Maybe it's a Florida thing?

For the third year in a row, attendance numbers in Major League Baseball have dropped. Much of this problem could be blamed on the economy, but that hasn't prevented fans from supporting their team during a pennant race. That is unless you're a fan of the Tampa Bay Rays. Upon finishing the season atop the AL East division with a 96-66 record and outlasting the New York Yankees by 1-game in the standings, Rays pitcher David Price called out Rays fans for not showing up to the ballpark during a game in which they could have clinched a playoff spot down the stretch. The game's official attendance? A whooping 12,446 fans showed up to the ballpark. All-Star third-baseman Evan Longoria also expressed his opinion, calling it an embarrassment.

However, fans of baseball have seen a similar lack of support from the fans of Tampa Bay's southern neighbor and inter-league rival -- Florida Marlins. Despite winning two World Series tittles in seven years (1997 and 2003), the Marlins fan base has been notorious for not showing up for games, including those in the Postseason. Even during their championship runs, the Marlins have had a hard time selling tickets, which has me wondering, maybe it's a Florida thing? Sure neither the Rays' Tropicana Field or Miami's Sun Life Stadium are no baseball paradise, but fans have flocked to see their team play in cathedrals and stadiums in poorer conditions than those in the Sunshine State.

To their credit, the Rays have never really had a big fan base to begin with since being introduced to the league as an expansion team in 1998, but that could simply result to their last place finishes year in and year out. But now that Tampa Bay has some of the best young talent in the league, Rays fans ought to watch their team play now before their key free-agents sign elsewhere after this year...At least that's what's expected. With one of the better records in the league when playing at home, filling up the seats would be huge for the Rays' tittle run. And with Texas in town for the first two games of the American League Division Series, I expect Rays fans to be at the yard in full strength, rooting their team on with their noisy cowbells and other annoying miscellaneous rally tools not named 'vuvuzela'.