer service is awful.
Sun Country is trash. Unless I am really desperate I avoid them like the plague. A standard carryon does not even fit under the seat half the time. And their customer service is awful.
They stranded me once in Vegas. They cancelled my flight and didn't have a plane coming for two days. I ended up having to go back out and book a United flight back. I had a pretty good run at the casinos on the trip so I paid for the ticket in cash, which being a same day booking in cash got me the dreaded SSSS on my boarding pass. I think it took 6 months and a bunch of phone calls to get a refund on that flight. They blamed it on weather in the middle of September and stonewalled on compensation although had I waited 2 days for the flight they offered to put me in up in the$39 a night Circus Circus. They were about $400 less per ticket for this direct return flight today though, so I just went for it.
To this day, even with Clear and PreCheck I'll get the SSSS once in a while because of that which is a major PITA.
Yeesh. That sucks.
I need to get tsa pre check. I didn’t get stopped with pucks this time but have in the past.
Global Entry is a better deal, even if you don’t travel internationally. It’s $100 but is good for 5 years.
TSA Pre is included.
And if you DO travel overseas it’s a god send, you get a dedicated much faster line at immigration and customs. Same basic requirements as Pre but with an added FBI interview which you can do at MSP by appointment.
What have I got? I got no snacks and I got no respect.
Travis-age 6
Was through security in 2 minutes in Tampa with TSA precheck. Would have been quicker but my souvenir pucks had to be checked/verified by an agent.
LOL, puck check! Every time we visit family in Seattle they request real wild rice. Every single time it gets flagged at security and they open our bag. Apparently it looks like explosives on the X-ray.
What have I got? I got no snacks and I got no respect.
Travis-age 6
Global Entry is a better deal, even if you don’t travel internationally. It’s $100 but is good for 5 years.
TSA Pre is included.
And if you DO travel overseas it’s a god send, you get a dedicated much faster line at immigration and customs. Same basic requirements as Pre but with an added FBI interview which you can do at MSP by appointment.
I was planning to add the same comment. The interview with the TSA agents is basically to verify your passport and letting us know if you lie about bringing anything when reentering the US they will know and you will lose the privilege. Period. He strongly emphasized trying to bring in fruit/vegetables so TSA must see that a lot & you literally get 2-3 chances to claim whatever you may be carrying that is prohibited or needs to be claimed due to value or other reason.
Added bonus you also get a Global Entry ID card which serves as a federal ID so between that and my passport there was no need to get a state real ID.
“When your best friend is the son of God, you get tired of losing every argument.”
― Christopher Moore, Lamb: The Gospel According to Biff, Christ's Childhood Pal
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Global Entry is a better deal, even if you don’t travel internationally. It’s $100 but is good for 5 years.
TSA Pre is included.
And if you DO travel overseas it’s a god send, you get a dedicated much faster line at immigration and customs. Same basic requirements as Pre but with an added FBI interview which you can do at MSP by appointment.
I was planning to add the same comment. The interview with the TSA agents is basically to verify your passport and letting us know if you lie about bringing anything when reentering the US they will know and you will lose the privilege. Period. He strongly emphasized trying to bring in fruit/vegetables so TSA must see that a lot & you literally get 2-3 chances to claim whatever you may be carrying that is prohibited or needs to be claimed due to value or other reason.
Added bonus you also get a Global Entry ID card which serves as a federal ID so between that and my passport there was no need to get a state real ID.
Yeah the last part is an extra added bonus! Since we go to Mexico every year zooming through customs is just awesome. And yeah the interview lasted like 2 minutes.
We didn't even know what GE was until we went to France. On the way home we had a layover in Indianapolis and got delayed because that airport sucks hard. We waited on the tarmac for an hour then had a long line to get through customs and agobiar missed our flight. Saw the Global Entry line, looked it up and signed up the next day to get started.
Many airline credit cards will give you a rebate on TSA and/or GE.
Global Entry is great once you get it - but the downside is the process to get it can be painfully slow, random, and frustrating. My wife and I applied at the same time in Oct 2021 - she was conditionally approved within a day or two, and was able to do her interview on arrival when we returned home from a Christmas trip 2 months later. Meanwhile, my application didn't get conditionally approved until late February 2022. I traveled internationally that March, but they weren't doing interview on arrival when landed, so I had to wait to find an interview slot - the best I could find was an interview slot in Milwaukee in May.
