TAMPA, Fla. — The Georgia Tech Yellow Jackets are in Tampa, Florida on Friday night to play in the Gasparilla Bowl. It's a big deal, Tech's first trip to a bowl game in five years.
But also, football aside, you really have to ask the question: What's Gasparilla?
The short answer is it's a big festival and parade held every year in Tampa that revolves around pirate themes - a kind of Mardi Gras for pirating, if you will.
For a bit more context, continue on.
What is Gasparilla?
Besides being the inspiration for the bowl game's name, of course, we'll let the Visit Tampa Bay website explain a little further:
Named for pirate Jose Gaspar, who terrorized the coastal waters of West Florida during the late 18th and early 19th centuries, Tampa's annual Gasparilla celebration begins with the Gasparilla Invasion. Over 750 swashbucklers invade Tampa Bay aboard the majestic pirate ship "Jose Gasparilla," kicking off a full schedule of pirate-themed events.
Generally speaking, it's held every January, and next year's Gasparilla Pirate Fest - the biggest event among the festivities - is scheduled for Jan. 27.
The festival originated with a group calling itself Ye Mystic Krewe of Gasparilla, described by the bowl game's website as "an organization dedicated to enriching the vitality and imagination of Tampa and its surrounding community."
The Gasparilla Bowl website further notes:
Through special appearances, Krewe members (of the YMKG-established Inter-Krewe Council) participate in events to promote the Bay Area community. Krewe members—decked in pirate attire—regularly visit hospitals, assisted living centers, and schools, engaging the community in the spirit and fun of Gasparilla events.
The Pirate Fest day kicks off with the "Gasparilla Invasion." That involves a "reenactment of Tampa’s historic pirate invasion" in which "pirates invade Tampa to claim the Key to the City from the Mayor." This includes an actual pirate ship, the Jose Gasparilla II, carrying hundreds of people to the Tampa Convention Center.
The pirate festival then has the "Parade of Pirates," which includes "approximately 140 units of krewes, floats, marching bands, and social organizations."
There are also several live performances at the Pirate Fest event tied to Gasparilla.
An outbound voyage celebration is then held a few weeks later - next year, on March 2 - for the Jose Gasparilla II.
And - not to be forgotten - before all this there's a Children's Gasparilla on Jan. 20 that includes a parade, fireworks and other features.