Hello all! Jerm here with another update for you on the big decision tomorrow on the 2022 World Cup Bid!

Tomorrow at 9:30 a.m. supporters from all across the Tampa Bay area will be on hand for what could be the biggest announcement in US Soccer History!

Dec. 2, 2010 could also be the biggest day for soccer in Tampa Bay's history, and the Tampa Bay Bid Committee for the 2022 FIFA World Cup invites you to come out for Decision Day Tampa Bay.

Members of the Tampa Bay community will gather at Pirate Cove at Raymond James Stadium at 9:30am to watch as the host countries for the 2018 and 2022 FIFA World Cups are announced.

Attendees should park in Lot 4 and enter through Gate B. There is no cost to attend Decision Day Tampa Bay, and water and light snacks will be provided. To register please visit www.VisitTampaBay.com/WCDecision.

Today in Zurich Switzerland, the potential host countries all laid out their bids to the committee, so now we cross our fingers and hope that all will go well for tomorrow! For a re-cap of the presentations today, please visit the US Soccer Federation website.

Well that's it for now folks, but be sure to register at the link above and come out and show your support for Tampa Bay's World Cup bid. Also stay tuned in for updates on things to do in Tampa Bay!

Hello everyone! Jerm here with an important announce on our preparations for the announcement which is less than 30 days away.

President Bill Clinton, honorary chairman of the USA Bid Committee, will speak on behalf of the United States’ bid to host the 2022 FIFA World Cup™ when the U.S. delegation makes its final presentation to the FIFA Executive Committee on Wednesday, Dec. 1, in Zurich, Switzerland!

Now you guys will be hearing plenty of updates from us in the coming weeks as we count down to the big moment.

The U.S. will make its presentation to the FIFA Executive Committee for the 2022 FIFA World Cup™ on Wednesday, Dec. 1, at 11 a.m. ET (5 p.m. local time in Zurich).

The FIFA Executive Committee will vote the following day, Thursday, Dec. 2, with the announcement of the 2018 and 2022 hosts broadcast live 10 a.m. ET (4 p.m. local time in Zurich) on fifa.com.

I don't know about you guys, but I am indeed excited, but a bit nervous at the same time, but you guys could make me allot less nervous by visiting www.GoUSABid.com/Tampa, and showing your support for the bid by signing the petition!

That's it for now folks, but be sure to stay tuned in for more updates on our efforts to be FIFA World Cup 2022 Host!

Hello folks! Jerm here with an important announcement about the 2022 World Cup Bid!

My how time flies, as it seems like only yesterday we were posting our first blogs to get the word out about Tampa Bay as a potential host city for games in the 2022 FIFA World Cup.

Now it's t-minus 30 days until what could be one of the biggest days for soccer in Tampa Bay's history.

Thirty days from today on Thursday, Dec. 2, FIFA, the governing body for World Cup soccer, will announce which countries will host the 2018 and 2022 FIFA World Cup games.

These last 30 days are oh so important for Tampa Bay's bid to host World Cup soccer for the first time ever! So let's pull together for one last push!

We are currently in 5th place with roughly 68,000 votes, and we need your help to make one final push as we try to wrastle 1st Place away from the top cities and get to 100,000 votes before it's over!

Wondering how you can help us do that? Well wonder no more, as here are some things to do:

• Text TampaBay to 22442 to cast your vote in support of our bid,
• Do this as many times as you'd like...standard data and messaging rates may apply (but go crazy if you have an unlimited text plan), and continue to do this each day.
• Go to www.GoUSABid.com/Tampa and sign the on-line petition to support the bid,
• Go back and enter your other e-mails.

Lastly and as always, we need your help spreading the news about the petition to friends, family, colleagues, coworkers, employees, soccer fans and anyone who will listen! To keep up with where the count is, feel free to check out www.VisitTampaBay.com to see a countdown counter on the home page!

Let everyone in Tampa Bay, and and other areas of the country, know about the petition and how important it is to our area.

Okay that's all I got for now, but be sure to keep voting, and be sure to tell all of your friends to vote. Stay tuned in for more updates as we will for sure be talking more about this and other Tampa Bay events.