From what I hear, if your application gets put into the longer initial review pile, the wait time before getting to conditionally approved is now at least 8-10 months.
Having GE/Precheck is great once you get it. I was able to get through security in Orlando around noon on Sunday in under 5 minutes - but just as important for me is not having to removing electronics. This was especially true for this trip - since I packed 5 days worth of clothes, plus my laptop and an additional monitor to work remotely, into a "personal item" sized bag to avoid Frontier's extreme bag fees.
Several people on my flight home must have gotten caught in the long standard security lines. My flight went from "we're oversold and looking for volunteers to take a $900 voucher to be bumped to the next flight to having enough empty seats that the Flight Attendants even commented on it.
I need to get tsa pre check. I didn’t get stopped with pucks this time but have in the past.
Global Entry is a better deal, even if you don’t travel internationally. It’s $100 but is good for 5 years.
TSA Pre is included.
And if you DO travel overseas it’s a god send, you get a dedicated much faster line at immigration and customs. Same basic requirements as Pre but with an added FBI interview which you can do at MSP by appointment.
We talked about global entry because the hubby has it but when I checked the site it was an 18 month wait…vs four to six I think for tsa. Maybe that’s changed (this was a few months ago I looked into it).
Thanks for the tips though, I do have to get on this before next hockey season!
I need to get tsa pre check. I didn’t get stopped with pucks this time but have in the past.
Global Entry is a better deal, even if you don’t travel internationally. It’s $100 but is good for 5 years.
TSA Pre is included.
And if you DO travel overseas it’s a god send, you get a dedicated much faster line at immigration and customs. Same basic requirements as Pre but with an added FBI interview which you can do at MSP by appointment.
We talked about global entry because the hubby has it but when I checked the site it was an 18 month wait…vs four to six I think for tsa. Maybe that’s changed (this was a few months ago I looked into it).
Thanks for the tips though, I do have to get on this before next hockey season!
We signed up for TSA precheck last November and it took about 2 weeks total maybe. Might have been less than that even.
I need to get tsa pre check. I didn’t get stopped with pucks this time but have in the past.
Global Entry is a better deal, even if you don’t travel internationally. It’s $100 but is good for 5 years.
TSA Pre is included.
And if you DO travel overseas it’s a god send, you get a dedicated much faster line at immigration and customs. Same basic requirements as Pre but with an added FBI interview which you can do at MSP by appointment.
We talked about global entry because the hubby has it but when I checked the site it was an 18 month wait…vs four to six I think for tsa. Maybe that’s changed (this was a few months ago I looked into it).
Thanks for the tips though, I do have to get on this before next hockey season!
They often have a wait, but pay attention they often have changes or walk in openings. I got mine right away and so did my gf but her parents had wait time issues then randomly found out they were doing in person interviews and drove to the airport and got it done in 10 minutes. It is often at the whim of having someone available to sit in the office for 8 hours. Then they ask you 3 questions, take your picture and you scratch your head why it takes so long...
The only issue I have with Clear (which is a must although I guess there is now a new thing coming) is that some airports dont have it (like the small Terminal here) and others arent staffed well so the Pre Check line might move faster. This actually happened on my last flight to Seattle. Beyond that though it is worth it just for the look on the faces of everyone when you get escorted to the front and then get checked in ahead of the TSA Precheck people.
I got Global Entry during Covid so my experience is not normal. It took a year for me. It was really limited in 2020-2021.
Just an FYI for those who purchased their tickets through the normal FF process. They just emailed out a survey. You can voice your displeasure with the selection of the Naked Farmer as the Weds night host. That was really my only non winning gripe of the weekend. Well, they could use more bathrooms in the 200 level.
I'm 50% factual and 50% sarcastic. When you get to know me, you will know which is which.
Just an FYI for those who purchased their tickets through the normal FF process. They just emailed out a survey. You can voice your displeasure with the selection of the Naked Farmer as the Weds night host. That was really my only non winning gripe of the weekend. Well, they could use more bathrooms in the 200 level.
I think the bathrooms must have been designed by a woman. That's the first time I've ever been to a stadium with no urinals. There were about eight stalls and no urinals. Goofiest thing I've ever seen.
Well, they also ran out of merch and only had 1 total stand on the entire 200 level. It happen to be outside of our section which made getting in/out of our section impossible all of the first night since the line was constant and routing down the concourse blocking the section entrance.
