Most of my sports watching involves cheering on my hometown teams: Miami Heat, Miami Dolphins, Florida Panthers, FIU, and UM (except, of course, if UM is playing FIU). Of all the sports I enjoy watching, my favorite by far is baseball. So naturally, the Marlins have been my main sports focus for many years.
I’ve endured the ups and downs of the Marlins franchise, from the thrill of the World Series victories in 1997 and 2003, to the struggles of just about every other season except those two, attending an average of about a dozen games or so every season. Last season, I took an extra step in support of my hometown MLB team, spending hundreds of my hard-earned and scarce teacher salary dollars on a ticket plan for the inaugural season at the new ballpark.
The Marlins began the 2012 season with a new home, new manager, new star players, and high hopes. These hopes were unceremoniously crushed when, after a lackluster performance, the manager was fired and most of the high salary players were traded.
The Marlins front office may well have thought, “Well, we brought in all these stars, and we still had the lowest attendance ever for a new ballpark, so screw ‘em. If they won’t come to the games, we won’t spend money.” The Marlins ownership and management team is certainly entitled to make whatever decisions they feel are best for business. If they wish to alienate the fans, that is entirely their prerogative.
On the other hand, my prerogative is to choose where and how to spend my hard-earned and scarce teacher salary dollars. Therefore, I have chosen to officially boycott the Miami Marlins for as long as the ownership and management team includes Jeffrey Loria and David Samson. Any Marlins games I attend will be exclusively via a ticket that is a gift or purchased from a third party. I will, under no circumstances, buy a new ticket from the Marlins box office, website, or other avenue that would generate new revenue for the team. Any transportation to and from games will not involve parking in the stadium lots or garages. I will not patronize stadium concessions. I will not purchase any additional team apparel. I will also avoid giving my business to the various sponsors of the Miami Marlins to the greatest extent possible.
This boycott will be in effect regardless of whether anyone else joins it or not. However, there is power in numbers. Therefore, I urge any and all true fans of the Miami Marlins to join me in this boycott. Because if we truly care for our hometown MLB team, we must recognize that the current ownership and management team headed by Jeffrey Loria and David Samson puts the long-term health and vitality of the Miami Marlins in danger.