Hello all, Jerm here and I just wanted to drop everyone a quick note about our FIFA World Cup USA Bid! If you did or didn't know by now, the United states is vying along with other countries to be host to the FIFA World Cup in the years 2018 or 2022.

As part of that effort Tampa is in contention with 17 other cities to play host to this amazing tournament! As part of our bid, local and national celebrities alike have lent there support to the overall bid. One of those celebrities just happens to be Academy Award winning actor Morgan Freeman!

As part of the Bid Committee, Mr Freeman, recently lent his voice to this amazing video below in support of the FIFA World Cup Bid! Mr Freeman has always had a powerful narration voice, especially in one of my favorite movies, The Shawshank Redemption. check out the video below and let me know what you think!

Hey everyone!  Travis here with a very exciting update about Tampa Bay's world cup bid!  All of your texts have been tallied and the votes have been counted, and we are excited to announce that with your help and support for 50K Friday, the Tampa Bay bid for the 2018/2022 FIFA World Cup has reached 50,000 votes!

In fact, Tampa Bay's bid has more than 58,500 votes, which is a jump of more than 10,000 votes.

Just as exciting is Tampa Bay's jump to 4th place in the petition rankings, moving ahead of New York/New Jersey! I don't know about you, but that's some exciting news!!!!!!!

I'll give everyone a second to celebrate!

But there's still plenty of work to be done. The petition is still active and we need to continue to cast our votes so that we continue to move forward.  We are trying to get as many votes as we can, so remember to:

1)Text TampaBay to 22442 as many times as you like. Every text counts as a vote, so keep voting! (Standard messaging rates apply)
2) Sign the online petition at www.GoUSABid.com/Tampa
3) Forward this email to all of your contacts.

We had a jump of 10,000 in one week, and I know we can do it again, so keep voting everyone...

And keep checking back here for more updates, along with some awesome great things to do in Tampa Bay, and cool Tampa Bay area events. 
 

Hello there folks! Jerm here with a special announcement about Tampa Bay's FIFA World Cup Bid for the FIFA World Cup in 2018/2022!

As you guys know we have been kicking some serious tail in the latest petition counters online for bringing the FIFA World Cup to the United States and Tampa for the years either in 2018 or 2022. Back when we started all of this a few months ago, the original goal was to get our awesome city up to 50,000 votes, and we are sooooooooooo close now!

We need your help to push us over the edge with 50,000 and we want to do it all today folks, so make sure you visit the www.GoUSABid.com/Tampa site and sign the petition by entering your email address and zip code, or if you are not in front of a computer, pull out your mobile phone and please text Tampa Bay to 22442 to show your support as well!

IF you are following on Twitter, and you re-tweet our World Cup Related tweets today, then you enter yourselves in for a chance to win two tickets to Busch Gardens! I'll draw the winners at the end of the day so make sure you show your support for our FIFA World Cup Bid!

That's it for now, but stay tuned in for more updates on the 2018 FIFA World Cup Bid as well as the 2022 World Cup Bid!

Hey folks, Julian here again with some news from our friends at Carrollwood Cultural Center: the CCC Community Theatre will present Meredith Willson’s The Music Man on Friday, July 16 at 7:30 pm, Saturday, July 17 at 3 pm, Friday, July 23 at 7:30 pm and Saturday, July 24 at 3 pm.

The Music Man is a musical with book, music, and lyrics by Meredith Willson. The show is based on a story by Willson and Franklin Lacey. The plot concerns con man Harold Hill, who poses as a boys' band organizer and leader, and sells band instruments and uniforms to naive townsfolk before skipping town with the cash. In River City, Iowa, prim but progressive Marian, the librarian, sees through him, but when Hill helps her younger brother, Marian begins to fall in love with Harold. Harold, in turn falling for Marian, risks being caught to win her.

In 1957, the show became a hit on Broadway, winning five Tony Awards, including “Best Musical”, and running for 1,375 performances. The cast album won the first Grammy Award for "Best Original Cast Album". The show's success led to revivals and a popular 1962 film adaptation and a 2003 television remake. It frequently is produced by both professional and amateur theater companies.

