Sox Gone South

I'm in Florida this weekend, mainly to see the Sox play the Marlins. Went to the game Saturday night, and man, it was just like being in Boston. Alright, so maybe the sight lines were better, the stadium a bit brighter, and the hot dogs not as tasty — oh, and there were actual cheerleaders — but the place was crawling with Sox fans wearing the team colors and making their allegiances known. We must have outnumbered the Marlin fans 2-1. In fact, every time a new Sox batter came to the plate for at least the first two innings, the crowd erupted in "Let's Go Red Sox" cheers. (This was followed by a faint "Booo" by the local fans.) There were even a few chants of "Yankees Suck" when a fan wearing NY was spotted.

It's not like this was the first time I'd been to Dolphin Stadium for a game, but seeing the Sox play made it more enjoyable. Papi and Manny both hit two home runs each in the 11-5 Sox win, so suffice it to say, a good time was had. Our seats were in the first row of section 230, the club level, so we were just a little ways up from Trot (and then Gabe, when Trot was taken out). The weather was hot and humid, but it was all good. And, we got to the park early enough so I could watch the boys take some batting practice (and take some decent pictures — that's my boy Gabe Kapler, above, signing an autograph).

Still, the best part was being amongst so many Sox fans in a "foreign" city. I'm not sure how many were like me and just down for the weekend, but regardless, it was fun to be reminded that Sox fans are everywhere.