Tired of Dolphins, Canes and all the losing? Miami Heat and Florida Panthers to the rescue | Opinion

Right on time, Miami Heat basketball and Florida Panthers hockey are here to rescue us. Seasons to save us. “Helllp!,” South Florida cried, drowning in losing and leaking self-esteem,. “We gotcha covered,” they said, oozing confidence and calm.

The relentlessly competitive Heat open their new season here Thursday night. The playoffs are a given. Contending for a championship is not out of the question. Jimmy Butler, Bam Adebayo, Tyler Herro and now Kyle Lowry? LFG, baby. Let’s go!

The Panthers are 2-0, sharp as skate blades, out fast on their most hyped season in franchise history. Might the Stanley Cup finally find a home in Sunrise? Aleksander Barkov, Jonathan Huberdeau, Aaron Ekblad, Sergei Bobrovsky — stock up on those rubber rats.

There is zero doubt the Heat and Panthers will win, the only question is how much. There s no doubt about playoffs, the only question is how deep.

With all of our other biggest sports teams, there is nothing but doubt. And angst. And losing.

And here is the heck of it:

Wasn’t supposed to be like this.

For the Dolphins, for Hurricanes football, for the Marlins, for Inter Miami, seasons of high expectations dissolved in an avalanche of losing.

You could make a very strong argument that all four teams noted above have been the most disappointing in their sport. The biggest letdowns.

▪ The Dolphins, coming off a 10-win season, were thinking playoffs for sure this year. Now they are 1-5, with five straight losses on the heel of Sunday’s loss in London to the previously winless Jacksonville Jaguars.

The Jags ended a 20-game losing streak (!) at Miami’s expense. Wait, does that make the Fins the worst team in the NFL? (Not to pile on the pain, but the Dolphins are almost certainly 0-6 right now if the Patriots don’t lose a late fumble on the Miami 9-yard line in the opener).

▪ Canes football entered this year ranked No. 14 in the preseason poll, coming off an 8-3 season (7-2 in the ACC) and returning almost every starter. Now UM is 2-4 (0-2 in the ACC), its only wins over Appalachian State (barely) and Central Connecticut State.

The expectation was winning the mild Coastal Division and reaching the conference title game, things laughably unlikely today. If you want to play the shoulda-coulda game, Miami might be 4-2 with some luck. But sympathy for not getting lucky has never saved a coach’s job, and Manny Diaz is in a fight to keep his.

▪ The Marlins made the MLB playoffs last season. (Remember?) It was a COVID-shortened schedule with an expanded postseason, granted. Still, it was the Fish’s first winning record since 2009 and first playoffs since ‘03 -- and Miami beat the Cubs in the first round!

Hopes were high entering this year. The feeling the Derek Jeter rebuild goal of sustained winning had begun. Well ... the Marlins finished this season 67-95, scoring the second fewest runs in all of MLB. It might be bright, the Marlins future, but it sure is taking its time to get here.

▪ Inter Miami made the Major League Soccer playoffs as an expansion team last year, albeit with a shortened schedule, a losing record and an expanded postseason. Still, it was an encouraging first year, and this season saw Miami with the league’s highest player payroll — accentuating the disappointment ahead.

The Herons this season have nine wins, five ties and 15 losses — with six losses in a row that have killed playoffs chances. David Beckham’s is the lowest-scoring team in MLS. In two seasons they have played 53 matches and won only 16. Beckham’s promise of starpower and success have been all talk thus far.

(Lest we forget FIU! The poor Panthers weren’t expected to be good and get overlooked in this crowded market. Which may be a good thing. FIU is 1-5 with five straight losses and a horrible defense that isn’t stopping anything except Butch Davis’ ability to enjoy coaching).

All of these layers of misery and disappointment and teams limboing under the bar of expectations bring us back around to the Heat and Panthers — the beacons in the darkness, the well-run and winning teams here to save us.

We writing hands as we look around. We wonder if Tua Tagovailoa is the answer and if Manny Diaz will last the season. We wonder when will be the payday on Jeter and Beckham’s grand plans and big promises.

But allow yourselves a respite from the teams that are letting let you down with losing. Football down here can be bad for your mental health. Take a break.

The Heat and Panthers will take it from here, and remind us all what winning felt like.