The CCC Community Theatre is comprised of members from the Cultural Center community courses: Band, Chorus and Broadway Kids. The three community groups were formed in the fall of 2008 and they are free or for a minimal tuition. More than 100 members of the combined groups will participate in publicity, building sets, costume design, fund raising and performance. Ages range from 8 to 92. The groups are under the directions of Mary Ann Scialdo and Vicki Cuccia – Broadway Kids; Helen Michaelson – Band; and Betty Lee Rey and Teil Rey – Choreography.

The Music Man is the second production of the Carrollwood Cultural Center Community Theatre on 4537 Lowell Road, Tampa, FL 33618. For tic  (813)269-1310 or go to www.CarrollwoodCenter.org. Ticket prices are $15 for Carrollwood Cultural Center members, $20 for non-members. I'll be back soon with more exciting stuff and infos on the 2018 FIFA World Cup Bid.

Hey Tampa Bay, Alex here with a weekly update on fun Tampa Bay area events happening around the area over the weekend.

1. Night in the Islands- July 10, 2010
On Saturday, July 10, from 6-11pm, the City of Tarpon Springs will present Night in the Islands – a free event on the world famous Sponge Docks. Enjoy Greek music, dancing, dining and other activities under the stars at the Sponge Docks. The event features live music by Ellada, an exciting Greek band composed of three of the best Greek musicians in the state. Ellada will perform outside on Dodecanese Blvd (the Sponge Docks) between Hope and Athens streets from 7 to 11pm. The band will perform nisiotika, the lively traditional music of the Greek islands, as well as old and new Greek favorites. Ellada includes George Soffos, bouzouki; Dino Theofilos, keyboard; and Elias Poulos, vocals. Prior to the main event, there will be live Greek music between 4 and 6pm on Dodecanese Blvd. at Riverwalk, west of Hope Street. Night in the Islands also will be offered Saturdays, August 7, September 18, October 2, and November 6, 2010. Mark your calendar and make this a regular destination!
Address: SPONGE DOCKS (DODECANESE BLVD BETWEEN HOPE AND ATHENS ST.), 
TARPON SPRINGS, FL 34689 
Times: 6:00-11:00pm 
Admission: FREE

2. Obscured by Time: The Magic of Florida, featuring the art of Hermann Trappman- July 10,2010
The Tampa Bay History Center presents "Obscured by Time: The Magic of Florida", featuring the art of Hermann Trappman, opening Saturday, July 10th. The exhibition will detail the natural history of Florida through Trappman’s compelling paintings, artifact replicas, fossils, and examples of the resources utilized by ancient Native Americans. Obscured by Time offers a glimpse of early Florida, its native peoples and geography prior to European contact in the 1500s. A self-taught artist, Trappman’s work explores the life of Florida’s early peoples and is based on artifacts, fossils and other archeological evidence found along the shores of Florida.
Address: 801 Old Water St., Tampa, FL 33602 
Times: Daily 10:00 a.m. to 5:00 p.m. 
Admission: $12.00 for adults

3. The 2nd Monthly Hula’s Boat Hop- July 10, 2010
The 2nd Monthly Hula's Boat Hop will be on Saturday, July 10th starting at 8 p.m. on the dock next to the newly remodeled and expanded Dukes Bar.  Hula Bay, one of the few waterside venues in Tampa and is located at 5200 West Tyson Avenue off Westshore, South  of Gandy.  There will be complimentary valet parking, live entertainment, no charge for  overnight boat slips, a DJ by the pool beginning at 1 p.m. and a full menu will be available.  The next one will be on August 21st.
Address: 5210 Tyson Blvd., Tampa, FL 33611 
Times: starting at 8p.m.

4. Sail Tampa – July 10- 14, 2010
Join us as we celebrate Tampa Bay’s rich maritime history featuring the magnificent International Sailing Ships of the World. The celebration begins with a spectacular “Parade of Sail” as the ships enter the Port of Tampa with thousands of spectators lining the shoreline. The 5-day festival will feature nightly fireworks, live music and dockside tours of the ships located in the Channel District,
known as Channelside.
Address: 615 Channelside Dr., Tampa, FL 33602 
Times: Varies

