Last week I found myself in Southern Florida sitting in right field catching a Marlins game. Thanks to Philadelphia my opinion of what a ballpark should be has forever changed. While I wasn’t eating a cheesesteak at a table in center field, I was drinking a Cuba Libre in right field dodging home runs.

First of all, let me say that an afternoon Marlins game in July is a very hot affair. I’m not talking Paris Hilton “Hot.” I’m talking sun baking, skin frying, sweaty as hell – hot. Many fans were dressed more appropriately for the beach than a ballgame. If you’re wearing shorts and a t-shirt you’re wearing too much. This joint is boiling and so will your skin. Sun block is a must as are sunglasses. I lost a home run in the sun only to find it when it landed six seats over.

Tickets were cheap. Our seats were right on the fence a few feet from the right fielder. We actually held a conversation with him. Okay, it was a very one sided conversation, but who cares? He could hear me and my obnoxious friends just fine. The heat kept us away from the food but not cold drinks. It was a welcome surprise when we discovered that at Dolphins stadium, we were not stuck with beer alone. On a 100 degree day ice becomes a commodity in the stands. Hot budweiser… out. Rum and cokes… in. The cup holders were in the shade of the seat in front preventing too much meltage.

So I think you’ve got the picture I’m painting: The sun blazing. Me sweating profusely in right field – pretty much a puddle wearing sunglasses, sucking down cold cocktails to cope. That’s when I happened to notice the hot tubs twenty feet away. Hot tubs with people in them which made me think they weren’t so much hot tubs… more like small wading pools. There were kids splashing around in one, some dude drinking a beer in another.

I have found a place where I can sit in a hot tub, drink a cocktail, and watch a live baseball game. What do I have to do? Who do I have to pay off? What genius came up with this idea and what church do I join to worship him or her? Brilliant! That’s all I can say. Brilliant!

This area of the stadium is called Bud Beach and it’s set up for groups of thirty. There were maybe ten people there for the game I attended which leads me to believe that if the Beach isn’t rented, individuals can buy a ticket to get in. I gave the Marlins a call but the offices were closed. Where there’s a will, there’s a way my friends and I’ve got the will to sit in a hot tub and watch some baseball.

In conclusion, I had a ball watching a game I could pretty much care less about. It was a really sweaty, drunk, sunburnt ball, but a ball nontheless. Dolphins Stadium is obviously built for football but provided a great baseball experience. I’m planning a return trip to South Florida in August and a Marlins game is on the agenda. As soon as I get more information on Bud’s Beach I’ll be posting it here.