#BasketballTown

Washington Wizards v/s Miami Heat December 18, 2010

Santiago Archieri / Staff Writer

To some Dolphin fans holding on the thread of playoff hope, give it up. The season is over, the Dolphins found a way to “Dolphin” the season and crush your hopes… again. Dec. 30 will mark the 15 year anniversary since the beloved Dolphins last won a playoff game.

But hey at least we have the Marlins, right? No. The last time the Marlins had a winning season, they were still called the Florida Marlins and I was dropping double-doubles in middle school basketball. Yeah… Miami is the furthest thing from a baseball city.

Wait, do the Florida Panthers count? They play pretty far from Miami, and truth be told, not many fans in Miami or South Florida truly care about hockey. The team has talent; they are exciting to watch and could have a playoff-bound season. However, I can’t recall many of my friends inviting me to a Panthers game an hour away. Safe to say, no, not a hockey town.

The University of Miami football has been in the midst of scandals and ineligible bowl seasons, but even after all this they have not lived up the expectations.

Then we have the FIU Golden Panthers, who had two chances to become bowl eligible for the first time since 2011 but instead get outscored 115-7 in their last two games of the season.

Although the Dolphins and Miami Hurricanes might have a rich history that no other teams in the respected sport have reached before, those days are long gone. Yes, I understand, but eventually the “bad boys” of college football and that undefeated season four decades ago get old to argue. The biggest victories for these two football programs in Miami was firing their head coaches.

Miami right now is a basketball town, plain and simple. Like it or not, Miami is a city ruled by basketball, and it has been ever since some guy decided to bring his talents to South Beach. LeBron James turned the Miami Heat into a worldwide attraction, and the Heat bandwagon was in full effect.

The years were majestic if you were a Heat fan, and brutal for all the haters. They included four straight finals appearances, streaks and records broken, two more championship banners in the rafters of the American Airlines Arena and two more parades down beautiful Biscayne Boulevard.

But all great things come to an end, and James packed his bags to join a new “big three” consisting of Kyrie Irving and Kevin Love. Miami fans were left in shock. What would they do now? Back to the Dolphins? The Dolphins were mediocre in the four years James was in Miami, going 8-8 at best.

No, Miami doesn’t seem to be shifting back to being a football town any time soon. Sure, the beginning of football season is filled with optimism, and the Dolphins are wild card bound every season; making the wild card once since 2002.

Meanwhile, the Heat are well on their way to making the playoffs again this year. After suffering a season filled with injuries and cursed by the basketball gods, the hype for the Heat was huge all offseason. Granted, James played a huge role in the Heat missing the playoffs but there were other heavier factors in play.

The University of Miami basketball team had a sweet 16 appearance in 2013 and also had a 27 point upset over the then ranked first overall Duke Blue Devils. The Coach L era in UM has been fun so far; nearly winning the National Invitation Tournament and making the NIT in 2011, which is his first season. It might not be much, but it’s more exciting than watching the football team break records in getting blown out. Just a quick note: the last bowl UM has won was in 2006, beating Nevada by one point in the MPC computers bowl.

At FIU it doesn’t get much better. FIU might not be recognized much for either sport, but right now the basketball team runs the school. FIU football had their best years with T.Y Hilton running the show but haven’t built off that momentum. As a cheerleader being on the sideline for almost every game, I think basketball games have more fans in the stands than the majority of home football games.

Basketball has become dominant in professional sports and college sports. It is the wave that Miami has been riding for nearly six years now and it is in full effect.

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