5. Tampa Bay Lightening Young Guns Camp- July 10-14, 2010
The Tampa Bay Lightning will hold their annual player development camp at the St. Pete Times Forum July 10-14. The camp will feature 31 players and include two sessions per day. All on-ice sessions will be open to the public. The camp will culminate on July 14 with the Young Guns Game, a prospect scrimmage and fan event. Among the 31 players attending the camp are former first-round picks Ty Wishart, Carter Ashton and Brett Connolly as well as second-round picks Scott Jackson, Richard Panik and Dana Tyrell. Highly touted prospects Dustin Tokarski, Jaroslav Janus, Alex Hutchings and Mark Barberio are also expected to attend the camp. The players will partake in a number of various activities away from the ice as well, including presentations on strength and conditioning, nutrition and others. On Monday, July 12 they will also attend a luncheon with team supporters and participate in community service initiatives that afternoon. The camp will conclude on Wednesday, July 14 with the Lightning’s Young Guns Game. Doors for the event will open at 5:30 p.m. with the game getting underway at 6 p.m. The contest will feature two 20-minute periods with a shootout challenge at the end. Following the game fans will have the opportunity to participate in a question and answer session, get autographs from all the prospects involved in the camp and watch the Lightning Hockey Night radio show broadcast LIVE from the XO VIP Club from 7-8 p.m. They will also have the chance to enter to win exciting Lightning prizes and more, while ThunderBug and the Bolt Brigade will be on hand to entertain.
Address: 401 Channelside Dr., Tampa, FL 33602
Times: July 10: 8:30am-11am, 4:30pm-7:30pm; July 11: 9am-11:30am, 4:30pm-8:00pm; July 12: 9am-11:30am; July 13: 2pm-4pm; July 14: 9am-11:30am, 6pm-7:30pm
Admission: Free

6. Talent Quest Florida- July 9-11, 2010
Talent Quest Florida is a karaoke singing competition for teens and up!
We have three categories divided into male and female divisions: Country, Contemporary 
and 50-And-Over.  Winners of Talent Quest Florida (one male and one female from each category) get paid entry; air fare and hotel stay at the national Talent Quest Karaoke competition in Laughlin, Nev., in September!
Time: 8:00am- 11pm
Location: Doubletree Hotel Tampa, Westshore
Price: Friday & Saturday July 9-10, 2010- $15 per day. Sunday, July 11, 2010- $30 per day.

7.  World Cup Watch Parties July 10-11, 2010
In honor of their semi-final appearance and as a welcome to Tampa, Splitsville luxury lanes and dinner lounge will be hosting a World Cup watch party this Saturday at 2pm for the Crew and Cadets of the Capitan Miranda – Uruguay’s Tall Ship.  The match between Germany and Uruguay will kick-off at 2:30 pm on Saturday so stop by Splitsville Lanes in the Channelside Entertainment Complex and meet the crew while watching the match!

The Channelside courtyard will have live entertainment from 11am-2pm with locals and visitors coming down to show their support for the World Cup Final match between Spain and the Netherlands, as well as the US Bid to Host the World Cup in 2018/2022. At 2pm, step inside any of the fine establishments here at Channelside and enjoy watching the game in the cool AC!

Don’t forget about events happening at our local attractions all Summer long like:

1. Island Nights at Adventure Island
2. Play & Dine All Day at Busch Gardens
3. Summer Nights at Busch Gardens
4. MOSI's CSI: The Experience

Enjoy your weekend and check back with me next Thursday for another Weekend Events update. 

Hey Tampa Bay, as you all know there are just five days left in the 2010 FIFA World Cup™. Everyone involved with the USA Bid Committee is excited for what is sure to be an exciting final when Spain take on the Netherlands, but sad that all of the action will soon be coming to an end.

Although World Cup 2010 ends on July 11 that doesn’t necessarily mean it is time for the USA Bid Committee to relax. After the World Cup ends, the work to try and bring this amazing event to our country will increase.

From now until December 2, 2010 when FIFA announces the 2018 and 2022 World Cup hosts, the USA Bid Committee, all candidate host cities and partners have a common goal to achieve —  continuing to show the world how much this country loves soccer.

The USA Bid Committee is proud to announce that they have reached a total of 800,000 signatures — moving closer to the goal of exceeding a million signatures.

As of right now Houston is back in the lead, and former first-place Miami isn’t far behind. Tampa Bay is still in 5th place and still kicking, so make sure you all head over to http://www.gousabid.com/Tampa or text Tampa Bay to 22442 to vote for your city- TAMPA BAY!

