In his latest column in the Tampa Bay Times, John Romano tackles the debated question of whether baseball really belongs in the sunshine state. The Tampa Bay Rays, along with the Miami Marlins have lived on the lower spectrum of attendance records in the MLB for, well longer than they should. Baseball just may never be very popular in Florida. Romano made a good statement about how it did take Florida an especially long time to nail down an MLB team.
“There are reasons teams relocated or expanded to Atlanta, Baltimore, Houston, Kansas City, Milwaukee (twice), Minnesota, Montreal, Seattle (twice), Texas, Toronto and half of California before giving Florida its very own dugout.”
But what is the source of the problem here? Why don’t people want to go to baseball games in Florida? Everything has been done to make it comfortable. Both teams have air conditioned stadiums, so it is not like fans have to bake in the sun. The Marlins even have a brand new, state of the art stadium with a retractable roof. So when the weather is not sweltering, fans can enjoy the open air.
Yet this has not seemed to make a difference.
Are people watching it on TV at least? Yes and no, the Marlins who are not having the best season are not attracting eyes to the TV, understandable. However,the Rays are doing fantastic on TV after extending their state wide reach, that and being an interesting club to watch on a nightly basis. Robert Trigaux pointed this out in his article in the Tampa Bay Times about the Rays new Welcome Home marketing strategy.
“The Rays, whose games used to be seen sparingly in television markets outside Tampa Bay, are now viewable statewide about 150 times per season. That reach makes the Rays the most-watched pro sports team in the state.”
One argument that my friend Cody Hudson brings up time and time again and which I agree wholeheartedly with is that baseball has not been allowed to grow up in Florida. It takes a few generations for a team, of any sport, to really latch onto a community. The Marlins have been around since only 1993 and the Rays came into the spotlight in 1998. It may take another generation of fans to catch on the baseball craze in Florida.
When those clubs first started the MLB was a much more popular sport than it has been for the Millennial generation. The problems with steroids, had a huge impact on the game’s legitimacy. Yet there is still hope for baseball in Florida, but it’s going to take some family's rallying behind the sport and supporting their local teams, just like it has been all about since it’s creation.
The MLB is only about 18 years old in Florida, it’s no longer cute or new, it’s a growing adolescent. It needs some guidance and maybe a strong kick in the ass, but let’s at least give it a chance and support the sport while it’s still growing.
