Marlins draw only 600 fans at today's game

[17 Seconds]

At opening pitch, anyways. I thought this deserved it's own thread because it's unbelievably pathetic...and I live in Florida.

 

http://sports.yahoo.com/mlb/recap?gid=280903128&prov=ap

[OleMissCub]

I listened to part of the first inning on the radio and you really could hear home plate chatter and stuff being said from the dugouts.

[TruffleShuffle]

seriously, just move them or contract them. it's just a waste of everyone's time having a team in south florida.

[Post Count Padder]

And to think they're building a new stadium for this team.

[OleMissCub]

seriously, just move them or contract them. it's just a waste of everyone's time having a team in south florida.

 

especially in an open air stadium. I don't think the Astros would have survived if it hadn't been for the Astrodome. My dad talked about going to Colt 45's games and how suffocating the heat was in Colt Stadium being out in the open air.

[Clem Fandango]

Fans have no problem going there for Dolphins games. The heat is a non issue. It's their allegiance to their team that's the issue. They don't give a crap about baseball. They need to move them out of Florida to a place where people actually care about baseball and who aren't one wrecked car into a donut shop away from being permanently booked in a nursing home

[chuckywang]

Fans have no problem going there for Dolphins games. The heat is a non issue. It's their allegiance to their team that's the issue. They don't give a crap about baseball. They need to move them out of Florida to a place where people actually care about baseball and who aren't one wrecked car into a donut shop away from being permanently booked in a nursing home

 

Dolphins don't play during the summer

[17 Seconds]

Fans have no problem going there for Dolphins games. The heat is a non issue. It's their allegiance to their team that's the issue. They don't give a crap about baseball. They need to move them out of Florida to a place where people actually care about baseball and who aren't one wrecked car into a donut shop away from being permanently booked in a nursing home

 

Well, allegiance is a big factor, but you can't just right off the heat. Crowds at baseball games are always partly comprised of casual fans or people that just want to experience something new. When you step outside and you're immediately sweating and miserable, you're not going to want to go outside unless it's for something you absolutely love. I live in Florida and I'll never be used to the heat. It's almost impossible to have fun when it's as hot as it was today. When the Cubs played in Miami a few weeks ago I only ended up going to the Saturday night game. I was planning on going to the Sunday day game but thought better of it when I stepped outside that day. My friends still went and said it was the most miserable they've ever been at a baseball game and didn't even enjoy the win.

[Derwood]

America's wang

[jersey cubs fan]

Fans have no problem going there for Dolphins games. The heat is a non issue.

 

The comparison to football and baseball does not hold.

 

Football has 8 home games, almost always on Sunday afternoons. Baseball has 81. It is quite easy to fill a football stadium 8 times a year, yet the Dolphins do not do that. We just bought 8 tickets for opening game from the Dolphins themselves. I've been to 3 games there, none of which were close to full. They definitely have trouble filling it. A big part of the problem is it is in the boonies. There is nothing for miles surrounding it. That means everybody has to drive. Almost all great attended baseball stadiums are located in relatively easy reach of public transport, if not just a downtown area in general. It is very difficult to get 30,000 people to drive to a giant parking lot 13-14 times per month. Twice a month on a Sunday afternoon over a four month period, not hard. 81 times during the hottest time of the year in one of the most oppressively hot places in America, very difficult.

 

And of course, as others noted, the Dolphins play from September through December, not in June, July and August.

[OleMissCub]

I'm not saying Marlins fans aren't crappy fans, because they clearly are. But the heat is definitely an issue. You've got to have an indoor park that far south. I'm surprised the Rangers and Braves didn't construct indoor facilities.

[TruffleShuffle]

Fans have no problem going there for Dolphins games. The heat is a non issue. It's their allegiance to their team that's the issue. They don't give a crap about baseball. They need to move them out of Florida to a place where people actually care about baseball and who aren't one wrecked car into a donut shop away from being permanently booked in a nursing home

 

Dolphins don't play during the summer

 

having lived in florida in september and october, i can assure you that most of the time, those months are not much more pleasant for outdoor activities than august.

[kujay]

What I'm surprised about is that MLB didn't see this coming. Don't they do some kind of research before they award an expansion franchise, other than looking at the size of the media market?

 

The team has to go. Anyone who would invest in building a new stadium for that team is foolish. The fan support obviously isn't there.

 

There are places that can support a losing team. Cincy seems to draw decent, for one. Even KC is keeping it's head above water. And there are cities that could support a team. We've discussed that here before. If OKC can get an NBA team, smaller cities like it can support baseball.