Check back with me, Alex, often for more information on World Cup Soccer news and Tampa Bay area events.

Hey Tampa Bay, Alex here to tell you who is one of the new official partners in the support of The USA Bid Committee’s efforts to bring the FIFA World Cup™ to the United States in 2018 or 2022.

If you said  Fox Soccer Channel then you are correct! Fox Soccer Channel and its associated platforms, Fox Soccer Plus and Foxsoccer.com, will begin a series of corporate sponsorship announcements for the U.S. bid in the coming weeks.

"As the leading source for soccer programming and information in the United States, Fox Soccer Channel, Fox Soccer Plus and Foxsoccer.com is proud to join forces with the USA Bid Committee as a corporate sponsor to bring the most important event in soccer to the United States," said David Nathanson, General Manager of Fox Soccer Channel. "We are committed to using all of our resources to be a driving force behind support for the USA Bid."

FIFA's 24 member Executive Committee will study the bids from the United States and the eight other competing countries, conduct site visits and name the hosts for the 2018 and 2022 tournaments on December 2, 2010, completing a 21-month bid and review process.

Stay tuned for more updates on FIFA World Cup USA and head over to http://www.gousabid.com/Tampa to vote for Tampa Bay!

Hey guys Jerm here and I just wanted to share some World Cup Soccer news in the form of a funny video that I found on YouTube. I think we really have hit FIFA World Cup fever in this country when the guys over at BlendTec get in on things!

Many of you may or may not have seen the "Will It Blend" YouTube videos where the Blendtec folks will take anything and drop it into one of their high powered blenders just so show how high quality and powerful their product is. I have seen these guys blend everything from marbles, to video cameras, a skis, and as much as it pained me to watch, an Apple IPad!

Well given all the hoo-hah we have been hearing from disgruntled fans about the Vuvuzela, the musical instrument on display at this years FIFA World Cup in South Africa, the gang over at BlendTec decided to test out there famous theory of "Will It Blend!" I won't spoil the surprise for you, as far as telling you whether it will blend or not, so you will just have to watch the video and find that out for yourself! Now me personally, I actually love the Vuvuzela, as to me its really been the soundtrack for this installment of the FIFA World Cup, and adds a level of rhythm to the play on the field.

One thing I don't want you to wait for though is signing the petition to help bring the 2018 FIFA World Cup to the United States or the 2022 FIFA World Cup to Tampa especially! So be sure to log onto www.GoUSABid.com/Tampa, and show your support for the World Cup United States bid!

Hey Tampa, It’s Jodi to tell you about a special World Cup Watch Party at Splitsville Lanes. The World Cup is winding to a close this weekend so don’t miss your last chance to be a part of this worldwide event.

Splitsville will be hosting a unique World Cup Watch Party Saturday, July 10 at 2 p.m., for all of Tampa’s soccer fans and the Crew of the Uruguayan Tall Ship the Capitan Miranda. Uruguay will facing off in the semi-final match that day.

This watch party is a great opportunity to get the true global feel of the World Cup and to celebrate the arrival of the Tall Ships to Tampa. The Tall Ship festivities kick-off on Saturday and continue through the week.

Along with Uruguay’s Capitan Miranda, there are two other Tall Ships: Colombia’s Gloria and the United States Coast Guard’s Eagle. All of the ships are open for tours but a ticket is required for the Gloria and the Capitan Miranda.

If you haven’t attended a World Cup Watch Party, this is your chance to see a truly dynamic match with all the international charm the World Cup is renowned for. If soccer is not your thing make sure you come out to see the beautiful, historic Tall Ships; they are truly spectacular.

They will be available for viewing and tours at Channelside (for the U.S.C.G. Eagle) and the Tampa Convention Center (for the Gloria and Capitan Miranda). For the crew and cadets of the Capitan Miranda, Splitsville will be offering specials including free billiards in the billiards room.

For more information on the Tall Ships go to www.yachtstarship.com/SailTampaBay or www.SailTampaBay2010.com

Also don't forget to show your support for the USA World Cup Bid in 2018 or 2022 by signing the petition at www.GoUSABid.com/TampaBay! That's all for now, but stay tuned in for more updates on the World Cup in USA!

