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MANVILLE: Somerset Patriots welcome their 5,000,000 fani in their history

   The Somerset Patriots welcomed their 5 millionth fan in team history on Wednesday, Sept. 12, when Ivan Candelaria entered the main gate with his wife Marcela and son Landon, 3, right before game time.
   The Candelaria family of Piscataway was attending its first-ever Patriots game.
   ”I love baseball and we hadn’t been to a game all year,” said Mr. Candelaria. “We’ve been trying to get to the ballpark all summer, but it just never happened. It was beautiful all day and it was just perfect weather to head out to the game.”
   The Candelarias won season tickets to the 2013 season, a team-signed bat, a Patriots jersey, an iPad courtesy of P.C. Richard and Son, a year’s supply of hair cuts from Supercuts, a $100 gift card to Buffalo Wild Wings and a case of Coca Cola in commemorative bottles.
   Patriots Chairman Steve Kalafer added a weekend trip to Disney World.
   ”When we first entered the park, I thought we did something wrong. But then everybody was explaining that we were the 5,000,000th fan. It was overwhelming, especially because we didn’t expect anything but to enjoy the game,” Mr. Candelaria added.
   After being announced before the crowd in the second inning, the Candelaria family was invited to the owner’s box to enjoy the game with Kalafer and his guests.
   The Patriots were one of the founding members of the independent Atlantic League in 1998. The team spent its inaugural season as a road team while TD Bank Park was being constructed. In the 1999 season, the Patriots moved in.