A tale of 2 franchises
For one, an epic free kick. For another, an epic freefall.
When the successful businessman joined forces with one of the greats in the history of the sport to buy the club, they dreamed of nights exactly like this.
A stadium bursting at the seams with a raucous crowd that featured a who’s who of national and international celebrities as well as thousands of moms and dads, daughters and sons wearing their favorite player’s jersey and basking in an electric atmosphere on a South Florida summer night.
They dreamed of the edge-of-your-seat post-season intensity, even in the middle of July.
And they dreamed of an ending so stunning that the celebration would go on and on. With music blasting and fireworks lighting up the sky. No one would want to leave their seats even 30 minutes after the walk-off win.
They might be hoarse from chanting and screaming, physically and emotionally drained by the drama they had just witnessed. But no one wanted to go home.
And best of all, none in the capacity crowd could wait to return to be a part of magic like this again and again and again.
By now, you probably realize I’m not talking about the Marlins’ 7th straight loss last night, a 6-1 setback against the National League-worst Colorado Rockies. The game was essentially over in the top of the first, before many in the lethargic announced gathering of 14,092 had even reached their seats.
No. The story of the night in South Florida sports, the story fans were following world-wide, unfolded 34 miles north on I-95. It didn’t take place in sparkling loanDepot park, but in the erector set of a stadium once known as Lockhart, built in the 1950s to host high school football and soccer games.
On the night on which Lionel Messi, the greatest player ever in the world’s most popular sport, announced his arrival in South Florida with a stunning 94th-minute game winner off a free kick in his Inter Miami debut, Marlins leadership had to be popping Tylenol with a Pepto Bismol chaser.
We all know the reality. No matter what success the Marlins may enjoy in a given year, they will ultimately always live in the shadow of the Dolphins and Heat. Heck, they spent the last week aggressively promoting that a Heat draft pick would be on hand at loanDepot park last night, hoping they could lean on the local NBA team’s popularity in a desperate and transparent scheme to sell a few more tickets.
When it comes to fan interest and TV ratings, the Marlins have historically been a lot closer to the NHL’s Florida Panthers than to the Dolphins and Heat. But the Marlins can only dream of having the kind of success the Panthers have had the last couple of years, winning the Presidents’ Trophy for leading the NHL in regular season points in 2021-22 before reaching the Stanley Cup Finals this past season.
But now, forget about merely trying to stay within shouting distance of those other 3 franchises. Now the Marlins are watching in real time as Inter Miami blows by them and prepares to leave the local 9 in their wake.
Miami’s Major League Soccer franchise debuted its 2 newest global superstars last night, the incomparable Messi and his fomer Barcelona teammate Sergio Busquets. With Spanish National Team captain Jordi Alba on his way, and rumors that Inter Miami may not be done adding star power, owners Jorge Mas and David Beckham are building a team that won’t have any trouble selling tickets and could be competing for trophies in no time.
I recently told Mas’ story. He wanted to buy the Marlins in 2017, but MLB Commissioner Rob Manfred was going to steer the team from Jeffrey Loria to whatever prospective buyer would bring Derek Jeter into his ownership group. Jeter wanted 100 percent autonomy to run the club, both on and off the field. Mas wisely said no to that demand. Bruce Sherman agreed to hand Jeter control, and Sherman got the team.
While Sherman and Jeter went to work selling off the Marlins’ biggest stars, slashing front office staff, firing special assistants like Jack McKeon, Jeff Conine, Andre Dawson and Tony Perez and dismissing popular broadcasters, Mas—the billionaire chairman of construction and engineering giant MasTec—partnered with the iconic Beckham to found Inter Miami, bringing the MLS to his beloved hometown.
While the club initially struggled to find its footing, debuting in the height of the Covid pandemic in 2020, Mas was undeterred, committing to energize the fan base by attracting global stars to South Florida and putting plans in motion to privately finance the $1 billion Freedom Park complex, which—in addition to a 25,000-seat soccer stadium that will open in 2025—will include retail shops, hotels, restaurants, and a training center as well as vast public green areas.
While Mas has hit one home run after another, the arrival of Messi—fresh off leading Argentina to the World Cup championship in December and favored to soon take home his record 8th Ballon d’Or as world football’s player of the year—promises to be not just a watershed moment for Inter Miami but a transformational moment for the MLS and for the sport of soccer in the United States.
It was reported that 500 members of the local, national and international media descended upon Inter Miami’s training facility to watch Messi hit the practice pitch for the first time on Tuesday for a workout that was televised globally by Apple TV.
