The Plight of the Marlins

Nine years ago, the Fan spent his fortieth birthday watching a Marlin home game. This was before the championships and the subsequent fire sales. The Marlins were a new franchise and there was a good crowd in the stands.

The Marlins were the new kids and there was some magic in the park. Lots of kids filled the stands and it had a wholesome and family feel to it all.

There was the magic of watching the game with a young friend with the same name as Chipper Jones' ex-wife. She loved baseball and the Fan taught her how to keep score. It was a joy to teach this baseball fanatic who had such passion for life, something new and special about the game.

These magic memories include a homer by then hero, Jeff Conine, that won the game. It wasn't like a childhood spent in Yankee Stadium, but it was pretty darn close.

It has been painful watching the franchise sink to a point when even a playoff-contending team can only draw six or seven thousand fans. What other franchise has won two championships in its first decade? How could something that special languish like it has.

Part of the problem, of course, is the ballpark. Though pretty and homey inside when watching, it doesn't suit the climate when the combination of 90 degree heat combines with 90 percent humidity, not to mention the downpours that can appear in a matter of minutes.

It seems ironic that an area that boasts multi-million-dollar condo expansions everywhere one looks, can't support a new ballpark for a professional team that brings in 25 wealthy athletes.

The lack of support, whether it be the ballpark, the weather, or all the other things to do in the area, has left the owners no choice but to sell off talent twice in the past six years. That compounds the problem of attendance as loyalty takes a hit whenever the sell off happens.

Now the Marlins are listening to offers from other cities that would love to have them. It's a sad scene. It would be hard not to have a future pilgrimage possible to remember that memorable birthday with that memorable, passionate, and lovely girl who left her team and this world far too soon.