Sunday, March 3, 2013

Florida Marlins v. Miami Marlins


Zach Waldman
3/3/13
Simpson E
Marlins
            Miami is a huge and cosmopolitan city, which offers warmth and sunshine. This creates an attraction for visitors hoping to get some sun and peace. A city filled with interesting art and architecture. Miami attracts celebrities, athletes, and artists. Sports teams play a role in the environment of Miami but mostly just the Miami Heat. Everyone forgets the not as loved baseball team of Miami, the Marlins.
            In 1993 the Florida Marlins were introduced to the city of Miami. The team played in Sun Life Stadium and shared it with football teams including the Miami Hurricanes and Miami Dolphins. The Marlins struggled with attendance due to a lack of stars and wins. Baseball games were not popular in the city of Miami. It was all about football and basketball. Despite winning a championship in 1997 and 2003 the Marlins were just not popular. The city of Miami was more concerned with partying and clubbing. Everybody in Miami focuses on keeping up with the trends, wanting to be seen, and making money. The most popular sport in the country was not relevant in Miami. The Marlins consist of one of the few teams in the MLB that have an all-time losing record. The losing record and lack of stars definitely does not create a sense of pride amongst the little fans they do have.
            After almost 20 years of failure to fit in to the city of Miami the organization decided to change the name. They came to a quick decision to change the name to the Miami Marlins thus hoping to create a new and improved fan base. Not only did they change the name, they changed the logo, jerseys, team colors, stadium and even added multiple superstars. They built a new stadium called Marlin Park. The new 37,000-seat Major League Baseball facility includes a retractable roof to shield spectators from the sun and rain, inherently changing the perception of summertime baseball in South Florida for generations to come. On top of all those new things they hired a new Cuban coach, Ozzie Guillen. Thus, hoping to create a bond with the city and people of Miami and also change the perspective of baseball in the city.  
            The attempt to fit in to the constantly changing environment of Miami was a failure, despite the millions of dollars spent to finally change the image of the Marlins. They still remained at the bottom of the MLB in attendance. Simply the image of the Marlins remains in the dust of the Heat. 

1 comment:

  1. I'm not quite sure where you are going with this essay. It seems like for the most part you are listing facts about the history of Marlins baseball season. I think you are comparing to The Miami Heat, but you should make this more clear. Also please say the interesting similarity or difference between them.

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