![]() Surviving and reveling in the next night’s classic Game 7 finale.The 67,000+ was the largest crowd to attend a World Series game since 1959. It was memorable, too, because our seats were in the upper deck, dead center, 25 rows up - or what seemed like a half-mile from home plate, which was quite possible at cavernous Land Shark Stadium. I was so looking forward to sharing the Series-clinching win with my family, but Kevin Brown wasn’t crisp and Chad Ogea was lights out. I was able to get extra tickets at the last minute for my son and wife to join me. Tailgating during the ’97 World Series and playing catch with my then-seven-year-old son before Game 6.And boy did Marlins fans give Chipper Jones the “Larry” treatment something fierce that entire series. Enjoying all 15 of Livan Hernandez’s strikeouts – thanks to umpire Eric Gregg’s more-than-generous strike zone – against the Braves in Game 5 of the 1997 NLCS.Watching batting practice never tasted so good. In ’97, I would get to the stadium two hours before game-time, with a scorebook in one hand and an enormous LaSpada sub in the other. Attending every home playoff game the Marlins ever played.He also heard a stream of unsavory language he’d never heard before, too! Some other memorable moments I’ll treasure forever: He may have been the loudest fan cheering. Marlins scored twice in the bottom of the ninth to win. As only a New York fan can do, the one sitting next to my impressionable son replied: “Because yoose guys suck.” My son seethed when the Yankees took the lead late, but ultimately got the last laugh when the Edgar Renteria celebrates the Marlins greatest hit of all: Game 7 clincher in 1997. There was also the first interleague series with the New York Yankees – a game where my son wondered aloud why there were more Yankee fans cheering than Marlins fans. My son was more excited about jumping in puddles on the concourse than heading back to our seats once the tarp was rolled off the field. Not for the final score or a memorable play, but because there was an hour rain delay. I clearly remember taking my then-three-year-old son to his first Marlins game that initial season. Little did anyone know, that franchise-defining roar would be heard again only four and a half years later. When an aging Charlie Hough floated a knuckler for strike one on the Marlins’ very first pitch, you would have thought the crowd was responding to the final out of a World Series victory. Opening Day 1993 was special because it’s where the magic carpet ride began. I was fortunate to have a handful of amazing experiences at the stadium formerly known as Dolphins Stadium. It will be the beginning of a new era for players and fans, but one thing missing in the shiny new complex will be the echoes of past seasons. I, for one, cannot wait to visit South Florida next season to witness the launch of Marlins 2.0. ![]() ![]() The new climate-controlled, retractable-roof stadium will be a luxurious experience for fans who have endured rain delays and oppressive humidity for nearly 20 years. There is one final chapter to be written before the soon-to-be Miami Marlins shed their “Florida” moniker and unveil a new brand, new uniforms and an ultramodern jewel of a ballpark 14 miles down Interstate 95 at the site of the old Orange Bowl.īeing a Marlins season-ticket holder from the inaugural game through 2008 (when I relocated to Seattle), I was fortunate to experience some of the most memorable moments of my adult life inside the stadium formerly known as Pro Player. For as maligned as the Miami Dolphins’ cavernous stadium is for its far-from-friendly baseball configuration, it will always be a field of dreams for fans that witnessed myriad magical moments throughout the muggy South Florida summers since 1993. When the first pitch of tonight’s Florida Marlins season opener rolls off Josh Johnson’s fingertips, the countdown clock starts ticking on the final 81 home games at the stadium formerly known as Joe Robbie. The logo will be retired when the team changes its name to the Miami Marlins next season.
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