Cote: No NFL, now what? South Florida Fans’ No Football Survival Guide! | Opinion
If football is the drug its popularity makes it out to be, a whole lot of sports fans in America are going through withdrawal right now. The less-than-scintillating Super Bowl may have hardly been a great a high to go out with, but it beats the feeling we face now as we stare into the months-long abyss that begins with our first weekend cold turkey.
We have the remedy. Your fix:
It’s our South Florida Sports Fans’ No Football Survival Guide.
I know, football fans, I know. You can pass the time until next season kicks off by poring over mock drafts ahead of the real one April 23, or keeping an eye on the college transfer portal, or imagining your dream fantasy team, or dreaming Jeff Hafley is the next Don Shula.
But there is more to life, fans. Seriously.
The ceremonial handoff to what’s next in the way of viable alternatives happened Tuesday night in Coral Gables at halftime of the Miami Hurricanes’ men’s basketball game. The Canes’ national-championship-finalist football team was honored, a wistful bow on our favorite season. And what happened next, in the same building, begins our no football survival guide...
▪ Canes’ hoops has our attention just in time for the Madness: The UM men are 19-5 after upsetting No. 11 North Carolina Tuesday night, and a rare sight unfolded: Fans stormed the court! (Well, after what looked like polite hesitation, enough fans filled the court to make it seem sort of like a court-storming.) The hardwood Hurricanes will now be ranked for the first time all season. And they have all but punched their ticket to the NCAA Tournament just as the joy of March Madness looms. New coach Jai Lucas inherited a fizzling program and has masterfully orchestrated a complete and fast reboot, with Tuesday’s pinnacle suggesting a team built for March.
▪ Messi, Inter Miami begin defense of MLS championship: If you can’t get excited about Messi playing in your town, check your pulse. Miami begins defense of its MLS Cup on Feb. 21 with the first of five straight road games before christening new Miami Freedom Park on April 4. And of course Hard Rock Stadium will host seven matches this summer in the men’s FIFA World Cup being tri-hosted by the U.S., Canada and Mexico. It ain’t football, but World Cup futbol will suffice I guess.
▪ The Marlins and World Baseball Classic are on deck: The Marlins are coming off a promising season with lots of young talent, despite continuing miserly spending on the player payroll. They open spring training Feb. 21 and the MLB season March 27. And in-between March 5-17 is the Miamicentric World Baseball Classic, the sport’s premier international tournament, with Marlins Park the hub locale and host to the championship game.
▪ Oh yeah. The WInter Olympics’ crescendo is near: The Winter Games end Feb. 22 in Italy. Team USA was second in gold medals and third in total medals as of Wednesday. NHL stars are back in Olympic hockey, U.S. figure skater Ilia Malinin does backflips on the ice ...and how ‘bout that curling!
▪ Hey, maybe the Heat or Panthers might even surprise us?: The Heat seems headed for a fourth straight season in play-in purgatory, just outside the playoffs proper. And the Panthers, after consecutive Stanley Cup crowns, are struggling to just make the postseason. Still, the NBA and NHL playoffs are another diversion from our no football blues.
▪ NASCAR, golf and tennis are ramping up: NASCAR season opens Sunday with the Daytona 500. The PGA Tour is underway and the Master’s at Augusta looms April 9. Tennis’ Miami Open begins March 15 and the French Open is just weeks later. (Oh, and the pelota crowd is on alert: Battle Court jai-alai season is back at Miami’s Jam Arena, with the Cyclones defending their title. Chula!).
And if none of the above alternatives will sufficiently occupy you as you wait for next NFL season — if you are acutely in the throes of the severest kind of withdrawal — there’s always the UFL ... spring football, beginning March 27.
Hey, to the desperately thirsty, even a sip from a mud puddle tastes good.