[SouthSideRyan]

What I'm surprised about is that MLB didn't see this coming. Don't they do some kind of research before they award an expansion franchise, other than looking at the size of the media market?

 

They knew what they were doing when they gave the franchise to Loria. This was exactly what was supposed to happen.

[UMFan83]

What I'm surprised about is that MLB didn't see this coming. Don't they do some kind of research before they award an expansion franchise, other than looking at the size of the media market?

 

The team has to go. Anyone who would invest in building a new stadium for that team is foolish. The fan support obviously isn't there.

 

There are places that can support a losing team. Cincy seems to draw decent, for one. Even KC is keeping it's head above water. And there are cities that could support a team. We've discussed that here before. If OKC can get an NBA team, smaller cities like it can support baseball.

 

Wasn't a new stadium promised from the start? I don't know, the MLB probably just looked at the size of the market and determined that they had to have a team there.

[kujay]

What I'm surprised about is that MLB didn't see this coming. Don't they do some kind of research before they award an expansion franchise, other than looking at the size of the media market?

 

They knew what they were doing when they gave the franchise to Loria. This was exactly what was supposed to happen.

 

I don't follow.

[SouthSideRyan]

Loria was sent to destroy the Marlins franchise and in turn get them a new stadium. Failing that(back when it was on the table), they'd be there to be contracted. Edited September 4, 2008 by SouthSideRyan

[Derwood]

You can't sell Marlins/Rays baseball to a state full of retired Yankees fans

[kujay]

Loria was sent to destroy the Marlins franchise and in turn get them a new stadium. Failing that(back when it was on the table), they'd be there to be contracted.

 

Gotcha. Not sure I believe that, but at least I understand now what you were saying. :wink:

[kujay]

You can't sell Marlins/Rays baseball to a state full of retired Yankees fans

 

Didn't Arizona do a decent job of selling baseball to an area full of retired Cubs/everyone else fans?

 

I get that Phoenix is a bigger metro area, and perhaps has more lifelong residents than retirees (though there are a ton of old folk), but still. It's all in the execution, and it's obviously been botched in south Florida.

[SouthSideRyan]

Loria was sent to destroy the Marlins franchise and in turn get them a new stadium. Failing that(back when it was on the table), they'd be there to be contracted.

 

Gotcha. Not sure I believe that, but at least I understand now what you were saying. :wink:

 

Everyone's allowed one crackpot theory.

 

This is really just an extension on a more widely held belief that Loria was sent to destroy Montreal baseball. Whether that was Seligula mandated or not, Loria had no intention of making things work in Montreal.

[Derwood]

You can't sell Marlins/Rays baseball to a state full of retired Yankees fans

 

Didn't Arizona do a decent job of selling baseball to an area full of retired Cubs/everyone else fans?

 

I get that Phoenix is a bigger metro area, and perhaps has more lifelong residents than retirees (though there are a ton of old folk), but still. It's all in the execution, and it's obviously been botched in south Florida.

 

Phoenix was smart enough to have a brand new stadium on the first day of the team's existence, which drew initial interest

[UMFan83]

You can't sell Marlins/Rays baseball to a state full of retired Yankees fans

 

Didn't Arizona do a decent job of selling baseball to an area full of retired Cubs/everyone else fans?

 

I get that Phoenix is a bigger metro area, and perhaps has more lifelong residents than retirees (though there are a ton of old folk), but still. It's all in the execution, and it's obviously been botched in south Florida.

 

Phoenix was smart enough to have a brand new stadium on the first day of the team's existence, which drew initial interest

 

That and the stadium was retractable for those 120 degree summer days, and they placed the park in a centrally located spot right in downtown Phoenix.

 

Even with all that, Arizona has had their attendance problems. If the made the DBacks play at an outdoor park in Gilbert, they would probably be in the same boat as the Marlins.

[Clem Fandango]

Fans have no problem going there for Dolphins games. The heat is a non issue. It's their allegiance to their team that's the issue. They don't give a crap about baseball. They need to move them out of Florida to a place where people actually care about baseball and who aren't one wrecked car into a donut shop away from being permanently booked in a nursing home

 

Dolphins don't play during the summer

 

having lived in florida in september and october, i can assure you that most of the time, those months are not much more pleasant for outdoor activities than august.

 

Beat me to the punch. I lived in the Tampa area for 15 years of my life, and it only gets cold from mid-late November through early-mid February. It's hot the rest of the time. And lately, it's been warm during winter as well. Last December the temps were mid-80's to low 90's

 

And that's in the middle of Florida. South Florida, on the other hand, probably hovers between hot and scorching hot, 10 1/2-11 months out of the year.