Hello out there to all my USA Soccer fans! I know its been a while since I last blogged, but I must admit that I was rather heartbroken to see the USA bow out of the FIFA World Cup last weekend vs Ghana.

I have sense recover though and I am extremely proud of the quality of soccer we played and the effort the guys and the coaching staff gave on behalf of their country.

Having said that, its just been amazing to watch the outpouring of support for the game here in the US in recent weeks, and we have seen that at an even higher level in recent days as the team has returned from South Africa.

So much so Landon Donovan and Bob Bradley were given the honor of ringing the closing bell at the New York Stock Exchange yesterday, in addition to being guest of Jon Stewart on the Daily Show who is an avid soccer fan and former play at William & Mary. If you haven't seen it yet, be sure to check out the embedded video below...

Once you viewed the video, be sure to log on to www.GoUSABid.com/TampaBay and show your support for our FIFA World Cup Bid to be a host city in the years 2018 or 2022! That's all for now, but enjoy the video and stay tuned in for more updates on things to do in Tampa Bay!

The Daily Show With Jon Stewart	Mon - Thurs 11p / 10c
Landon Donovan & Bob Bradley
www.thedailyshow.com
Daily Show Full Episodes Political Humor Tea Party

Hey there... Julian here with a quick update for everyone who wants to do some good by voting for the Tampa Theatre on Facebook: The Chase Bank Community Giving is donating to the top 200 vote getters, so help the Tampa Theatre to win $20k!

Tampa Theatre is a mission-based organization that celebrates film, education, and community. Films, live educational performances, concerts and special events are presented in a unique atmospheric movie palace. Tampa Theatre is recognized nationally as one of the most architecturally-important, heavily-utilized, intact historic theaters in America. The Theatre is a success story for Tampa and an asset to Florida.

Just click the link below and vote for Tampa Theatre on Facebook. You’ll have to “like” Chase, “allow” the application, then vote. The “Vote” button is the green bar with VOTE written on it. Voting runs through 7/12 and the top 200 vote getters will win $20k. Please vote and then spread the word to everyone you know! Vote here:

http://apps.facebook.com/chasecommunitygiving/charities/593191311-tampa-theatre-inc

Just do it and help your community! I'll be back with more stuff and probably some news on the FIFA World Cup 2018 Bid!

Hey guys, Jerm here with an update on the USA's FIFA World Cup Bid! The heat is on for the bid to host the FIFA World Cup in 2018 or 2022, and Tampa Bay has made a move.

Of 18 potential host cities throughout the United States who are vying for signatures for the World Cup petition, Tampa Bay has moved to No. 6 with 24,431 votes. But more help is needed!

There are still plenty of ways to cast your vote for Tampa Bay, and a goal of 50,000 votes is still set:

• Go to www.GoUSABid.com/Tampa and sign the online petition to support the bid,
• Go back and enter your other e-mails, then
• Text TampaBay to 22442 to cast your vote in support of our bid.
• Repeat this step as many times as you'd like...standard data and messaging rates may apply (but go crazy if you have an unlimited text plan).

Then we need your help in spreading the news about the petition to friends, family, colleagues, coworkers, employees, soccer fans and others. Let everyone in Tampa Bay, and beyond, know about the petition and how important it is to our area.

Stay tuned in for more World Cup United States related news from your Tampa Bay team!

I don't know about the rest of you guys, but I am an emotional wreck! What a game that was, and we almost had it if not for a dubious call from the officiating crew. As upset as I am about the call, I want this blog to focus on the great game!

It was definitely not the desired outcome for the USA going into halftime as they walked into the locker room down 2-0 in a first half completely dominated by the Slovenians. First half goals by Zlatan Ljubijankic and Valter Birsa, had USA fans with their heads in hands and thinking it would be a long day.

But I guess Coach Bradley lit a fire under the team at halftime as they came back out firing with Landing Donovan pulling a goal back in around the 49th minute.

We took the initiative in the second half and were able to fight back with an 82nd minute Michale Bradley goal that tied the game up at 2-2, at which point I think I may screamed so loud that the entire office hear me!

I think we all have our own feelings about the disallowed goal at the end, but lets not let that overshadow the great effort and grit it takes to fight back from a 2-0 deficit and almost take the game! 

