We arrived at Raymond James Stadium later than planned due to a bad wreck on the Howard Franklin Bridge. I had to wait about 15 minutes in the Will Call line to pick up our tickets so we could enter the stadium. By the time we headed to our seats the first round of racing had begun and El Toro Loco was in round one so I totally missed her racing because Barbarian beat her :-(. Our seats were in the corner of the south end zone which gave us a different, less desirable view than we have had from sideline seats in the past.

The racing continued, Grave Digger lost a wheel and the finals were Iron Outlaw vs Son-uva Digger, with Son-uva Digger posting the win. The wheelies competition was new-to-us and only some of the trucks took part. This is the part of the show where we realized how unfair the Monster Jam scoring is. This is from the Monster Jam website:

A panel of audience members who view the competition and assign a value to the performance. Each judge can score from 1 (lowest) to 10 (highest). Once scores are reported, the highest score and lowest score are disregarded. The total of the scores is the score for the competition. In the event of a tie, the highest high score dropped will be the first tiebreaker. If still tied, the highest low score dropped will become the tiebreaker. If it is still tied, a tiebreaking official will break the tie to determine a winner.

Iron Outlaw freestyle

At this particular show, judge #2 aka “the bald guy” was obviously not judging fairly. Trucks that wrecked got higher scores than trucks who completed the wheelies. These discrepancies continued throughout the freestyle competition as well. Granted, the high and low score from the panel of 5 judges is thrown out, judge #2’s scores skewed the overall scoring. If I were a driver, I wouldn’t want my winning or losing to be based on biased fan scoring, would you? Wrecking Crew won the wheelies competition with a score of 27.

Monster Energy, Coty Saucier backflip

Overall, we had fun at Monster Jam, as always. If you missed this first show in Tampa Monster Jam returns to Raymond James Stadium on February 4th, tickets are on sale now.

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This year is the 25th anniversary of Monster Jam and it’s Grave Digger’s 35th year competing, the series wasn’t Monster Jam in his earlier days. On January 14th in Tampa we have Dennis Anderson driving Grave Digger, and his son Ryan Anderson driving Son-uva Digger in our show. Two generations of Monster Jam drivers competing to be the Tampa champion! That is keeping it all in the family. We also have my favorite, El Toro Loco driven by Becky McDonough.

About Monster Jam

Did you know that Monster Jam competitors are trained at Monster Jam University to master the skills of driving Monster Jam trucks? Monster Jam trucks can fly up to 125 to 130 feet (a distance greater than 14 cars side by side) and up to 35 feet in the air. At approximately 12 feet tall and about 12 feet wide, Monster Jam trucks are custom-designed machines that sit atop 66-inch-tall tires and weigh a minimum of 10,000 pounds. Built for short, high-powered bursts of speed, Monster Jam trucks generate 1,500 to 2,000 horsepower and are capable of speeds of up to 100 miles per hour.

The Party in the Pits from 2:30-5:30pm is where fans can get up close and personal to the Monster Jam trucks and drivers. Pit Party tickets are $10 in addition to show tickets. They’re on sale now, and will be free at participating Southern Ford Dealers’ locations beginning January 1. Show tickets are also available online and range in price from $15-$112.

Good luck!

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Last weekend we attended our third Monster Jam event. Monster Jam is a fun night out and this year we brought our friends Sarah and Damon along for the evening. Each time we attend Monster Jam it is a little different. There is always the head-to-head racing and everyone’s favorite the freestyle. This year’s January 16th Tampa show included a donut competition by the drivers who didn’t make it into the head-to-head racing semi-finals and there were races between mega trucks. The mega trucks look like jacked up regular street trucks or dune buggies. I love that you never know what to expect in a Monster Jam show.

Also, in case you don’t know, there are multiple Monster Jam tours and multiples of some of the trucks. You need to figure out which driver is driving which truck at the show you are going to. My favorite trucks are El Toro Loco, the yellow one driven by Becky McDonough and Max-D driven by Tom Meents. I was happy to find out that both of my favorite truck/driver combinations were going to be at the show we went to.

In Saturday night’s show the head-to-head races came down to Monster Energy and Grave Digger. Monster Energy won when Grave Digger flipped on the final turn!

During the donut competition, my girl Becky McDonough showed the boys how she gets things done. Click over to see my Instagram video of her doing donuts. There are other photos and videos of the even on my Instagram page as well. My guy Max-D held the lead in the freestyle competition most of the night, even though he flipped before he got to try his well-know backflip Unfortunately, at the end of the night, Grave Digger bested Max-D’s freestyle score by 1 point!

Tampa friends, if you missed last week’s Monster Jam fun you have one more chance! Monster Jam will be back at Raymond James Stadium February 6, 2016! Tickets are still available and they start at $16! There are Monster Jam tours criss-crossing the USA so check the schedule to see when there is a show near you! You can also catch Monster Jam action on Fox Sports 1.

