6 December 19-25, 2024 miaminewtimes.com | browardpalmbeach.com New Times | music | cafe | culture | Night+Day | news | letters | coNteNts | Month XX–Month XX, 2008 miaminewtimes.com MIAMI NEW TIMES | MUSIC | CAFE | FILM | ART | STAGE | NIGHT+DAY | METRO | RIPTIDE | LETTERS | CONTENTS | IT’S A WILD WORLD The most memorable Miami sports moments of 2024. BY RYAN YOUSEFI O ver the past 12 months, Miami sports have seen some of the big- gest ups and downs in recent memory. From champion- ship parades to TMZ drama, our home teams have put Miamians through a gamut of emotions in the time it took our planet to take a single spin around the sun. Sports are all about moments, and every year has its fair share of memorable ones. That said, Miami in 2024 brought a bunch that will last a lifetime. Below is a list of this past year’s most memorable Miami sports moments, arranged in no particular order. Cam Ward Commits to Miami (January 13, 2024) The Miami Hurricanes have been abysmal for far too long. Two decades removed from even the most recent of their five national titles, the Canes’ glory days might as well only exist on black-and-white film. To put things in per- spective, literal graduates of the University of Miami had never seen the team truly good. That all changed early this year when Washington State University quarterback Cam Ward committed to play football at Mi- ami in 2024 — a commitment that came after Ward had announced on January 1 that he was headed to the NFL. All Ward did was win ten games, return Miami to the national championship conver- sation on a weekly basis, and become a likely finalist for the Heisman Trophy. What a dif- ference one moment can make when that moment is a future NFL starting quarterback opting to transfer to your school. Tyreek Hill Handcuffed Outside Hard Rock Stadium (September 8, 2024) Only the Miami Dolphins could produce a moment when their best player is yanked from his car, hauled to the pavement, and handcuffed steps from the team’s home field mere hours before the season’s first game. It would be impressive if it weren’t so pathetic. The Dolphins have produced more of their fair share of CNN-worthy headlines, but “Wide Receiver Tyreek Hill Roughed Up by Cops Outside Hard Rock Stadium on Open- ing Day” is truly a chef’s kiss, even for them. Hill, who has gone on to have one of the worst seasons of his career, blames his play on a bum wrist — an injury he claims was wors- ened by being manhandled by Johnny Law. Speaking of law, there will be lawyers. Miami Heat Unveils Pat Riley Court (October 23, 2024) He’s already the face of the Miami Heat, but this fall the franchise made sure your kids will know Pat Riley, announcing that its Kas- eya Center court (as well as any future home courts) will be dedicated in the name of its former coach and longtime team president. That’s more than a 2024 moment; that’s an all-time moment. Just as many Dolphins fans still refer to Hard Rock Stadium as Joe Robbie, future generations will be conditioned to the Miami Heat play at Pat Riley Court — as opposed to whatever crypto or insurance company gave the team $5 million that year. Moments are a dime a dozen, but video of Riley accepting the honor will likely be something you see on Heat telecasts in 2124. Inter Miami Clinches MLS Supporters’ Shield (October 2, 2024) Inter Miami’s postseason may have ended with a wet fart. Still, their shocking exit from the MLS playoffs does not erase the greatest moment in franchise history that preceded it: securing the Supporters’ Shield, awarded an- nually to the Major League Soccer team that amasses the most points during the regular season. A year after snagging the Leagues Cup title, head coach Gerardo “Tata” Martino’s squad gave fans an encore for the ages, going from 27th in the Supporters’ Shield race in 2023 to first in ‘24. Losing to Atlanta in the first round of the MLS playoffs was a shock to the system, but a 22-4-8 regular-season record is a mark to be savored as we look ahead to 2025. Tua Tagovailoa Suffers His Third Concussion (September 12, 2024) The Miami Dolphins’ season ended against Buffalo in Week 2. Sure, more games were played, but once Tua Tagovailoa suffered his third concussion — an injury that forced him to miss four games — the season, and possibly the entire Chris Grier–Mike McDaniel era as we know it, was