Las Vegas team to be named later could outdraw its parent club — if it’s the Marlins

By Ron Kantowski

Thursday, Sept. 4, 2008 | 4:01 p.m.

NOW:

If the Florida Marlins wind up becoming the parent team of the Las Vegas Pacific Coast League baseball club, the Fightin' Bluegills, or whatever the 51s will be renamed to, may wind up outdrawing them.

There were only 600 fans at Dolphin Stadium when the first pitch of the Marlins-Atlanta Braves game was thrown Wednesday.

It was so quiet you could hear the home-plate chatter in the stands and the tobacco juice splat in the on-deck circle.

The official crowd, which included season-ticket no-shows, was 11,211.

Several years ago at Cashman Field when spectators wore empty-seat disguises, then-Sun sports writer Nick Christensen counted the crowd. It was under 750.

The 51s were none too happy with young Nick for counting the crowd when he could have been paying attention to the game or, better yet, avoiding the usual line for a bratwurst at the International House of Sausage on the concourse.

THEN:

I remember going to a UNLV football game against Kansas State in November back when Jim Strong or Jeff Horton was coach. It was a beautiful autumn day -- crisp and sunny, not a cloud in the sky -- and there were so few fans in the stands that you could stretch out in the aluminum bleachers any which way you pleased and not be disturbed.

When I woke up in the fourth quarter, K-State was ahead 42-3.