My Clearwater
Clearwater Lifeguard Helps Raise the Flag for Buccaneers
Summer 59
Morgan Sullivan is used to keeping a close eye
on swimmers at Clearwater Beach.
Now in her sixth year as a lifeguard for the
city of Clearwater, she helps ensure that beach visitors stay
safe when they visit the pristine sugar sands and take a dip
in the Gulf of Mexico. But Sullivan had another role during
the Tampa Bay Buccaneers’ march to becoming world
champions.
Before the NFC championship clash on Jan. 24 with the
Green Bay Packers on the frozen tundra of Lambeau Field,
representatives from Fox Sports reached out with a unique
request – could they get video of a Clearwater Fire & Rescue
lifeguard raising a Buccaneers flag on the beach?
It was a no-brainer for publicity for the city, the beach, the
fire department and the lifeguards.
A film crew visited one sunny morning and spent about
45 minutes getting the right shots for just a few seconds of
video that would air on television ahead of the Bucs’ win
against the Packers. Sullivan
had to raise and lower the flag
at least a dozen times to get the
right shot. After all, you can’t control
what the wind will do – or won’t do – with the flag.
Mirrored against video from snowy and cold Wisconsin, the
images of bright blue skies and the sparkling waters of the
Gulf of Mexico made for amazing tourism shots – even if it
was labeled as “Tampa, Florida.”
“I thought it was very cool,” said Sullivan. “It definitely had
good outreach.”
She heard from people back home in Virginia and from
others across the country she knows. They all saw her on
national TV, if only for a few seconds.
If the whole lifeguard thing doesn’t work out, might Sullivan
have a future instead as a professional flag raiser?
“If it’s lucrative, why not?” she said with a laugh.