over. In that fateful Thursday Night Football game, Tagovailoa was ruled out in the third quarter of the Dolphins’ 31-10 loss to the Buf- falo Bills after a play in which he scrambled up the middle for a first down and lowered his shoulder to initiate contact with Bills safety Damar Hamlin. File this under Play Stupid Games, Win Stupid Prizes. Indeed, Tua won himself a month of CNN headlines and discussions about whether he should ever strap on a helmet again. Tua’s concussion sent the Dolphins into a death spiral. By the time he returned, the team was 2-6 — and things aren’t looking a whole lot better about the team’s prospects moving forward. The Virginia Tech Hail Mary That Wasn’t (September 27, 2024) Months before the Miami Hurricanes dropped a pair of games to close their 2024 season 10-2 and on the outside looking in to the College Football Playoff bracket, they were a 4-0 team ranked No. 7 in the nation, and Virginia Tech was in the way. Nearing the end of a hard-fought, back-and-forth game at Hard Rock Stadium, it seemed Miami had a fifth victory in the bag, but the Hokies still had one more chance for their prayers to be an- swered — and they were... until they weren’t. On the game’s final play, Virginia Tech did all there was left to do, tossing up a Hail Mary that, miraculously, was pulled down amid a scrum in the end zone by Hokies wide re- ceiver Da’Quan Felton. But after further re- view, officials ruled that while still loose, the ball was touched by a Hurricanes player who was out of bounds, thus ending the play as an incomplete pass. At the time, it felt like a sign that this Hur- ricanes squad was a team of destiny. Now it will likely mean the difference between a marquee bowl game and one named after a car insurance company. Sean “Suga” O’Malley’s Knee to Chito Vera’s Face at UFC 299 (March 9, 2024) The UFC doesn’t come to South Florida of- ten, so when one of the fighting leagues’ most significant moments of the year happens here, we have to rewind and remember it. Sean O’Malley’s knee to Chito Vera’s face in UFC 299 is one moment UFC fight fans won’t soon forget. When the meeting of those two body parts makes a sound you expect to hear from a home run at LoanDepot Park or a watermelon hitting the ground from a great height, it tends to stay with you. The moment also marked a successful showing by Miami in the eyes of UFC Presi- dent Dana White, who in the past has avoided coming to South Florida owing to poor gate revenue and subpar energy. UFC 299 report- edly raked in $13.75 in ticket sales for the UFC, leading White to say fights will be re- turning to the area soon. Dwyane Wade “This is My House” Statue Unveiling (October 27, 2024) Oh, hell no. Talk about a moment that will live on beyond 2024. There aren’t many things in sports that live longer than statues, and, wow, will future generations of Heat fans be confused by what they see walking into games! That’s what we have to look for- ward to unless the Dwyane Wade statue the Heat unveiled in October is relegated to a storage unit (ideally alongside the infamous Miami Marlins home run sculpture). Florida Panthers Win NHL Stanley Cup (June 24, 2024) When your favorite little local hockey team wins the Stanley Cup, it qualifies as one of the year’s best moments in sports. That’s just science. After decades of pain that ranged from being the little guy to having incredible sea- sons ruined by the Tampa Bay Lightning, the Panthers hoisted Lord Stanley’s Cup follow- ing a stressful seven-game series against the underdog Edmonton Oilers. Just as local sports fans remember Dwyane Wade throw- ing the ball into the rafters as the final sec- onds ticked away during the Miami Heat’s first championship in 2006, Panthers fans will forever remember the entire squad pushing the puck against the boards as the final moments ticked down to win the cup in a 2-1 victory. The Panthers are already back on the ice, defending their title. But who can blame them (and us) for still flying high off those scenes? A championship transcends a single year. If there were a list of all-time Miami sports moments, this would be on that list. [email protected] Talk about great moments: Steven Lorentz hoists the Stanley Cup at Fort Lauderdale Beach. Photo by Michele Eve Sandberg | METRO | OUR HOME TEAMS HAVE PUT MIAMIANS THROUGH A GAMUT OF EMOTIONS.
