SEMINOLE HEIGHTS, Fla. — When Tom and Nancy Perkins’ daughter moved out of her childhood bedroom, their Lightning memorabilia moved in, and now it’s a fan cave.
Straight down the hallway of their Seminole Heights home, the last door to your left, that’s where you’ll find the Perkins Fan Cave.
“When you go to the arena, there is an area that they call the fan cave, and I said, ‘We can do that, the kids are gone, we’ve got extra bedrooms, we’ve got to do something,’” said Nancy.
“You kind of get hooked on hockey,” said Tom.
“Definitely awesome, cooler than like a home gym,” said daughter Rachel.
From bobble heads to fat heads, autographs and equipment, to even a crystal ball, it’s not just memorabilia, it’s memories.
“This was the front page of the Tampa Bay Times when they won the cup in 2021,” said Nancy, pointing to one of their prized possessions.
“Every holiday we are like what can we get for the fan cave and then before you knew it, they are like, ‘I don’t know if we have wall space for more cool stuff,’” said Rachel.
When the Perkins aren’t watching games in the fan cave, they’re cheering for the Bolts in person. Nancy and Tom have been season ticket holders for more than 20 years.
“We were at the arena when they won the cup in 2021, it was amazing, it was absolutely amazing,” said Tom.
Last season, Nancy was honored on the ice by Centre Conor Geekie for being a Bolt for Life Winner.
“The player skated right over to you, took the jersey off and handed it to you, he signed it, and we got a picture together,” said Nancy. “It was amazing to be down on that ice, and with the whole crowd there, it was unbelievable.”
Tom and Nancy are looking forward to capturing more memories this season.
“Unless there is some emergency or something that we can’t be here, we watch every game,” said Nancy.
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