Major pat on the back to Coach Bradley, his staff and the US team for a great fightback. I think we all realized how emotional and great this game is by watching today's match. I actually saw a guy in the stadium with a face full of tears when the US equalized and that about sums up World Cup Soccer!

I can only imagine what it would be like to witness that kind of emotion first hand, and to think there is a chance we here in the USA as well as Tampa could potentially be World Cup 2018 Host, or possibly even host the games in 2022! The only way that is going to happen is if we all go to www.GoUSABid.com/TampaBay and show our support for the USA Bid by signing the on line petition!

Oh well, guys, have a great rest of the day and be sure to check back for more FIFA World Cup soccer news from Jerm and the rest of the Tampa Bay team!

Hi guys.. this is Julian with an interesting story about one of our community members, Eric Polins, a true Tampa native! Times Business Columnist Robert Trigaux featured Tampa's Eric Polins who is about to stand on the edge of greatness:

He's six days away from competing in Cannes, France, for "World's Greatest Salesperson," having out pitched nearly 230 global competitors for a finalist shot at the title offered up by giant New York advertising icon OgilvyOne Worldwide. And to what does Polins owe his success thus far? Selling a lowly red brick. More on that in a moment.

Polins, the 41-year-old co-founder and managing partner of Tampa marketing consultants HCP Associates, learned about the "Search for the World's Greatest Salesperson" contest, a YouTube video competition, while browsing Facebook. In addition to an all-expenses trip for three finalists to compete in Cannes at the world's biggest advertising convention, the winner gets a three-month fellowship with OgilvyOne "to rearticulate" sales lessons espoused by David Ogilvy. Ogilvy is considered the "father of advertising" and was a founder of the famous 20th century advertising firm Ogilvy & Mather. That has now become OgilvyOne, which says it is on a mission "to reinvigorate the noble art of salesmanship."

How do you sell a plain red brick in a two-minute YouTube video with greater passion and cleverness than 229 global competitors? Polins decided to sell the brick for its intangible asset: as a globally available and affordable good luck charm. In the video, he compares his red brick to, among other outdated good luck charms, a rabbit's foot ("too morbid"), a "knock on wood" gesture ("is anything made of wood any more?") and a four-leaf clover ("I live in the city," he says).

It's a smooth, tongue-in-cheek delivery by Polins, who also writes, produces and acts in films on the side (he sits on the board of the Gasparilla International Film Festival). The Penn State broadcast and journalism graduate says he left TV news because he was too nervous in front of a camera. Now he's used to it, as the YouTube brick pitch attests.

The competition is tough. The Canadian finalist pitches the brick in his video as not just a building block but "representing a dream" of great things. And the Japanese finalist reinvents the brick (with chrome handles) as a must-have purse that works better against muggers than Mace. If Polins wins in Cannes, he'll use his OgilvyOne fellowship to find ways to bridge the big ad gap between how basic and high-end goods are sold. And somewhere along the line, he'll probably add "World's Greatest Salesperson" to his resume.

This is it for now, but come back for more exciting stories from the Tampa Bay area, including news on the 2018 FIFA World Cup Bid ...!

Hey guys, jerm here with a USA related FIFA World Cup Bid update for you on how you can support our efforts even more!

Last week I wrote a post about the USA Bid Committee updating their website and all of the new features. If you missed that post, first off, shame on you, and secondly here is the post so you can get caught up.

Now, in addition to going on line signing the petition, and also sending a text message to show your support, you can now order yourself some Go USA Bid "Swag" gear from the website!

I just ordered mine, so you should follow suit and go to the website and get yours as well!

Show your support for the game in the USA and Tampa Bay. I don't know about you guys, but I'd like to see the world's ultimate soccer tournament to come to Tampa in 2018/2022.

That's all for now folks, but stay tuned in for 2018 FIFA World Cup Bid updates from us as well as updates with the 2022 World Cup Bid!

Hello there all of my soccer fanatic friends! Boy what a weekend it was for the world as after it seems like FOREVER, the 2010 FIFA World Cup kicked off in South Africa!

Now you guys know that Jerm is a huge soccer fan, having played the game since I was 9 years old, so I have been waiting for this for a very long time. Not just for sporting reasons either, as you could imagine, but also for the significance of the game being held on the African continent for the first time in the tournaments history!

