My favorite piece of sports memorabilia is a t-shirt that I was able to get when I had gone to a parade for the Florida Marlins after they won the 2003 World Series. Being such a big fan of the Marlins, that team became an improbable champion after bringing in manager Jack McKeon to right the ship.
Now known as the Miami Marlins, that shirt has less of a connection to the Marlins franchise than it did in the past.
How We Got To This Parade
The Florida Marlins’ improbable rise to the World Series came after events such as Steve Bartman incident, doing his best to keep the “Curse of the Billy Goat” alive and a game winning home run by Alex Gonzalez in the fourth game of the World Series to tie the series at 2 games a piece.
The Day of the Parade
On the morning of October 28, 2003, I decided to attend the Marlins victory parade in Downtown Miami, FL. I happen to live near the express bus and MetroRail lines in Miami and free transit to get to the parade was offered. It is nearly impossible to get to park a car in Downtown Miami many weekdays, let alone for a parade. If you do get a spot, it is an expensive proposition.
When I finally arrived at Bicentennial Park, which was at the end of the route and where the team would address the fans, I found a friend who was a former co-worker at the park.
The Moment When I Was Able To Get My T-Shirt
A few minutes before the parade procession arrived, a man carrying a box was running around with a photo of the back of the t-shirt on its side. Someone started screaming that they were t-shirts and I followed the man, but lost him. I was able to find him a few seconds later, where a crowd of people were gathering around him. I could see he was opening the box on its bottom to allow these t-shirts to fall to the ground and create a scrum for these t-shirts. I slid under the crowd and all of the t-shirts landed on top of my chest. I pulled out three t-shirts and tried to get out. However, I saw two people sit on my left leg. Luckily, I did not suffer any injuries and help onto my t-shirts for dear life. I gave one to my friend, who did not get to the scrum in time and one to my mother, who joined me at the parade and was in shock that I had done that.