I knew the names Andretti, Lauda, and Fitipaldi before I could spell. And, to the chagrin of the adults, I’d sit a nose-length from the television screen to watch them zoom by. I learned of “exotic” locations like Monaco. And remember when downtown Miami, from Bayfront Park through Biscayne Boulevard, was transformed into a street circuit of the first-ever Miami Grand Prix in the early 1980s.
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When David Beckham unveiled the logo for Inter Miami CF, I thought it was two flamingos with their legs intertwined to make the letter M. An easy assumption to make when the colors are black and pink. I also didn’t dwell too long on it. After moving across the country (again), I was transitioning my loyalties from LA Galaxy to Atlanta United. It wasn’t that hard because it was the same year ATL won the MLS Championship with star player Josef Martínez and iconic manager Gerardo “Tata” Martino.
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As a tribute to the Los Angeles Dodgers’ 2020 World Series run, I recall the moment I fell in love with the Blue Crew.
By birthright, I was told to pledge allegiance to the Cuban League team of Los Almendares, never the Habana baseball club. Later in my youth I was instructed to support our Cuban prince, José Canseco, and cheer on the Oakland A’s, even though we took great offense when he didn’t show up to his own street naming in Miami. Then, when Florida got a team it was all Marlins, all the time. It was the congeniality of Mr. Marlin Jeff Conine, the drama of Alex Fernandez’s torn rotator cuff, and the mantra of “I love Miami,” by Liván Hernández after the unlikely 1997 World Series win. They broke up the team and broke our collective hearts, but then in 2003, they brought back Conine and added Mike Lowell and a young pitcher named Josh Beckett and struck gold again, this time against the Yankees. I remember hitting pots and pans all night on 49th Street in Hialeah. And I remember the team and my heart being broken again. So, I gave up on baseball all together…until I moved to the City of Angels.
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a little cuban goes a long way 