Smaller story but I'm sure you'll be interested. A bunch of "Heats" fans left the game early Tuesday night. Hundreds, actually. That really annoys other people--all over the country. "Nothing Says Miami Heat Like Empty Seats at End of Game" was one headline. That is always the way it has been, many arrive at "Heat" games "fashionably" late and leave early. And it's not just the "Heat." Miami sports fans in general have a terrible reputation, justifiably. They're not considered real fans.
Why is that? When people say Miami fans are not real fans they're saying Miami fans don't care as much as sports fans in other cities. I think that that's true and I think that Miamians don't care as much generally as well. The people of Miami have built a magnificent city out of the swamps, one of the most exciting in America, and they have done it because they don't care as much. The economy is built on tourism, by people from elsewhere who come to use Miami for a vacation--and then to leave. The permanent population overwhelmingly is from elsewhere also. Miami was not their first home and if "home is where the heart is" many permanent Miami residents' hearts are elsewhere. However it is not just dual loyalty or the lack of first love. It seems to me Miami is a more atomistic city than others, more individualistic. Many people come "for the job," that is they come to Miami to make money. You've always been able to make money in Miami. And you can do it tax-free: no state or city income tax. Their money is all theirs, nothing goes to the community. Some people, like Al Capone, come to Miami one step ahead of the law and when they catch up to you they can't take your house either, Florida law ensures that. Miamians are a distillation, a concentration, of individualistic America and of the founding ideal, the pursuit of happiness. So yes, some "Heat" fans leave games early because they don't care as much about "their" team as do fans of other teams; they leave early because they want to, it makes them happy. And they don't care much what other people think either.
