[Lefty Noob]

Not sure how intense of a rivalry it is, but with all this talk of the Cubs waiting to snatch up Joe Giradi from the Marlins, Chicago and Florida are definitely linked.

There's a column at the Daily Illini website about just this topic today.

COLUMN: Marlins: Torture to Cubs fans - Sports
By: Majesh Abraham
Issue date: 9/26/06 Section: Sports

The Florida Marlins have a payroll of a little less than $15 million. The Chicago Cubs have a payroll more than six times that amount, almost $95 million. Yet the Marlins this year are thirteen games better than the Cubs in the standings.

As a Cubs fan, I think the Marlins were just created to inflict more pain onto the hearts of Cubs fans. The Cubs haven't won a World Series for 97 freaking years. The Marlins have been in existence for 12 years, and they have won two championships, and have twice had to disassemble their team, first because of the lack of fans, and most recently because the city of Miami would not give them a new stadium. While the Cubs have a fan base spanning the nation, and a Mecca-of-a-stadium called Wrigley Field.

They have a terrible owner, who sold off the 1997 World Series team, only to see a great young core lead them to the World Series in 2003. Of course, who did they beat to reach the World Series in '03? The Cubs.

Definitely seems as though Cubs fans have some bad blood towards the Marlins. Is the feeling mutual, Florida fans? Do we have the beginnings of a new rivalry brewing here?

[MJHMarc]

Possibly, Lefty Noob.

I don't think the Marlins have any hard feelings for the Cubs but I know that Cubs fans dislike the Marlins. The Fishes put a stop to the miracle Cub season in 2003 which I believe was Kerry Wood's rookie year? Sounds weird when you think of Kerry Wood being on the DL more years than he has played!

I think the Marlins and the Cubs will turn this whole argument into a publicity rivalry just to bring in the fans to see the games. A great market adventure which should work well as long as they don't make it sound like a fairy tale and create some decent advertisements along with publicity arguments where the spit hatred at one another through the incredible world of PR. Don't you love the media and how it impacts and influences our minds?

I don't see that much tension right now but with time and acting, the possibilities are endless.