For many people in the USA, the game that we were all anticipating the most was the USA vs England Group C match to be held at the Royal Bafokeng Stadium in Rustenberg S. Africa. Plenty of reasons for fans to be pumped about this match, with the most notable having been that the last time we played England in the World Cup was back in 1950 when a squad of American amateurs walked away with a 1-0 victory over one of the world's then super power of soccer!

In front of a crowd of just over 38,000 fans, the majority of which seem to be pulling the the Three Lions, the American team earned a hard fought draw over one of the teams many have picked to win the tournament!

Of the many talking points you will hear about this game, the one that won't be going away anytime soon will be the once in a lifetime error by England net-minder Robert Green. Green fumbled what was thought to be a routine save on a Clint Dempsey shot from just outside the box. This leveled the score at 1-1 canceling out a Steven Gerrard goal four minutes into the game. 

From my view, it was a hard fought game with chances created by both sides, but in the end the play of the goalkeepers played a significant role in the outcome, with USA goalkeeper Tim Howard making a number of key saves, while his counterpart in the English net didn't have as good a performance.

Goalkeeping errors seemed to be a theme in this group however as Algeria goalkeeper Faouzi Chaouchi had his own issues in coming up with a tame effort from Slovenian Robert Koren from just outside the box. The results from this weekend leave the Slovenian team in pole position in group see with the full three points, followed by England and USA locked up at second place with Algeria at the bottom of the group.

The USA's World Cup will continue play on Friday (June 18) vs Slovenia at Ellis Park Stadium in Johannesburg, and then on June 23 against Algeria in Loftus Versfeld Stadium in Pretoria. England will play Algeria this Friday as well.

It doesn't get much more exciting than this folks! Or can it? Imagine what it would be like for the Tampa Bay area to host a FIFA World Cup game, or possibly even 3-5 of those games. Well that is a real possibly as the USA is one of a host of countries vying to be the FIFA World Cup 2018 host countries or possibly the 2022 games!

We will find out this December 2 if that is the case, but in the mean time, we need everyone to show their support for our bid and go to www.GoUSABid.com/Tampa!

That's all I got for now, but be sure to check back early and often for more updates and FIFA World Cup soccer news from jerm and the Tampa Bay team of bloggers!

Oh boy! The moment we soccer fans have all been waiting for is almost upon us! Yup you guessed it, as I am referring to the kickoff of the 2010 FIFA World Cup in South Africa!

Jerm here as I wanted to do a quick little blog post to talk about 3 of the coolest Iphone apps to help keep you up to date on all of the scores and news with regards to your host country or whichever teams you are following. Now there are plenty of apps out there you can check out, but I have tried these three out and they are the best to me:

AP 2010 World Cup Coverage - News and the Associated Press go hand in hand, so this one was a given. With personalize able skins, up to the minute updates from 100+ journalists from around the world, and language controls, you can't go wrong with this.

ESPN 2010 FIFA World Cup - My favorite app of these three. There is a free version as well as a paid, and I opted for the extra $5 to have all of the bells and whistles, and believe me there are plenty of those!

FOX Soccer - Another app filled with news, roster updates, and plenty of things to keep you in the loop as you try to stay up to date with the tournament

Now myself personally, I try and go into every tournament with at least three teams that I am supporting:

• United States of America - Okay, like you didn't see this one coming! Of course I gotta root for the home team baby! Feeling really good with this years tournament and the guys we have on the roster.
• Netherlands - How can you not root for "Total Football" and the dutch attack! Any team with Robin Van Persie, Arjen Robben and Wesley Sneijder potentially all on the field at once is going to have a great chance to lift the trophy!
• Spain - Defending 2008 European Champions Spain are easily the deepest team in the tournament in Jerm's opinion. Anytime you have Cesc Fabregas and Jose "Pepe" Reina coming off of the bench for you, that might be an indicator of how powerful your team is.

Well there you have it folks, Jerm's favorite apps along with his pick of teams he'll be following during the tournament. Who are you picking to go far in this years tourney?

Also be sure to support the United States 2018 World Cup Bid as well as our 2022 World Cup Bid by visiting the USA Bid Committee website at www.GoUSABid.com/TampaBay!