South Florida Sports Fanatic

[rurrusuno]

There's always a first time for everything, right??!! Here's the first Fish on First thread on other Miami sports. 

Anyone else here a die-hard fan of Miami sports as a whole besides the Marlins (Heat, Dolphins, Panthers, Inter Miami, Hurricanes)? 

Let's talk about them.

- Heat

The Heat's season has been about as average as it could get (currently 8-8). Against Eastern Conference opponents, they've beaten all the teams below them in the standings that they've faced (Pacers, Pistons, Hornets, 76ers, and Wizards). I'll be going to the Raptors game on Friday, whom are in the bottom part of the standings so we'll if the trend continues. On the other hand, they've lost to all the teams above them (Magic, Knicks, and Bucks).

Some of their games have been fairly close. In fact, 7 of their 16 games have been decided by 5 points or less. I was in attendance for their heartbreaking 1 point loss against the Kings earlier this month as well as their super charging overtime win against the Mavericks this past Sunday. With 5.3 seconds left, we were down 114-122 when Duncan Robinson handed the ball to Jimmy "Buckets" for the game tying dunk. That was the best Heat game I've attended thus far as it was my first time witnessing overtime basketball. 

- Dolphins

Looking back in recent seasons, it seems as if the Dolphins have a roller coaster of a season where they always turn things around one way or another to be in the hunt for the Wild Card. It's never smooth sailing. Just taking a look a back, they started off 2021 with a win, then lost 7 in a row (1-7), followed by a 7-game winning streak (8-7). They ended the season 9-8. 2022, was infamous for being a pattern of wins and losses. They won 3 games, lost the next 3, then had a nice 5-game winning streak, and then followed up with a dismal 5-game losing streak. Yet again, they finished 9-8 with a crushing loss to the Bills in the Wild Card. Last season was an exception as always had a winning record, but we can never forget that brutal Monday Night Football game where they allowed the Titans to score twice in the last 5 minutes. Even though, the Fins won their next 2 games, it was clear that game was the turning point of the season since it was the first domino piece that prevented them from winning the AFC East.

This season was beginning to look forgettable real fast. I was at the home opener against the Jaguars. Of course, on my way to the stadium, I was getting notifications on my phone from news outlets regarding Tyreek Hill's traffic incident. As I anticipated, it was affecting the team's play as they seemed rusty during a lot of their drives. Luckily, we prevailed with the game winning field goal. When Tua got hit the next game, I instantly knew it was a concussion and that our offense would be impacted. Losing 4 of their next 5, the Dolphins couldn't even hit the 20-point mark. That showed how non-existent the offense was without Tua. When I was at the Cardinals game, it seemed that the Fins were back, until Tua cost us safety and they eventually won on a last second field goal. However, this team looks different now coming off of 3 straight victories. Will we win a true road game in the cold tonight on Thanksgiving in Green Bay? There's hope.

- Panthers

The bar for the Panthers is officially high now. Coming off a President's Trophy season, a surprise Stanley Cup season run, and an official Stanley Cup win, the Cardiac Cats are expected to bring championships now every season. We have to give all the credit to the GM Bill Zito for putting up this roster together by drafting the right picks and building a proper core. Players come and go for teams but those are the key foundations for a roster. We were looking good at the start of the season, with a few blunders here and there where we'd lose games, but then we were looking unstoppable when we won 7 in a row. However, that was washed away when we lost 6 of the next 7.

I was at the game last night, and it was a great feeling to see the Panthers look more complete as a team, especially on defense and special teams. We may have a target on our back being the Stanley Cup champs, but I think we can get on another winning streak real soon again to prove it was no fluke. Funny enough, it seems like we score either once or 5 goals when I attend their games this season. 

- Inter Miami

With a team headlined by ex-Barcelona players (aka Interlona); Lionel Messi, Jordi Alba, Luis Suarez, and Sergio Busquets, roster mainstays Robert Taylor, Leonardo Campana, and Noah Allen, as well as a coach who had ties with Messi, the expectations for a League Cup where there. Inter Miami had hope after a better-than-expected 2022 campaign, but then kicked 2023 off to an atrocious start. Even with Messi on the squad last season, we couldn't quite get things going for a playoff run. This season, I attended more games, and we won them all pretty easily, including the last regular season game where we beat NYC FC 6-2 to win the Supporter's Shield Cup. 

I'm starting to think that winning the Supporter's Shield Cup is just as unlucky as winning the President's Trophy in hockey. Most teams don't reach the MLS Cup after winning that award. I was so disappointed at the stadium after losing that match to Atlanta. It just seemed unreal that we looked outmatched in the playoffs when we had cruised through the season. Hopefully we regroup and advance further in the playoffs next season. 

- Hurricanes

We got some Canes over here??? The "U" is back now!!! After years and years of mediocracy and disappointment, this team is truly something special. It's best one we've had since the Larry Coker days in the early 2000's. I picked the right season to attend all of their home games. Cam Ward and Xavier Restrepo have made Hurricane games fun to watch again. It seems as if every game, one or the other has broken a record. The only issue with the Hurricanes as we all know is the secondary. It's the only reason we've been close at halftime, or even until the end of the game at times. 

The Virginia Tech game was a real test. I remember pulling out my phone before the last play and hitting the record button as I knew that anything could happen. It was going to be a controversial play no matter what the refs would've called so I was glad we got away with that one. For the California game, I remember being so disappointed at Flanigan's while watching it. They were closing while we were down by 3 touchdowns, so I decided to catch the rest at home. I was still confident that we'd come back for some reason, so I watched till the end, and I was jumping up and down in front of the TV on that last drive when Cam was making those amazing passes. Still, I knew that if we ended up losing a game this season, it would've occurred whenever the offense just wouldn't click during a game and that ended up being the Georgia Tech game. Should we be nervous about this upcoming road game in Syracuse? I think we should be fine.

[Ely Sussman]

20 hours ago, rurrusuno said:

Will we win a true road game in the cold tonight on Thanksgiving in Green Bay? There's hope.

Well, so much for that 😂

Still will be fun to follow the rest of the way. Playoffs have essentially begun—might need to win 5 straight just to make it in.

[rurrusuno]

8 hours ago, Ely Sussman said:

Well, so much for that 😂

Still will be fun to follow the rest of the way. Playoffs have essentially begun—might need to win 5 straight just to make it in.

The Dolphins get exposed to good teams when they're not playing in 70+ degree weather at Hard Rock to mediocre teams. Our team isn't physical enough and that's been the same issue for the last couple of seasons, I wouldn't be surprised if we won the last 5 games only to then lose to either Buffalo, Kansas City, Baltimore, or Pittsburgh in the Wild Card.