Otherwise, I thought things were mostly good. I enjoy Tampa.
There was a significant approval gap for my wife and I with Global Entry, too. We applied in January 2020 and she was approved by early March. My approval didn't come through until later summer or early fall '20. No big deal since we were not going anywhere in that stretch. With my Irish sounding name they must have assumed I was IRA or something. ? ?
We haven't used it for an OUS trip yet (hopefully soon!) but for $15 more it seemed like a no brainer if there is even an chance of traveling internationally.
“When your best friend is the son of God, you get tired of losing every argument.”
― Christopher Moore, Lamb: The Gospel According to Biff, Christ's Childhood Pal
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Well, they also ran out of merch and only had 1 total stand on the entire 200 level. It happen to be outside of our section which made getting in/out of our section impossible all of the first night since the line was constant and routing down the concourse blocking the section entrance.
Otherwise, I thought things were mostly good. I enjoy Tampa.
You must have been near us as we too had to fight through the merch line on the 200s.
I had to fight through the men’s line just to get to the women’s! There must have been a hundred plus in the men’s line. ?
there are three sets of bathroom on that level. Clearly not near enough.
Pro tip - go to the open practices Wednesday and buy merch.
Well, they also ran out of merch and only had 1 total stand on the entire 200 level. It happen to be outside of our section which made getting in/out of our section impossible all of the first night since the line was constant and routing down the concourse blocking the section entrance.
Otherwise, I thought things were mostly good. I enjoy Tampa.
You must have been near us as we too had to fight through the merch line on the 200s.
I had to fight through the men’s line just to get to the women’s! There must have been a hundred plus in the men’s line. ?
there are three sets of bathroom on that level. Clearly not near enough.Pro tip - go to the open practices Wednesday and buy merch.
201, great seats. No MN fans near us 🙁
Well, they also ran out of merch and only had 1 total stand on the entire 200 level. It happen to be outside of our section which made getting in/out of our section impossible all of the first night since the line was constant and routing down the concourse blocking the section entrance.
Otherwise, I thought things were mostly good. I enjoy Tampa.
You must have been near us as we too had to fight through the merch line on the 200s.
I had to fight through the men’s line just to get to the women’s! There must have been a hundred plus in the men’s line. ?
there are three sets of bathroom on that level. Clearly not near enough.Pro tip - go to the open practices Wednesday and buy merch.
201, great seats. No MN fans near us 🙁
We were low in 230; another chunk of our group was in 201 a few rows up from us.
Yeah, almost center ice and not super high but a good vantage to watch the plays develop. We usually try for that area every year.
Well, they also ran out of merch and only had 1 total stand on the entire 200 level. It happen to be outside of our section which made getting in/out of our section impossible all of the first night since the line was constant and routing down the concourse blocking the section entrance.
Otherwise, I thought things were mostly good. I enjoy Tampa.
You must have been near us as we too had to fight through the merch line on the 200s.
I had to fight through the men’s line just to get to the women’s! There must have been a hundred plus in the men’s line. ?
there are three sets of bathroom on that level. Clearly not near enough.Pro tip - go to the open practices Wednesday and buy merch.
201, great seats. No MN fans near us 🙁
We were low in 230; another chunk of our group was in 201 a few rows up from us.
Yeah, almost center ice and not super high but a good vantage to watch the plays develop. We usually try for that area every year.
We were Row A, and it was fabulous. But we were surrounded by "generic" east coast fans, WI fans, and a few MI fans. Thursday was ok because the "east coast" fans were rooting for us since none were Boston U fans, but after that it was a lot of Q fans and mocking spelling Minnesota.
The only issue I have with Clear (which is a must although I guess there is now a new thing coming) is that some airports dont have it (like the small Terminal here) and others arent staffed well so the Pre Check line might move faster... ...Beyond that though it is worth it just for the look on the faces of everyone when you get escorted to the front and then get checked in ahead of the TSA Precheck people.
Other than the joy of getting to laugh at people who didn't pay $200 for the opportunity to cut in line, why do you consider Clear to be a must?
I have never had a case where I've ever had to wait more than at most 15 minutes in a precheck line, and even that has been rare. As many times as not, I've seen the clear line be slower as people struggle to operate the facial recognition machines, while the staff is too busy trying to get more people to sign up to be able to assist. If your credit card will cover the cost, sure I get that, but beyond that the whole concept of clear is both unnecessary and annoying in my book.