305-Sports

Five years ago, Miami was a football town. Sure, the Miami Heat had won a championship just two years ago and the Marlins had won theirs just 3 years before that, but no team captivated sports fans like the Dolphins did. They had one of the most successful franchises in NFL football in the 70s and 80s, led by Bob Griese and Dan Marino, both of which are almost deified in Miami. That was decades ago, but many fans still stuck with the Dolphins, clinging onto the hope of those days returning. That was five years ago. Since then, Miami has assembled a basketball team that is often compared to the '96 Chicago Bulls who were led by Michael Jordan, Scotty Pippen, and Dennis Rodman, the team that won 87 games out of 100 (including the playoffs). Have the Heat turned Miami into a basketball town?

Look at Miami as a car collector. The Dolphins are the first luxury car you collected, your 1970 Corvette. They had a great run in the early 70s where they proved to be the best. In the 80s they still performed really well, but they couldn't compete with some of the newer cars out. Over time it just became worse and worse as it began to deteriorate and better cars kept coming out on the market. In 2008, you bought a supercharger for your car, a leftover Pennington that used to be part of a Jet. It worked really well for a year, but then broke.

Now fast forward to July 8th 2010. "I'm going to take my talents to south beach and join the Miami Heat." Miami just got itself a 2011 Lamborghini. It's shiny, fast, smooth, handles well, and everybody who sees you can't stop talking about it. "How did you get it? I wanted that car! Wait, no I didn't. I didn't want that car anyways," they all say. The car is an incredible piece of machinery, and it sure is faster, stronger, and well, just better than your Corvette.

The Lamborghini is more fun to drive than a '70 Corvette. It's more fun to look at. It's more fun to watch, because when you put it up against another car, you are confident it will win, no matter how far behind you are going into the 4th quarter of a race. But you still wash your Corvette every other day. You still check for it nonstop, and you still drive it around - not because it's fun to drive, but because it's difficult to drive. For some reason, that nobody will ever understand, you can't let go of that Corvette.

The Heat are a fun toy to play with for now, and they sure are an incredible team, but that doesn't change the fact that you have a connection to your Corvette. It was your first love, and your only love for a while, and love for a team doesn't die so easily. It's easy to enjoy a Heat game, but a roller coaster ride to watch a Dolphin game. That doesn't stop Miami from watching them though. And what reason is there for Miami still watching their 33 year old Corvette when there is a brand new Lamborghini just a few channel clicks away? The answer is simple. Miami is still a football town.