Marlins put 'fans' back in the seats

By Steven Wine ~ The Associated Press

MIAMI -- Call them fickle. Call them discerning. Either way, Florida Marlins fans are back on the bandwagon -- through this weekend, at least.

In recent years the Marlins have played in front of more empty seats than perhaps any team in sports. But they expect sellout crowds of 65,000 for each of their three home games against the Chicago Cubs in the NL championship series, which is tied 1-all.

That means some 200,000 fans today through Sunday for a team that drew 813,111 at Pro Player Stadium all last season.

"If you had told me in Florida you wouldn't be able to find a ticket to a game, like in Boston or Chicago -- it's unbelievable," Marlins reliever Braden Looper said. "Ticket just aren't available, even for players."

With only the second winning team in franchise history and a popular rookie pitcher in Dontrelle Willis, the Marlins improved their home attendance by 62 percent this season. But their average of 16,290 was still second-worst in the NL, and in early September they were struggling to draw 10,000 a game.

A tight wild-card race produced Marlins mania, with crowds growing progressively larger as Florida closed in on its improbable postseason berth. Two playoff games in Miami last weekend against San Francisco drew crowds of 61,488 and 65,464, the latter a record for a division series.

"That was as loud as I've ever seen a stadium," Looper said. "The atmosphere felt like a college football game at the University of Florida or something. You had so many people there, and it was so loud and so festive."

The attendance pattern was similar during the Marlins' only other winning season six years ago. Owner Wayne Huizenga was so upset about skimpy regular-season crowds that he put the franchise up for sale. But when the Marlins advanced to the World Series, they drew record crowds of more than 67,000 for all four home games.

Then came the roster dismantling ordered by Huizenga, followed by five consecutive losing seasons and steadily declining attendance.

"The fans of Miami are a fickle fan," said former Cubs great Andre Dawson, a Miami native and special assistant to the Marlins. "It's a football town. They're spoiled in a sense.

"What's transpiring right now is winning a lot of fans back. Making it to the league championship series and having the possibility to get back to the World Series will change things in a hurry."

Miami has long been saddled with a reputation as a town with little fan loyalty. While football is king, and the NFL's Dolphins and the University of Miami Hurricanes field winning teams almost every season, they struggle to sell out. Attendance for NBA, NHL and college basketball is even worse.

"Unfortunately this area hasn't supported their sports teams as well as they should," said New York Mets left-hander Al Leiter, who pitched for the Marlins in 1997 and still lives in South Florida. "It's a big-event town. Everyone is from New York and Boston and everywhere else, and half of them still like their other team. It's definitely a bandwagon fan base."

But in the case of the Marlins, perhaps fans should be commended for refusing to support the team when it was losing.

While Cubs fans may be the best in baseball, some contend their loyalty gives management little motivation to win. And it has been 58 years since the team's last appearance in the World Series.

The Marlins need only three more victories to reach the Series for the second time in six years. And with the largest crowds of any playoff team, they'll be tough to beat at home.

"Most of the big crowds we've played in front of have been on the road, where people are telling us how bad we are," center fielder Juan Pierre said. "So it's good to get a lot of people cheering us on.

"Just driving around town seeing Marlins stuff, it's a big lift from where we came from early this year, when there was basically nobody in the crowd."

It should be noted that early this year, the Marlins had a 19-29 record. Were their fans being disloyal, or discriminating?

Either way, they've proven they love a winner, and they hope to show that love this weekend.