TAMPA, Fla. -- The Tampa Bay Vipers are so new, some players don’t even know how to refer to fans.
“The fans, all of Viper Nation or whatever we call ourselves," said defensive back Tavarus McFadden.
Actually it’s the Fang Gang!
And for the first time, we will see just how many people show up to Raymond James Stadium to watch one of the eight teams play in the new XFL.
Affordability is big selling point for the Vipers.
Tickets start at $24, much less than the NFL’s average ticket prices, which are well over $100.
“Maybe the best buy for your buck. I don’t know where you’ll see that much fun for the price of one of our tickets," said Vipers assistant coach Jerry Glanville.
The Vipers aren’t releasing any information on how many tickets they’ve sold, but they say they are encouraged. They would love to get close to the near 30,000 that were in Seattle for the game this past weekend.
“I think leaguewide, we’ve seen that that people are excited about their team. And we don’t expect anything less. And we know we have something to prove to them coming off the last two weeks.," said Vipers head coach Marc Trestman.
Those last two weeks have seen the Vipers lose twice. They have yet to even score an offensive touchdown.
“We’ve got to get things right and fix things so we can move in the right direction. But our guys are excited to get to Raymond James Stadium and work to play a game at home," said Trestman.
The Vipers have a lot planned for Saturday. They say tailgating is encouraged. And they’ll have a snake pit fan area outside the south side of the stadium.
There are giveaways planned and season ticket holder have a chance to get on the field before kickoff.
For more information go to https://www.xfl.com/en-US/teams/tampa-bay.
