Tampa Bay Lightning: One On One With Sticks of Fire

If you have ever attended a Tampa Bay Lightning game, you will hear their voices echo from section 307 at Amalie Arena. Their one goal? To get Tampa Bay Lightning fans riled up and into the game from before puck drop to the final horn.

Over the last couple of months, especially now that the playoffs have rolled around, have gained a large surge of supporters, and others around the bay area. Recently, they were interviewed for the local news, and Lightning head coach Jon Cooper even gave them a shutout before game seven against the Detroit Red Wings saying in an interview with Dave Andreychuk saying “We need the whole building to turn into section 307.”

I had the privileged of interviewing Michael Tully, President/Co-Founder of the Sticks of Fire support group, and ask him a few questions about the group and how Tampa Bay Lightning fans can get involved.

How did you come up with the name “Sticks of Fire”?

“It comes from the word Tampa which in Calusa Indian translates to Sticks of Fire which translates to Lightning Bolt.Guess there was no word for lightning so they called it Sticks of Fire.”

How does it feel to receive so much attention from fans and local media around the area, including Tampa Bay Lightning Head Coach Jon Cooper?

“Pretty surreal, the goal has always been to unite the Lightning community and create an atmosphere that our players and coaches take pride in. To see people people embracing the culture we are trying to create and coach cooper constantly giving us shout outs has been nothing short of a dream.”

Describe the feeling when you are apart of the “March to the Match.”

“It’s exciting to see that many fans come together and chant and sing as one. It gives me goosebumps and it’s just pure fun. There’s no better way to get amped up for a game then with 100+ of your friends who all want to see the Lightning destroy whoever they are playing, and in SoF everyone becomes pretty friendly pretty quickly by the end of it you are constantly always meeting new awesome people.”

Some fans have not bought into supporting the group. What do you do get these people on your side?

“We understand it’s not for everybody, everyone has their own way of supporting the team. So nothing really as long as you cheer for the Lightning. That’s mainly what we care about.”

How to you see the support group evolving in the future?

“The dream is to have several sections all part of SoF. We’ve been trying to drop the 307 tag to bring in other sections but I guess that’s to closely related to us now we just need to get other sections under the SoF umbrella. We hope to grow this thing until Tampa Bay is known for having one of, if not the loudest, arena in the NHL and Lightning fans are considered the most passionate in hockey.”

Last question. How can fans get involved with the group?

“It’s pretty simple just follow us on Twitter at @SticksofFiresSG and on Facebook. We post every event we are hosting. Just show up and you’re apart of it. It’s that easy really. We do also have official memberships for $20 that gets you the SoF shirt and black bandanna. As we grow we hope to offer more events, game travels, and discounts for our members.”

Take it from a person with season tickets to the Tampa Bay Lightning when I say that there is no better support group in the NHL than the Sticks of Fire. Whether it be in Section 307, the Bud Light Party Deck, or anywhere around the Amalie Arena; Sticks of Fire gets fans fired up and ready for action.

As the group likes to say in one of their chats, Tampa Bay is wonderful and because of the support from Sticks of Fire and Lightning fans across the bay area and beyond, Amalie Arena is quickly becoming the best place to watch a hockey game in North America.

Next: Tampa Bay Lightning: The Night The Team Grew Up

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