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History was made Sunday night as the Marlins and Braves played a game at Fort Bragg. It was the first MLB game ever played in the state of North Carolina.

The Marlins won the game 5-2 (box score), though the on-field action almost feels like an afterthought. The fans were very into it and the players seemed truly thankful for the opportunity to participate in this historic event. The players seemed to be more thrilled to be in Fort Bragg than the fans were to have them in town.

Here are eight takeaways from an all-around great night in Fort Bragg.

1. The pregame flyover was very cool.

As always, the National Anthem was played prior to the game, and this one was complete with a special military flyover. Check it out:

The ESPN broadcast said those were Black Hawk helicopters, if you're wondering. Pretty, pretty cool.

2. The crowd was very pro-Braves.

This was technically a home game for the Braves, and the crowd was very clearly backing the home team. The Tomahawk Chop broke out several times, and base hits by the Braves were met with cheers while hits by the Marlins brought groans. Some fans walked away with a signed baseball:

As far as I could tell, only one Marlins player drew big cheers: Ichiro Suzuki. The fans on hand chanted his named throughout his at-bat when he pinch-hit in the eighth inning. Ichiro grounded out and is still only 11 hits away from 3,000 for his career.

It's not easy to get to an MLB game from that neck of the woods. The crowd at Fort Bragg, which was made up entirely of servicemen and their families, was very into it. Here's the wave, a ballpark staple:

The crowd was awesome. Attendance was officially announced at 12,582. The house was packed.

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Everyone at Fort Bragg had a good time Sunday night. USATSI
3. The ballpark played very big ...

A new 12,500 seat ballpark was built specifically for this game, and in the coming days, it will be converted into a "multipurpose recreational facility" for servicemen and their families. The park, which was paid for by MLB, was built on an old golf course.

Although the ballpark had normal dimensions -- 331 feet down the lines, 387 into the gaps, 405 to center -- it played very big Sunday night. The wind was blowing in and fly balls seemed to die in the air even when they were squared up well. Play 162 games in those conditions and pitchers would be happy, for sure.

4. ... but someone was able to hit a homer.

Even with the wind, Marlins backstop J.T. Realmuto was able to smack a home run to dead center field. He took Tyrell Jenkins deep in the top of the ninth to give the Marlins a 5-0 lead. To the action footage:

5. The Braves made it interesting in the ninth.

It did not seem as though anyone left the park early, so fans were treated to a little excitement in the ninth inning. Marlins manager Don Mattingly went to closer A.J. Ramos even with his team leading by five runs, and while Ramos is tough to hit, he is prone to bouts of wildness.

Ramos hit Tyler Flowers with a pitch and walked Jeff Francoeur with one out, then allowed a run scoring double to Erick Aybar. Pinch-hitter A.J. Pierzynski followed with a sacrifice fly to make it 5-2. The Braves were able to get the tying run on deck in that ninth inning before Ramos finally recorded the 27th out.

6. Conley, Yelich, and Realmuto were the stars on the field.

Marlins southpaw Adam Conley, who has flirted with a no-hitter on more than one occasion this season, threw six shutout innings Sunday night. He held an admitted poor Braves offense to four hits and a walk while striking out two to improve to 5-5 with a 3.65 ERA on the season. That young man is having him a very nice breakout season.

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Lefty Adam Conley tossed six scoreless innings at Fort Bragg on Sunday. USATSI

At the plate, Marlins left fielder Christian Yelich went 3 for 5 and drove in a run to raise his season batting line to .315/.399/.473. Yelich has been around for a few years now but he is still only 24. He's very quickly growing into one of the game's best all-around hitters.

Realmuto added two singles and a stolen base to his homer and went 3 for 5 on the night overall. He owns a .314/.344/.432 batting line as an ultra-rare leadoff hitting catcher. Conley, Yelich, and Realmuto were the three best players on the field at Fort Bragg on Sunday. Honorable mentions go out to Martin Prado (three hits) and Adeiny Hechavarria (two hits and several highlight defensive plays).

7. No one had more fun than Rodney.

Recently pickup Fernando Rodney threw a perfect eighth inning for the Marlins on Sunday, then, as he walked off the field, he did a little jig to Cotton Eye Joe. Check it out:

Someone, somewhere is upset Rodney dared to have fun on the field because he may have been showing up the opposite. Don't be that someone.

8. Expect to see similar events elsewhere in the future.

During the ESPN broadcast commissioner Rob Manfred explained the Fort Bragg event came about as part of MLB's initiative to bring baseball to places it's never been. The Fort Bragg game was a smashing success, so expect to see MLB take games elsewhere in the future, and not only military installations. This could become an annual event, and I hope it does. The Fort Bragg game was really a lot of fun.

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The Fort Bragg game was a smashing success. USATSI