It's true, it's true: The Florida Marlins, long the victims of bad baseball (except when they win the World Series) and even worse stadium accomodations, do not provide a draw to fans in beautiful Miami, Florida. But rarely are the fans so noticeably absent as they were last night. From the Orlando Sun-Sentinel: That's what reliever Joe Nelson and two other Marlins' players, whose identities he loyally protected, did before the opening pitch of Florida's 5-3 win against the Atlanta Braves. Each picked a section of Dolphin Stadium and scanned for fans. Nelson guessed 418. The official count came up with 584 fans, five fewer than the media accounted for.584 fans. Terrible. Sarah Palin had more family members in the XCel Center last night, though, granted, some of them were unpaid. (Politcal humor!)
"You guys might have had a better view," Nelson said, referring to the smallest crowd at Dolphin Stadium since 375 came out last Sept. 13. "We had a few friendly jokes about how many people would be here. It was actually higher than I anticipated."
Beyond the park and the baseball, though, I suppose I can see why baseball fans don't necessarily dedicate themselves to nine innings at the ol' ballfarm. The fact that Miami Beach is so very close nearby would be my first. In the north, baseball is a celebration of the fact that you can merely sit outdoors for more than three minutes. In Miami, the distinctions aren't quite the same.
Reader Comments (Page 1 of 1)
9-04-2008 @ 5:53PM
tien said...
Yeah I don't think an incoming hurricane had anything to do with that one..
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9-04-2008 @ 11:04PM
Ralphgmiami said...
CAN'T ANYONE SEE THAT MIAMI'S FAVORITE TEAM IS THE NEW YORK YANKEES? THERE ARE MILLIONS AND MILLIONS OF FORMER NEW YORKERS IN MIAMI. I MYSELF AM ONE OF THEM. IF YOU TRAVEL HERE, TAKE NOTE OF THE HUNDREDS OF THOUSANDS YANKEE CAPS. TAKE A LOOK AT ATTENDANCE DURING SPRING TRAINING WHEN THE YANKEES PLAYED THE MARLINS AT TWO GAMES AT DOLPHINS STADIUM. THE GAME WAS SOLD OUT. FANS WERE PACKED IN LIKE SARDINES. THAT LEFT FIELD BLEACHERS IN THE PHOTOS WAS A SEA OF YANKEE FANS. SORRY MIAMI, JUST LIKE ME, MILLIONS OF NEW YORKERS WILL NEVER GIVE UP OUR YANKEES DESPITE LIVING IN MIAMI. WIN OR LOSE, WE'LL ALWAYS BE YANKEE FANS. MARLINS FANS ARE FICKLE. WHEN THEY OPEN UP A NIGHTCLUB IN MIAMI, THEY'LL GO TO IT UNTIL THE NOVELTY WEARS OFF. THE SAME GOES TRUE FOR A MARLINS GAME. ALSO WHEN THEY LOSE, THEY'RE ASHAMED THAT THEY'RE MARLINS FANS. GO TO GOODWILL AND SEE THE RACKS OF DONATED MARLINS JERSEYS IF YOU THINK I'M KIDDING YOU!!!
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9-05-2008 @ 9:02AM
Rich said...
There should not be any baseball teams in Florida. Move the teams to places where people appreciate the opportunity to watch baseball. For example, though I am not a Phillies fan, I live within 35 minutes of Citizens Bank Park (OK, so I break a few speed limits) and get to at least 6 games a year - I like baseball. There have to be places other than Miami and Tampa Bay where people will go to the old ballgame.
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9-06-2008 @ 4:53PM
rich demichele said...
Look the major reasons for poor attendance are the weather and the park.
Unless you live here you can't understand that our summers are extremely humid and are subject to downpours at almost anytime.
So you can’t plan a game without the real possibility of getting soaked.
The park is old and uncomfortable.
Give us a dome and the people will come.
Many of us watch the Marlins religiously on TV and want to go to the games. But it is tough with an old park and the weather.
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9-18-2008 @ 6:28PM
Viz said...
The problem with the Marlins and the fans goes all the way back to 1997 when we won our first World Series. The stadium was ALWAYS packed. When they won, the entire city errupted in celebration. Meanwhile, while the ticker tape parade was still going on in downtown Miami, Loria traded Moises Alou who was the player that kept the game alive by hitting a home run in the 7th inning of the 7th game of the World Series. Shortily after that, all the players that the fans had grown to love and admire were traded as well. And it's the same every year.
Newsflash to Loria: PEOPLE DON'T BECOME FANS OF THE UNIFORM. THEY BECOME FANS OF THE PLAYERS. If you trade the players every year, then every year you'll lose fans. It's not rocket sciene, Loria.
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