The Florida Marlins have finished their search for very, very large men. The team hosted auditions on Sunday or baseball's first all-male, all-obese cheerleading squad which will be called, the Marlins Manatees
The competition was held at Dolphin Stadium every participant arrived ready to show off their skills. 20 men danced, cheered, and jiggled their beer bellies under Marlins shirts.
"When they said they were looking for big guys with big personalities, I was like you know what I got to show up," Gabe Esquijarosa told CBS4's Shomari Stone.
The men were judged on how well they dance a choreographed routine. At the end of the auditions the men were happy to hear that they all made the team.
The Manatees will dance, cheer and jiggle during Friday and Saturday home games this season.
Real manatees, 1,200-pound mammals sometimes referred to as "sea cows," are not considered the most agile of creatures and often get caught in boat propellers.
The Marlins want their Manatees to have the same dimensions, but to be decidedly more agile.
The Marlins already have a cheerleading squad, the considerably more svelte Mermaids.
Men selected for the Manatees won't be paid. They'll get tickets to games they perform at, and the honor of dancing in front of crowds that have been smallest in major league baseball for the last two seasons.
The Marlins aren't the only pro sports team capitalizing on Americans' expanding waistlines. The Chicago Bulls basketball team have the Matadors, a big-man dance troupe that's entertained fans at home games since 2003.
And although cheerleaders might be an unfamiliar site in baseball, big men aren't, as fans have long cheered on the likes of Babe Ruth and Kirby Puckett.
The competition was held at Dolphin Stadium every participant arrived ready to show off their skills. 20 men danced, cheered, and jiggled their beer bellies under Marlins shirts.
"When they said they were looking for big guys with big personalities, I was like you know what I got to show up," Gabe Esquijarosa told CBS4's Shomari Stone.
The men were judged on how well they dance a choreographed routine. At the end of the auditions the men were happy to hear that they all made the team.
The Manatees will dance, cheer and jiggle during Friday and Saturday home games this season.
Real manatees, 1,200-pound mammals sometimes referred to as "sea cows," are not considered the most agile of creatures and often get caught in boat propellers.
The Marlins want their Manatees to have the same dimensions, but to be decidedly more agile.
The Marlins already have a cheerleading squad, the considerably more svelte Mermaids.
Men selected for the Manatees won't be paid. They'll get tickets to games they perform at, and the honor of dancing in front of crowds that have been smallest in major league baseball for the last two seasons.
The Marlins aren't the only pro sports team capitalizing on Americans' expanding waistlines. The Chicago Bulls basketball team have the Matadors, a big-man dance troupe that's entertained fans at home games since 2003.
And although cheerleaders might be an unfamiliar site in baseball, big men aren't, as fans have long cheered on the likes of Babe Ruth and Kirby Puckett.
