From the Stanley Cup to the BRT — Miami has a lot to be thankful for this year | Opinion
We have a lot to be thankful for in Miami this year. Sure, we have terrible traffic and sunny day flooding. And yes, housing costs are unbelievably high. And OK, sea level rise may pose an existential threat.
We can gripe about all of that, and we will — about those issues and others (the “Signature bridge” in downtown Miami is taking forever and costing millions more than estimated). But for now, let’s focus on some of the positives about life in South Florida. There are many, starting with...
The Florida Panthers. Our hockey team is fighting to be a contender for the Stanley Cup again — after bringing the cup home an astonishing two times in two years. Despite numerous injuries that have taken out key players this season, the team’s fighting spirit is still alive and kicking.
The idea of ice hockey in South Florida may still sound ludicrous to people in the frozen north but three straight trips to the Stanley Cup finals and two consecutive championships should be enough to mute a lot of the critics. The Panthers are now a team and an organization to be respected.
And to any naysayers, we have this to say: Brad Marchand. Let’s see those plastic rats rain down from the stands again.
While we’re talking sports, we can’t forget Lionel Messi. One of the greatest soccer players of all time recently inked a contract extension that will keep him with our local Major League Soccer franchise, Inter Miami, at least through the 2028 season, meaning No. 10 will be there when the team moves into its new home next year at Miami Freedom Park. At 38, Messi continues to be a marvel.
MetroExpress Bus Rapid Transit. Miami-Dade has a new transit system, the largest to open in a decade. These are buses, yes, but they are state-of-the-art, all-electric buses, and they run in a dedicated busway to bypass traffic on U.S. 1 at the southern end of the county.
The MetroExpress Bus Rapid Transit system opened last month and is the longest all-electric bus rapid transit corridor in the nation. For commuters, this new system can mean a reduction in commuting time during rush hour. In a county where sitting in traffic is always a tooth-gnashing factor, we are thankful for BRT.
Arts and culture. Miami is home to Books & Books, the Gables Cinema, O Cinema, the Arsht Center and both Perez Art Museum and the Frost Science Museum, to name a few of our local gems.
We love a good book, and the Miami Book Fair has become a cornerstone of the community. The Gables Cinema and O Cinema are community-based movie theaters that serve as gathering places for moviegoers. And the Arsht brings Broadway to Miami, along with a lot of other theater and music. We can’t imagine Miami without them.
And, of course, there’s Art Basel and Miami Art Week in early December. That’’s the time when Miami transforms into a cultural — and celebrity — showcase, bringing together artists and art collectors. And while we enjoy Art Basel, the year-round cultural institutions such as the PAMM, which showcases contemporary works of art, and the Frost Science Museum, with its planetarium, are institutions that Miami needs.
Haiti in the World Cup. For the first time in over 50 years, Haiti qualified for the World Cup. The country, so beset by gang violence and economic instability, made history last week by qualifying for the 2026 games after the Grenadiers beat Nicaragua 2-0 in Willemstad, Curaçao. The Haitian soccer team is the first team to qualify for the World Cup without hosting a home game.
The 1974 Haitian national team was composed of local players and coaches. The current team is mostly made up of players who were born outside of Haiti. The team’s coach is a Frenchman. And yet the joy and pride in the Miami community, with its large Haitian-American population, is no less. If there was ever a team that needed this moment, it is Haiti’s soccer team.
The weather, plus no hurricanes. Yes, the summers are hot and humid, sometimes unbearably so. But most of the year, we enjoy sunny days and blue skie that remind us why we live here.
Hurricane season is almost over, too. And, even though there were some terribly powerful storms, Florida managed OK this year. We’re glad to lend a helping hand to those who need it in places like Jamaica and Cuba. We know what it’s like.
