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Good FanFest Story


pierremvp

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I've only been to one FanFest, I believe it was 1998, maybe 99. Anyway, they had a little wiffle ball game set-up in the Bermuda Triangle. You signed up 4-man teams and played against another team when your time came. I sign up myself, 11 year old son, and a friend of his. They call my team. As the game is starting, 2 Marlins walk over and ask if they can join our team. One I recognize by name(A.J. Burnett), as he had received some minor press as there hottest new pitcher in the system. The other name I didn't recognize(Dempster). I asked him what position he played. The guys were friends, joined in our game. I asked A.J. or Demp if they wanted to pitch, but they deferred to me. The game went on foe 3 innings, and it was a hoot. These guys were like kids. They played hard. They had a ball. They cheered on my son. Told my son to remember that game as these guys, especially Burnett, could become real good in the majors one day. What a day.

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I took my daughter in 2003 and had a great time. It was the first FanFest we had attended. The autograph lines were long but manageable, plus you were able to get some other autographs by just walking up to some players. My daughter and i were in the tunnel just outside the cafe in the "founders club" when A.J. Burnett walked by us. Nobody was talking to him. I walked up to him and asked for his autograph. He said he would if I just walked along side him. He was very cordial. The press conference were great then too. I recall getting in the first question to Torborg (which was, "Since you already announced that Pudge was hitting third, and Castillo and Pierre are one-two, who is hitting clean-up?") We sat in a locker with Jeffrey Loria during that Press Conference.

 

You're right, last year was a disappointment. The autograph lines were a zoo. The only highlight was getting there really early and being one of the first people to hit in the batting cages. Lenny Harris was holding my 3 year old daughter's hand while I was in the cage taking some BP. He was also giving me pointers.

 

I'm sure this year will fall somewhere in between with less people than last year, but more than in 2003. Maybe if the weather is nasty tomorrow, less people will go, but I doubt it.

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I went last year to Fan Fest with Max. Yes, there were a lot of people and it was a zoo, but I still had a great time. Plus, it was my first time meeting my Marlins hero, Niner. I have been a Niner fan since the very beginning and I have always wanted to meet him. I was a little upset I couldn't get in line for autographs because it was crazy to stay in that line. It was a hot day and I wasn't going to be able to handle it. Luckily, we found the Photo Tent and guess who was there taking pics? Niner! We met Niner and I was in heaven. We also met Brad Penny (I miss him) in the Photo Tent. He's one of the nicest baseball players I have ever met. This was also when I met Samson. (He is a very nice guy. I had him sign my SI WS edition for me.) We also met Len *sniff* and Tommy. I got Admin a personalized Len autograph. Len was so happy when we mentioned that we're from MB.com. I miss Len already. :(

 

We're going tomorrow to Fan Fest and hopefully it won't be as bad as last year. I can't wait to do the locker room tour again and hopefully meet some more players.

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