Frequently Asked Questions

Trop! In the Name of Love was created independently by a Rays fan and is not affiliated with the Tampa Bay Rays. More information about the project and Sandy, the project’s creator, can be found on our About page.

You do not have to be a Rays fan to be eligible to submit a story. Rays fans might make up most of our stories because it is the Trop after all, but anyone who has visited the Trop—whether or not they are a Rays fan—is welcome to share a story. Please note that, in accordance with our submission guidelines, stories must be positive in nature and cannot disparage the Trop in any way. You must also be at least 18 years old to be eligible to submit a story.

Every story we publish is available to the public on our website. Anyone who visits the website can see the stories and may share them on social media and other online platforms. We also actively share and quote from stories on our social media accounts.

We review submissions on a rolling basis and aim to publish stories within a few days, but it may take longer depending on availability and the volume of submissions. You will receive an email when your story appears on the website. Please be patient and remember that Trop! In the Name of Love is operated by one person in her free time.

Your story should be a personal narrative about the Trop. Think back to all the times you’ve been to the Trop and what makes it unique! We have story prompts at the top of our submission page if you need inspiration, but you are not required to respond to any prompts in particular. You can also browse our collection of published stories to get a sense of what other people have written about.

Trop! In the Name of Love only accepts written submissions at this time. However, you can choose to attach up to five photos with your story—and we strongly encourage doing so.

We encourage you to submit photos of yourself at the Trop, your best photos that showcase the Trop’s elegance, and/or any relevant photos to your story (for example, if your story is about a Rays game you attended). All photos you include with your submission must be materials you own.

Please only include photos you would be comfortable sharing on a public website, and keep in mind that your photos may also be used on our social media posts.

Trop! In the Name of Love only publishes one story per person. Co-authored stories, however, are welcome (see question below).

We recognize that sports can be a family affair and enjoyed by groups of friends, so we welcome submissions with several co-authors. If you are submitting a co-authored post, simply provide each co-author’s name in the Name field of our submission form. Additionally, please be sure to fill out any other fields accordingly for information that any or all contributors would like to provide (location, social media profiles, bios, etc.). Please also make it clear which information applies to which individual (for example, if there is more than one location, it would be helpful if locations were put in the same order as co-authors’ names, and a comment stating this would be appreciated).

The story should only be submitted once by one of the authors. Please note that co-authored stories are still subject to the 500-word and five-photo maximum per submission.

We recognize the privacy considerations that come with having your story published online, and we put careful thought into deciding whether to accept anonymous contributions. To ensure each story is legitimate and submitted by a real person, we require an email address to be included with every submission. The email won't appear on the story itself, but we need a way to get in touch with authors to let them know their stories are live or to follow up with them. As a result, submissions cannot be completely anonymous because email addresses and any other data you choose to submit, including location, are still personal identifiers that we collect.

While anonymous submissions are not accepted, pseudonymous submissions are. You can use a pseudonym or nickname in place of your full name or even your first name. Please remember, however, that in order for us to contact you, you still need to provide an email address.

If you submit a story using a pseudonym, there will be a line at the bottom of the post specifying that the name in the byline is a pseudonym. This story, which was published under a pseudonym on our website, can be seen for reference.

Please refer to this resource for additional information on the distinctions between pseudonymity and anonymity.

Once your story has been submitted, you will not be able to go back and edit it directly. If you would like to make any changes or if you see any error after it has been posted to the website, you can contact us at any time.

Your story will only be on our website for as long as you feel comfortable, and you are free to request that it be taken down at any time. If you decide that you no longer want your story to appear on the website, please contact us.

If you submitted a story and it has not been published after one week, please contact us to inquire. Please note that every post is reviewed before being published to ensure it complies with all guidelines. If the story does not meet our guidelines, we reserve the right to not post it.

First off, thank you for sharing your story! We deeply appreciate the time and effort you put into sharing your story, and we hope you find it meaningful to be a part of a community of Trop visitors sharing their favorite Trop memories.

After your story has been published, we encourage you to share it far and wide with others through your networks. We would also appreciate it if you could tell other Trop visitors about the project and invite them to share their stories. There is strength in numbers, and we are always looking to grow our collection of #TropStories!

Be sure to follow us on Twitter (@Trop_NameOfLove) and Instagram (@tropinthenameoflove). If you share your published story on social media, don’t forget to tag us and use the hashtag #TropStories!