[Dan]

Originally Posted by John F

Football is king -- Bucs, Fins in the south and probably the Jags up in the north... Then the college teams also dominate talk radio. So in Tampa alone you hear constantly about the Bucs, Gators, Seminoles and Hurricanes with little slivers of the Lightning during the fall months. And unless there is a blockbuster, you won't get much of anything about the Devil Rays (and what have the Rays done to get fan interest in their 9 seasons of play?)...

The Marlins thing is worth discussing but labeling the entire state because of the Marlins situation is pointless. The Marlins are basically the east-coast equivilent of the Giants circa 1992: in a huge market, can't get a new stadium, threatening moves but not making good on them and having ownership change with promises of a new park -- somewhere.

There are a lot of bad things about the Marlins (marketing and stadium effort) but crapping on the fans poor turnout doesn't do much to uncover them.

And yes, the Marlins were decent last year to say the least -- unexpectedly so after a firesale that offseason.

Correct me if I am wrong but didn't the Marlins just make some progress for a stadium in Miami? That should garner some fan interest.