Loyalties Shift - Miami Is Basketball Heaven Now - Where Is The Time Going

It's been a while since I've written anything, and although I can't really commit to anything consistently, I figure I should start throwing some stuff out here and see what happens. So be on the lookout for random posts at random moments, I will post when time allows it as much as possible.

 We are entering totally uncharted territory when it comes to the loyalties of Miami sports fans. I grew up in the 80's and 90's, a time which was dominated by the Miami Dolphins and Miami Hurricanes football's varied levels of success. The Canes of course winning multiple championships, and although the Dolphins would only reach the Super Bowl once, at the very least they were always contending for the AFC East crown. Oh, and there was that quarterback, what was his name? Oh yeah, Dan Marino. This was nothing but a football town. Growing up not even knowing what it was to have a baseball or hockey team until 1993, football is still number one in my heart, as well as most from my generation and before. Consider if you will that an 18 year old in 2013 was born in 1995, and most likely did not really start understanding sports for about 4-6 years give or take. Which would put them at the turn of the century, a time that marked the end of both the Canes and Dolphins run of success come to an abrupt end. Although the Dolphins did have some success for the first couple of years, but that team barely squeaked by most of the time.

 Considering the timeline, they never had the chance to see Dan Marino play, or any of the many future NFL players the The U produced. They have grown up largely in a stale time for sports in Miami. There was the 2003 Marlins, but that was just a one year love affair. Until Dwayne Wade came to town, there was no consistent sports superstar that we could invest our loyalties in. Even that would not solidify until the 2006 Championship run, but the next couple of seasons with an old Shaq would be less than stellar, and would include a 15 win season. Ouch! So even still the love was fleeting.

 Enter, LeBron James, and Chris Bosh. A couple of championship runs including a title, a record setting win streak, and a slew of highlights have transformed this town in to a basketball city. Then at the most opportune moment, the Miami Hurricanes win their first ACC Conference title in the history of the program. Meanwhile, the Dolphins are rebuilding (again), the Marlins are, well, the Marlins, and the Panthers plethora of promising prospects remain inconsistent as expected. Never thought I would see the day that kids are wearing more basketball jerseys than football jerseys, but that brings me back to my point.

This is interesting to me for a few different reasons. As someone who still thinks the 90's were last decade, it brings to light the fact that you cannot escape time. Not that I'm dreading my mortality or anything like that, but it does illuminate a fresh perspective. The fact that all my friends and I are a decade older than people getting drafted in to professional sports does a pretty good job of this as well. We are witnessing a shift to the next generation, who will only know Dan Marino as a television analyst, think the Miami Heat are the most successful franchise in local sports history (they still aren't, Dolphins have been around too long), and probably won't remember what a Super Nintendo is, let alone the original NES or an Atari. Pretty weird thought, isn't it?

 We should feel fortunate that we have been alive for some of the greatest football ever to be played in the NFL or in college, and now we get to witness three of the greatest in their sport on the basketball court. Remember how much fans outside of Chicago hated the Bulls because of all their success? Or how people STILL hate the Yankees? Now we get to savor some of that. However, I will never get used to the idea that the loyalty has shifted so much, but I sure will enjoy the ride.

Now if only I could get those darn kids to pull their pants up, and STAY OFF MY LAWN!! (I'm kidding, I live in a condo, I have no lawn). But seriously, pull your pants up kiddies.