I've been asked this by friends before and I'm sure the question has crossed your mind, too....how did someone living in Canada become a fan of the Miami Marlins?
Well it all started with a baseball card.
I grew up liking most sports, but I hockey was always my favourite. When it came to baseball, growing up in the Toronto area naturally I was a Blue Jays fan. I didn't know all the players on the bench or anything like that, but I knew enough.
Fast forward to 2020. I was starting to really get into baseball and basically bought out all the cards at the local Walmart. There were boxes that included one graded card in each box, and this Gleyber Torres one was in the first box I bought.
I thought it was the coolest thing ever. So much so, in fact, that for a short time I was kind of obsessed with Gleyber Torres and the New York Yankees. I watched almost every Yankees game, bought a Torres jersey, bought a Torres bobble head, bought a Torres Funk Pop figure, and I (foolishly) traded for him in my keeper Fantasy Baseball league (part of the deal saw me give up Ozzie Albies). It was bad. With my entire family heavily entrenched as Jays fans it was also slightly uncomfortable.
At the start of the 2021 season, I was looking at MLB TV looking for a game to watch since the Yankees weren't playing. The Marlins were on, and I figured why not? I can't remember what game it was or whether or not the Fish won, but I was hooked. Not only was Derek Jeter involved with the team (I know, I know...don't kill me), but they have a female GM (my son's mom is heavily involved in Girl Guides which is all about female empowerment) and they did a LOT of good in the community during COVID-19. Plus they're an NL team so I figured they'd be a good second team.
As the season went on, even though it wasn't exactly a successful season I fell more in love with the Marlins. I watched more and more of their games and less and less of the Yankees'.
By the end of 2021, I still liked the Yankees but I was a Marlins fan.
Some days if I put on a Blue Jays game I become torn. I mean the Jays are my hometown team and my dad loved them (he passed away when I was 13 so that really matters to me), but then I watch the Fish play.
So now you know how I became a fan of the Miami Marlins.
Tell me in the comments below or on Twitter...how did YOU become a fan?