Opening Day is special for any Major League Baseball fan. But for those that cheered the Florida Marlins on Monday, it was something more.</p><p>The crowd of 34,323 — large for a team that drew only a few thousand during many home games last season — roared through Dolphins Stadium as the Marlins won 12-6 over the visiting Washington Nationals.</p><p>The fans watched current star Hanley Ramirez belt a rare grand slam and future star Emilio Bonifacio sprint around the bases for an even more rare inside-the-park home run. It was the first inside-the-park homer on Opening Day since Carl Yastrzemski’s in 1968. </p><p>It was a playoff atmosphere in April. But in Section 246, on the first-base side right below the upper deck, a group of 33 fans in Marlins gear and flip-flops cheered just a bit louder and rooted just a bit harder than the rest.</p><p>The Opening Day magic wasn’t lost on these fans, made up of Upper Keys residents taking part in an annual Marlins Opening Day tradition.</p><p>Howard Kolbenheyer, owner of Snapper’s Restaurant and Bar in Key Largo, has organized a private bus trip for friends, Snapper’s regulars and local Marlins fans every opening day since the first one in 1993.</p><p>“These trips have all been great because it’s Opening Day, but it’s always great to get a win. It just makes the trip that much better,” Kolbenheyer said as he exited the stadium Monday.</p><p>Each trip is a little different — this year’s included a stop at the Seminole Hard Rock Hotel and Casino in Hollywood for a few hours of blackjack and slots before the 4 p.m. game. </p><p>But some traditions, like coolers filled with free libations and a final stop at the Last Chance Saloon in Florida City on the way back the Keys, remain the same.</p><p>“I would say [the Upper Keys] has a contingent of Marlins fans, but there are probably more fans of the bus trip than they are of the Marlins,” said local radio personality “DJ” Dave Levy, who has been on each of the last 17 bus trips except for one.</p><p>It was the trip, and the stories it has produced, that convinced Holly Stewart to celebrate her 31st birthday on the Snapper’s bus.</p><p>“I’ve heard about this trip and how much fun it is, and I always wanted to come,” Stewart said. “I’m not a huge baseball fan, but I am today. This is great.”</p><p>Monday’s trip began with a chorus of “Take Me Out to the Ballgame,” but the focus on the bus quickly shifted from the Marlins to the Seminoles as each person discussed their strategy for the casino.</p><p>The blackjack tables were kind to some and not kind to others, but all worries faded away as game time drew near. </p><p>“The Marlins are going to be the first team to go undefeated,” boasted Islamorada Capt. Skip Bradeen, a Marlins fanatic who’s been to hundreds of games, as he exited the bus into the 90-degree heat around Dolphins Stadium.</p><p>The crowd slowly poured into the stands as the Marlins roster was called and classic-rock band Chicago performed the national anthem.</p><p>Then it was game time. Marlins pitcher Ricky Nolasco kept the fans on their feet by delivering three straight outs to start the 2009 season.</p><p>“We’re going to the World Series!” Monroe County paramedic Casey Kyburz exclaimed after the first half of the first inning of the first game of the season.</p><p>Although premature, that prediction isn’t far fetched, said Levy, who subscribes to the “six-year theory” for Marlins championships. The team’s first World Series crown came in 1997 and the second in 2003. It’s now six years later in 2009.</p><p>The Marlins surely looked like a championship team on Monday as they jumped all over the Nationals, helped by Bonifacio’s inside-the-park homer, three hits and three stolen bases against his former team.</p><p>“That was awesome,” said Key Largo electrician Johnny Dunn. “Last year we played the Mets and [pitcher] Johan Santana shut us down. This game is definitely a treat to watch this year.” </p><p>But the boisterous crowd suddenly went silent as the Nationals cut the Marlins’ lead to 8-5 with a three-run homer by Adam Dunn in the sixth.</p><p>Worry never had a chance to set in though, when minutes later, in the bottom of the inning, Ramirez belted his grand slam over the left-field wall.</p><p>“That had to be among the top games I’ve seen, especially on opening day,” Bradeen said. “You can’t go undefeated unless you win the first game, and we got that out of the way. One down, 161 to go.”</p><p>The Marlins kept Bradeen’s hopes alive the following day with an 8-3 win over the Nationals. This weekend The Marlins face East Coast rivals the New York Mets.