The Marlins will provide the first glimpse of their new Little Havana/South Beach look in Friday night red-carpet coming out party on Nov. 11. By 11 p.m. they hope to hear the cha-ching of cash registers racking up the first sales of Miami Marlins merchandise.
The official unveiling of the logo and fashion show of players modeling the new uniforms is by invitation only. It will be streamed live on Marlins.com and feature a performance by Pitbull.
Everyone is welcome to start buying hats, jerseys and other gear outside the ballpark after the show. The general public will be able to enter through one of the designated on-site parking garages off of NW 7th Street starting at 11:00 p.m.
It will provide the first chance to gauge fan reaction to the new look, which has brought criticism since purported leaks emerged more than a month ago. The Marlins have not confirmed the authenticity of images circulating, but team President David Samson said this week that the Marlins have been seeking a departure anything seen in the past with the ballpark and rebranding.
New manager Ozzie Guillen and former manager Jack McKeon will participate and presumably make their first appearances in Miami Marlins attire along with players Emilio Bonifacio, John Buck, Omar Infante, Josh Johnson, Logan Morrison, Ricky Nolasco, Hanley Ramirez, Anibal Sanchez and Gaby Sanchez.
Everything seems to be falling into place for the team’s coming out party, not only on 11/11 but for the grand opening on April 4 against the Cardinals, who lent more appeal to the occasion by winning the World Series.
“When the schedule came out that St. Louis was playing us April 4, we said that’s good. It’s a great team to play opening day – great tradition, great history,” Samson said. “When they won the pennant, we said, great, we’ll open against the pennant winners. Now it’s worked out even better.”
Imagine if they were to open with Albert Pujols in a Marlins uniform. A pipedream, perhaps, but apparently not out of the question.
The Marlins and Cardinals will have the major league stage to themselves on April 4, with everyone else opening the next two days. After their debut in the new park, the Marlins will leave for a six-game, eight-day trip. That will provide a chance to address the inevitable glitches from the first game
Marlins will begin merchandising binge as soon as logo, uniforms unveiled Nov. 11
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Poll: America not missing early-season NBA
Listen up, NBA owners and players: Sports fans are getting along quite nicely without you.
That was the finding of a poll one week into the season that would have been if billionaires and millionaires weren’t squabbling over a couple of percentage points of the revenue split.
In a national telephone survey, Poll Position found that 76 percent of people surveyed said they are not missing NBA games, 12 percent are, and 12 percent did not have an opinion.
The one age group with a basketball jones was 18-29, with 29 percent saying they are missing the games; 53 percent said they are not and 18 percent had no opinion.
Those in the 30-44 year old age group miss the NBA the least with 83 percent saying they do not miss NBA basketball compared to 7 percent who do, 11 percent with no opinion.
There was a noticeable divide between African-Americans and whites. Among African-Americans, 26 percent said they are missing the NBA, 57 percent are not and 17 percent offered no opinion. Whites countered with 83 percent saying they do not miss the NBA to only 8 percent who say they do, with 9 percent expressing no opinion.
It will be interesting to see how the numbers change if the lockout drags on to Christmas, New Year’s or beyond. For many fans, the NBA doesn’t become interesting until the playoffs draw near.
Certainly, the early part of an 82-game season would hold less intrigue with the NFL and college football offering plenty of games of greater significance. But the early sentiment of fans should be a wake-up call for owners and players in the process of melting down their sport with greed and arrogance.
Among men, 72 percent did not miss the start of the regular NBA season while 15 percent did. Women differed just slightly with 80 percent saying they do not miss NBA basketball, compared to only 8 percent who do.
Poll Position’s scientific telephone survey of 1,179 registered voters nationwide was conducted Nov. 6 and has a margin of error of plus or minus 3 percent.
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