But this week - when there is nothing common, when we are all out of our senses - it is the saltiness of the baseball fans, and not the ocean, that permeates the Tampa Bay breeze.

Bay-area men are showing off their punkish "Ray-hawks," while the women are sporting their own version of the do somewhere they can't exactly show off to others.

But let the Tampa Bay kids have their gimmicks, their blue Mohawks and their cowbells they stole from Christopher Walken, because the Phillies have something in Tampa that comes only with old age - transplants, and a 94-year-old groupie.

The Ray-hawk trend that's sweeping the area started with a few Tampa Bay players who came out on the field sporting the just-a-step-above-a-mullet hairdo. As the Rays proceeded in the postseason, many of the fans decided to adopt the do as well.

Tim The Barber (which he insists is his official full name) estimates that he's done hundreds of Ray-hawks over the last several weeks, including a blitzkrieg at the St. Petersburg Pier on Monday night when he and his staff detailed more than 120 heads in 5 hours.

The Pittsburgh native, who's been a loyal Rays fan since the team's inception, even rocks a Ray-hawk himself, although he doesn't spray-paint it blue, like some die-hard fans.

"It makes us distinct from other teams," he said, while cutting hair in his retro St. Petersburg barbershop. "We've adopted it as a bonding thing."

Women have gotten in on the action, too, thanks to Skin Deep Spatique, a St. Petersburg spa which is offering a special on Mohawk bikini waxes.

Owner Michelle Sheehan Foster, a registered nurse and skin-care specialist, was struck with the idea when her son suggested that she adopt the Ray-hawk hairstyle.

"My brain doesn't think hair, it thinks hair," Foster said, pointing to her lady parts. "I thought, 'Now everyone can have one!' "

Foster, a New Jersey native who moved to the Bay area in 1973, said that some women are even requesting that their lady Mohawks be spray-painted blue.

Many of the male fans sporting Mohawks are expected to shave their Mohawks and go bald after the World Series, and Foster, a former Sunday-school teacher, said that she'll do likewise for the ladies if Tampa Bay wins.

"If the Rays go all the way, the promotion goes all the way," she said.

Tampa Bay fans are also hoping that the cacophony of their blue cowbells will serenade their team to victory.

The just-a-step-above-the-triangle musical instrument and the phrase "More cowbell!" were adopted by Rays fans after the team's principal owner was inspired by a"Saturday Night Live" sketch featuring Christopher Walken, Will Ferrell and a cowbell.

Ray fans, like the Cowbell Kid and his Cowbell posse, attempt to heckle opposing teams by using the instrument.

So, they have cowbells? How cute. We have a bell here in Philly, too . . . maybe you've heard of it?

What Philadelphia also has is a vast number of transplants in the Tampa Bay area, like Ed Crowley, owner of Delco's Original Steaks and Hoagies, in Dunedin, a town just outside Clearwater.

Crowley, an Aston native who named the shop after the county where he was born, decorates his restaurant in all things Philly and estimates that 40-to-50 percent of his clientele is "Philly-bred." He even ships in his products from Philadelphia - everything from Herr's chips to Tastykake treats.

Crowley said that the Tampa Bay fans' artillery won't stand a chance against true Phillies fans. "Philly is rowdy, they don't need the cowbell gimmick," he said. "They use their mouths."

And 94-year-old Harriette Gubel, of Cherry Hill, N.J., can't wait to use her mouth to cheer on her favorite team today.

Gubel, who has been alive for all six of the Phillies' World Series runs, remembers sitting on the front porch of her home as a child in North Philadelphia and listening to the fans in Shibe Park.

"We used to be able to tell from the noise if they were up or not," she said.

This woman, who has survived the Great Depression and outlived all 10 of her brothers and sisters, is having her dream realized today, thanks to her great-nephew, Daniel Bachove, 31, of Fort Lauderdale, who invited her to come down to the game after he won tickets in a lottery.

"I'm so excited, because I'm a Philadelphian," she said. "And if you're a Philadelphian and you're not a Phillies fan, something's wrong with you." *