All 4 major sports team are represented in South Florida.

In Football they have the Miami Dolphins, hockey has the Florida Panthers, the Miami Heat for basketball, and Major League Baseball has the Florida Marlins.

There is a sports team in all 4 major categories in South Florida. Football has the Miami Dolphins, basketball has the Miami Heat, Florida Panthers play in the National Hockey League, and in Major League Baseball there is the Florida Marlins.

Since baseball season is upon us, I thought I would take a look at the Florida Marlins. 1990 was the year that the powers that be in Major League Baseball decided that they wanted to have two new teams in the National League. One of these two expansion teams was going to have a home in the Sunshine state. Three cities, Orlando, Tampa Bay, and Miami got into a bidding war to determine where the new team would play their home games. In the end, it was a businessman by the name of Wayne Huizenga who won the bidding war and set up the team in Miami. An eye opening $95 million dollars later, and Huizenga has his team - it was June 1991.

Two years later, in 1993 the Florida Marlins were introduced to Major League Baseball. In 1997, the Florida Marlins broke a then record becoming the fastest expansion team to win a championship - they won the wild card spot to accomplish this feat. History repeated itself a few years later in 2003 - the Marlins, who once again captured the Wild Card spot, went on to win their second World Series and the in the process setting another record as being a two time champion in any of the four major sports who won their championship coming from a wild card spot.

The joys, however, did come with some low points. For instance, their inaugural season ranks among their worst on record. One of the league’s worst winning percentages was .395 - which the Marlins accomplished in their inaugural season, but that was better than their second year winning percentage as the Marlins managed a measly .333. To give a sense of where they once were to what they were doing when they won both their championships, the winning percentage was just above .500 - with their 1997 being their best season to date, with a .568 winning percentage.

Even after winning those two championships, the Marlins have always had a problem attracting fans. Ranking among the lowest in attendance since 1998, the team from South Florida has risen to the top. 2003 saw the Marlins be the second to last team in attendance, which is surprisingly since they had won their second world series that year. A new home in 2012 is what the owners hope will draw people back to the ballpark.

Some well-known players have emerged from the Marlins system. Kevin Brown, for one, had a career year back in 1996, coming in second in the CY Young race (an individual award for pitchers). Miguel Cabrera, now with the Detroit Tigers came in through the ranks of the Marlins farm system. He played five seasons with the 'fish' and hit 138 homeruns.

After close to 20 years, the Marlins will be relocating in 2012. The Marlins have shared the same playing field as the Miami Dolphins of the NFL since they first came in the league in 1993. Their new home will be at the same site where the legendary Orange Bowl called home for many years. A retractable roof will be awaiting the estimated 37,000 fans that will be able to view - the new stadium will be the sixth in MLB to have such a roof. To make a clean start, the Marlins will not only have a new address, but they will have a new name. Miami Marlins will be the new name of the south Florida team.

With a new name and a new stadium, here’s to hoping that the Marlins get back to their winning ways.

Ervin Stansel has written for different web based travel websites. He has found great savings at Ft Lauderdale restaurant coupons, a money saving website serving the local Miami/Ft. Lauderdale community.