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Tickets for Monster Jam®, the world’s premier Monster Jam truck series, are now on sale. Monster Jam events are affordably priced for the whole family with seats starting at $16. Tickets are available at Ticketmaster. Monster Jam will be performing at the Raymond James Stadium on January 16, 2016 at 7 p.m.

The event will feature Monster Jam® Trucks: Grave Digger®, Lucas Oil Crusader, Max-­D®, El Toro Loco®, Monster Energy driven by Damon Bradshaw, Soldier Fortune, Avenger, Brutus, Overkill Evolution, Black Stallion, Stone Crusher, Hooked, King Krunch, and more!

Approximately 12 feet tall and about 12 feet wide, Monster Jam trucks are custom-­designed machines that sit atop 66-­inch-­tall tires and weigh a minimum of 10,000 pounds. Built for short, high-­powered bursts of speed, Monster Jam trucks generate 1,500 to 2,000 horsepower and are capable of speeds of up to 100 miles per hour. Monster Jam trucks can fly up to 125 to 130 feet (a distance greater than 14 cars side by side) and up to 35 feet in the air.

The Party in the Pits on January 16, 2016 from 1:30 p.m. to 5:00 p.m. gives fans the opportunity to get a view of the trucks up close and meet the drivers of the massive Monster Jam trucks. For more information on the Monster Jam, log onto www.MonsterJam.com. Follow Monster Jam on Facebook and Twitter too.

About Feld Motor Sports®: Feld Motor Sports, Inc. is the world leader in specialized arena and stadium-­based motor sports entertainment. Feld Motor Sports productions include Monster Jam®, Monster Energy Supercross, AMSOIL Arenacross and Nuclear Cowboyz®. Feld Motor Sports is a division of Feld Entertainment, the world’s largest producer of live family entertainment. For more information on Feld Entertainment, visit www.feldentertainment.com.

Monster Jam Kid’s Activity Pack

Add to your Monster Jam fun by downloading this FREE Monster Jam activity pack. It includes coloring pages, a word search, craft ideas and more!

Monster Jam Ticket Giveaway

One winner will receive a 4 pack of tickets to attend the January 16, 2016 Monster Jam show at Raymond James Stadium in Tampa, FL at 7:00pm. The tickets will be available at Will Call at the stadium on the day of the show. This giveaway is open to US residents only. The winner will be chosen by Rafflecopter and verified. The winner will be notified via email and they will have 48 hours to claim their prize. The Mom Maven is not responsible for prize fulfillment, that is the responsibility of the giveaway sponsor. This giveaway ends at 12:00am on January 2, 2016.

a Rafflecopter giveaway

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About Monster Jam

MONSTER JAM®, the world’s premier monster truck series, makes its return to the Raymond James Stadium for two completely different shows in 2015: Saturday, January 17th and Saturday, February 7th. Monster Jam® is one of Tampa’s most popular annual stadium events, attracting crowds of more than 100,000 fans for the combined two events each year. Thirty-two Monster Jam® monster trucks, 16 different truck teams at each show, will compete in side-by-racing and the fan-favorite freestyle competition.

Ticket Information

Advance purchase SuperValue Tickets are ONLY $15. $100 Total Access VIP Meet & Purchase: Greet / $40 Center Club / $35 Club Sideline / $25 Corners / $20 End Zones. Fans can purchase a Two-ShowPass, see both all-different shows from the same seat, and receive 20% off. Tickets are on sale now at www.ticketmaster.com, by phone at 800-745-3000, or at a Ticketmaster retail location. Tickets will also be available at the Raymond Stadium Box Office starting December 29th. All seats reserved. Subject to $2.75 facility fee, plus convenience and handling charges. Don’t wait – buy tickets in advance as prices go up $5 more the day of the show. Get more show information at www.MonsterJam.com (click on “Tickets” and search for Tampa January 17th and February 7th).

Party in the Pits and Ride in a Monster Truck

Fans can go behind the scenes, meet the drivers for autographs and photo ops, and see the monster trucks up close at the Party in the Pits before both shows from 1:30-5 p.m. in Parking Lot 5 outside the stadium. Free Pit Passes are available at participating Southern Ford Dealers from December 29th through February 7th while supplies last, or purchase pit passes for $10 at www.ticketmaster.com when event tickets are purchased. Pit Passes will also be available for sale the day of shows at the stadium box office. Pit Passes, along with a valid event ticket, get fans into the Pit Area.

Fans can also have the opportunity to ride in a real monster truck before the show between 1-7 p.m. Fans can pick up a Free monster truck ride pass at participating Tampa area Circle K locations beginning December 29th through February 7th (while supplies last). Ride Passes, along with a valid event ticket, get fans the ride of their life on a real Monster Jam Ride Truck (riders are taken on a first come first serve basis).

Have you ever been to Monster Jam? Would you like to go some day? Make sure you follow along on Instagram or Twitter on the 17th as I post pictures of the fun we are having!

