During this past Wednesday night’s Florida Marlins vs Texas Rangers game, some fans spent three consecutive innings waiting in line for food – this is unacceptable! Hungry fans are angry fans. The stands were practically empty during this Marlins home game against the Texas Rangers. Why don’t fans flock to the stadium to watch the games? Is it the summer heat, the team’s skill, fan appreciation, parking, or something else? At this game fans were talking about never coming back to watch the Marlins play live. Keeping fans happy during a ball game should be the team’s number one concern – let’s hope this is priority number one at the new stadium.

This incident occurred at the Grille near section 145. The fans hit the concession stand at the top of the 3rd, the score was 3-0. The line was moving slowly while the hungry fans eagerly watched the game on the concession flat screen television. The line stopped moving bottom of the 3rd, fans got irritated, Anibal Sanchez scored and the crowd erupted in the stands. These fans missed a home run, tempers were beginning to flare – several fans walked back to their seats hungry. For others the food was in sight and too close to return to their seats. One eager fan yelled, “all I want is a hot dog and a beer!” This was getting exciting.

More fans gathered in the line waiting for sandwiches, hot dogs, and beers; it was now the top of the 5th inning. The fan aching for a hot dog and beer was still in line, his eyes glued to the television. The hunger hit the fans in waves, almost as intense as the heat wave filling the Grille area. Sweaty, hungry, angry fans are not good for baseball or anything else during the summer in South Florida. Bottom of the 5th, Coghlan doubled to right, Paulino scored, the disgruntled fan yelled in excitement for the run and now first at the line, “hot dog and a beer!” Emotions were racing, he was thrilled to taste the hot dog and wash it down with an ice cold beer. He said, “loved the run, very pissed about the wait and missing those innings!”

There were many other concession stands near, but mostly closed. The few food vendors open are forced to fill too many orders all at once. The stadium should open more concession stands and split the traffic. It does not seem right to the fans or to the hard working people at the concession stands. One fan was very upset to buy a $7.00 dollar beer and a $5.00 dollar hot dog that caused him to miss about three innings and two runs. This is a real problem and should not be ignored. Obviously, low attendance demands fewer vendors open; however, few concession stands open will likely contribute to a continued drop in attendance – hungry fans are angry fans. Let’s hope there’s a better plan at the new stadium, fans don’t come to a live  baseball game to watch it on television.

Final Score: Texas 6 Florida 3

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