In the wake of the massacre at an Orlando gay club last Sunday, there has been an outpouring of emotions and people hoping to help from across the U.S. One of Florida's baseball teams, the Tampa Bay Rays, is pitching in how it can by declaring Friday's game against the San Francisco Giants "Pride Night" at its Tropicana Field in St. Petersburg, Florida. Pride Night was meant to honor the victims of the massacre, and the team donated all proceeds from the ticket sales to the Pulse nightclub victims and their families.
Orlando is just over 100 miles southwest of St. Petersburg, and it seems many came to the Rays' game to show their love and respect for fellow Floridians in a time of despair. The paid attendance of the game was 40,135—despite the stadium's capacity of 31,402—which makes Friday's game the Rays' highest-attended regular season game since their 2006 home opener, according to ESPN.
Fans were given "We Are Orlando" T-shirts upon entry to the stadium, and over $300,000 was raised in total. Also, the home team's players sported Orlando Rays caps, which were worn by Tampa Bay's former minor league affiliate. Those caps will auctioned to benefit the victims as well.
Here are some "equality" signs and other tweets from fans who attended the game, which the Rays lost 5-1.Â
