Copyright 2003 Daily News, L.P.  
Daily News (New York)
October 19, 2003, Sunday SPORTS FINAL EDITION
SECTION: SPORTS; Pg. 64 BLEACHER CREATURE

LENGTH: 661 words

HEADLINE: HARDLY ANYONE RAPPING FISH IT'S A CASE OF BLAND AMBITION

BYLINE: BY FILIP BONDY

BODY:
It's hard to hate the Florida Marlins. In many ways, they are just further proof of how easy it is to outperform the Mets, with very little effort, with a negligible fan base and with almost no money.

"They've already surpassed the Mets, when you think about it," said Mike Donahue. "It usually takes the Mets about 25 years between World Series."

So for Game 1, to be perfectly honest, the Creatures were having a hard time dredging up the sort of vicious heckles and deconstructive, negative emotions that were brilliantly effective in Game 7 against the Red Sox - when the inflatable Pedro Martinez was ripped apart in Section 39 by the eighth inning.

No, the Marlins would be different and dangerous, Arizona-like in their generic blandness. There were hardly any Florida supporters in the bleachers, available for mockery. They were outnumbered by Cub fans, because the Chicago rooters had already booked their flights to New York and bought their tickets. ("You really shouldn't make reservations when you're cursed," Tony Capone decided.)

Most of these Cub rooters were suddenly Yankee fans. They hated the Marlins far more than we did.

Mr. Make-It-Happen actually said he didn't care whether the Yankees beat Florida, now that they had destroyed morale throughout New England. But Capone would have none of that.

"I'm very upset with the people who say this is an anti-climax," said Capone, who once used his real name in this column but is suddenly fearful of losing his mystery job. "We're about rings. This is not the time to get complacent."

There has been some concern in Section 39 that enthusiasm and influence in our area of the bleachers have been waning, and that there is a growing threat from Section 37.

"They're young, they're hungry," Capone said. "That section is a lot like the Marlins. Pudge Rodriguez is like the Ric Flair guy in 37, and Miguel Cabrera is like the dude who sits next to the Ric Flair guy."

In the end, though, Section 37 is too gimmicky (Ric Flair, with robe and wig, might as well be the wave), and lacks the seasoning to compete with Section 39 in a long series.

"They talk about it," Capone said. "But we're it."

Before the game, the Creatures managed to navigate the police state around Yankee Stadium and made plans for the next week. A lot of 39ers like Walkman John are eager to head down to Florida for Games 3 and 4, in order to teach the Marlin faithless something about cheering. There should be plenty of tickets available, if you know where to look. And Creatures always know where to look.

They also know where to shop. Jesse from Hartford found the first T-shirt that included Aaron Boone with the Babe, Buckner and Bucky. Curse of the B's. He bought it at the Bronx Terminal Market.

It was far more crowded on River Avenue, behind the bleachers entrance. John Salley, of all people, was holding court there, towering above the crowd. The former Piston had his arm around some bald guy, pretending he was Don Zimmer. He was performing shtick for a camera crew.

There were lines coming out of Stan's Bar, Stan's Sports World, Stan's entire city block. Stan was getting rich on another World Series, on a thousand suckers who were thrilled to death just to be here.

Section 39 couldn't afford that attitude. There were four more games to win, against a franchise that has hot tubs adjacent to its right-field foul pole.

E-mail: fjbondy@netscape.net

THIS TIME EX-CUBS CAN'T BE 'X' FACTOR

One favorite barometer for picking the World Series winner has been the "Ex-Cubs Factor," which seemingly came back into play this year once the Cubs were knocked off by the upstart Marlins in the NLCS.

The theory behind it is the team with the most ex-Cubs is destined to lose, simply because the Cubs have been baseball's most lovable losers, almost since time began. Only problem is, this year it's a tie.

The Yankees (Felix Heredia) and Marlins (Lenny Harris) each have just one ex-Cub.



GRAPHIC: LINDA CATAFFO DAILY NEWS FRIENDLY FOES Before Marlins win Game 1, managers Joe Torre and Jack McKeon show how they feel about reaching Series.

LOAD-DATE: October 21, 2003