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5. The Swiffer Effect

Swiffer has made cleaning easier for every member of our family. In our house everyone has chores to do daily and weekly so whether we are sweeping floors, mopping floors or dusting throughout the house-everyone uses Swiffer to do part of their chores. Read more at The Swiffer Effect.

4. Built to Amaze

This was Summer’s first trip to see the circus and she told us she was petrified of clowns! Read more at Built to Amaze!

3. Monster Jam Review

The freestyle competition is very exciting with huge trucks flying through the air, and not always landing on their wheels! Grave Digger even ripped of the skin of the truck and finished the freestyle with just the roll cage! Read more at Monster Jam Review.

2. Combat Ant & Roach Killing Bait Strips

The new Combat® Ant & Roach Killing Bait Strips contain the same killing power found in Combat® Gels, in an easier to use format. These thin bait strips have an adhesive backing that makes it easy to hide out of sight and reach of children and pets. Read more at New Combat Ant & Roach Killing Bait Strips Review.

1. Cold-Eeze

Cold-EEZE is now a staple in my medicine cabinet. When we feel the first sign of a cold coming on, we will be using Cold-EEZE as directed. To read more go to Cold-Eeze Review.

Thanks for a great 2013. I am looking forward to even more reviews in 2014!

The post MomMaven’s Top Reviews of 2013 appeared first on The Mom Maven.

(click on the photos to make them larger)

Party in the Pits

We headed back to the car to relax and eat the snacks we brought with us. We never buy food and drinks at stadium shows because the prices are outrageous. At Monster Jam a Sno-cone in an ugly skull mug was $15 and Cotton Candy with a foam Grave Digger hat was also $15! I actually watched a dad spend $60 on cotton candy, ridiculous.

We went into the stadium right after it opened at 5:00pm and I’m glad we did. I had no idea that there was pre-show entertainment. We got to watch some Tampa area Legends cars race and we saw heat races for the Demo Cross race that took place later in the Monster Jam show. If we had entered the stadium later we would have missed all of that fun!

The Course from our seats

The first part of Monster Jam were the races. There were qualifiers and then the trucks were put in brackets and they continued racing, two trucks at a time until there was a winner. The winner for Tampa #1 was Son-uva Digger.

Monster Truck Racing

After the Monster Truck racing there was some more Democross Racing and one of the big events of the night Tom Meents did a backflip in his Max-D truck!

After intermission was the freestyle event. Each truck is given 90 seconds to “showboat” on the course, if they survive the initial 90 seconds they get a bonus 30 seconds to continue performing. A panel of 3 judges score each performance each giving a rating on a scale of 1-10, If the drive completes the bonus 30 seconds they get an additional 2 points added to their score.

Monster Jam Freestyle

The freestyle competition is very exciting with huge trucks flying through the air, and not always landing on their wheels! Grave Digger even ripped of the skin of the truck and finished the freestyle with just the roll cage!

Max-D survived landing on his side and was able to right himself and finish his run!

Max-D Roll Over

In the end Son-uva Digger won the freestyle competition thus pulling of the double for the night!

Son-uva Digger Freestyle

We all enjoyed Monster Jam very much and we hope to come to another show in the future. When we do come back we will just skip the Party in the Pits. The Monster Jam show is very exciting. I do suggest you eat before you come to the show and bring earplugs for those with sensitive ears since the trucks are very loud. Don’t forget I’m giving away a 4 pack of tickets to the February 2nd Monster Jam show at Raymond James Stadium in Tampa. The giveaway ends January 26, 2013.

Disclosure: We were the guests of Feld Entertainment at the Monster Jam show. All opinions are 100% mine.

The post Monster Jam Tampa Review appeared first on The Mom Maven.

My boys have wanted to go to Monster Jam for years and for one reason or another, we’ve just never been. Well, 2013 is finally the year! Thanks to Feld Motoe Sports we will be at Raymond James Stadium next Saturday night experiencing our first Monster Jam! Tickets are still available if you want to join us next weekend but I’m giving away 4 tickets to the February 2nd show at Raymond James Stadium.

Grave Digger

Monster Jam is the perfect sports entertainment brand that mixes racing, showmanship and the ultimate fan experience into one incredible show. Matched by no other family entertainment property, Monster Jam electrifies crowds with the breathtaking stunts and the awesome power of the world’s most popular monster trucks.

At the January 19th event Maximum Destruction, driven by Tom Meents, will be celebrating its 10th anniversary – Tom is a 10 time World Champion! Also on January 19th the truck Zombie is joining the show. On February 2nd, El Diablo will be joining the show.

El Diablo

This giveaway is open to US residents who are available to attend the February 2nd Monster Jam in Tampa, FL. Good Luck!
a Rafflecopter giveaway

Disclosure: I received 4 tickets to attend Monster Jam and host this giveaway. All opinions are 100% mine.

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