According to Front Office Sports:
The team went from 900,000 Instagram followers on June 7 (the day before news of Messi’s plan to join Inter Miami broke) to 10.9 million as of 2 a.m. this morning. That’s more than twice the number of followers of any NFL, MLB or NHL team. The Marlins have 681,000 Instagram followers.
A senior executive at Adidas called the demand for Messi Inter Miami jerseys “truly unprecedented.”
A spokesman for prominent retailer Soccer.com said they sold a 6-month supply of Messi Inter Miami jerseys in 24 hours and that anyone ordering one today can expect to receive it in mid-October.
What do you think the global attention Messi brings to Inter Miami means in terms of sponsorship revenue? The club’s phones are ringing around the clock.
And last night, LeBron James, Serena Williams, Kim Kardashian, Marc Anthony, Becky G and Gloria and Emilio Estefan were among the A-listers who joined Mas and David and Victoria Beckham in the field-level suites at DRV PNK Stadium.
With Beckham, Messi, James and Williams within feet of each other, it was the largest gathering of GOATs on this side of the world-famous San Diego Zoo.
It was precisely the scene Sherman and Jeter hoped to one day see in Little Havana when they took over the Marlins 6 years ago. Remember the vision that loanDepot park was going to be the party everyone in South Florida was going to want to attend? The Marlins even moved up weekend start times for the express purpose of giving the cool crowd more time to head over to South Beach postgame.
The cool crowd, we’ve learned, is content to hang out at I-95 and Commercial Blvd. And it has nothing to do with the vibe of a sparkling ballpark or the party music and the carving station behind the Dugout Club seats.
No, the stars are attracted by other stars. That’s why LeBron, Serena, Kim and friends were on hand for Messi’s debut. And that’s why Inter Miami has, overnight, become the hottest ticket in town.
And here’s what should concern the Marlins most of all: Unlike the Dolphins and Heat, whose seasons only briefly overlap with the baseball schedule, the MLS season runs in direct competition with MLB, opening in March and continuing deep into October.
And as if that’s not distressing enough, Messi is going to be working his magic just 3 miles away from loanDepot park come 2025, when Freedom Park opens just east of Miami International Airport.
Remember all the people in Broward and Palm Beach counties who told us they don’t go to games because loanDepot park is too far to travel? Could it be it’s just too far to travel to watch the Marlins? Why do I suspect many in Broward and Palm Beach will have no problem driving within minutes of the ballpark to watch Messi and Busquets and whoever else Mas and Beckham add between now and 2025? Probably for the same reason they’re fine to travel into downtown Miami to watch the championship-contending Heat play season after season. And probably for the same reason they used to turn out 70,000 strong to the exact site of loanDepot park to cheer on the Dolphins at the Orange Bowl.
The Marlins can smile nervously and give you whatever Kumbaya talk they want about how a rising tide lifts all boats, but last night’s epic events at DRV PNK Stadium, coupled with the thud you may have heard bouncing off of empty seats at loanDepot, represented an important flag being planted. In the battle to capture the hearts, minds and dollars of South Florida sports fans, Jorge Mas’ Inter Miami club has zoomed past Bruce Sherman’s Marlins.
And the men in pink and black don’t appear to be slowing down any time soon.
While you’re here…
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I have twin daughters that are 12 and play soccer. We went to see Leo Messi last night and I don’t think any of us will ever forget the evening.
Glenn, your article is both parts depressing and true. I love the Marlins. In terms of teams, they are my baby. I remember waiting for them to be born in the early '90s, seeing the birth of my hometown franchise being in love with them from the start.
It is how much I love this team that makes it all the harder to see what happens time and again to them with them.
I wanted Mas to be the owner and was disappointed when did not happen. So I justified to myself that Jeter was a better move because of his baseball background his winners mindset, his Hall of Fame resume is a player and leader. But I was fooling myself. It was a disaster.
They got rid of top talent, beloved names and loyal and loved alumni and broadcasters. It was like they were trying to alienate what little fans they had left.
I don't know what the future of my Marlins will be, but I'm feeling very little confidence it will be positive.
I really like Schumacher and the way he runs the team manages the team makes decisions leads and so forth. But I worry about management in the front office and ownership and their ability to build a winner a consistent winner.
What do you think about the future of this franchise? Do you see any cause for hope or optimism and I don't mean in comparison to the behemoths in this market like the the dolphins, who I also love and grew up with, where the heat or now the Panthers and the soccer team too. I mean in terms of their competitiveness and confidence as a baseball franchise.
I respect your opinion and your experience and you're honesty and wonder if there's any hope for this misguided, this managed mess of a franchise.