Florida is having the best decade ever

With the Florida Gators winning their second consecutive basketball championship last week, it dawned on me to think about the number of championships they have won, which later got me thinking about the University of Miami, which later got me thinking about the Miami Heat, and so on. It was at that point that I then realized that the state of Florida has been winning a lot of championships in our current decade. It might seem as if it is just a couple teams, but when you look back until 2001, it really surprises you. Let’s take a look at the past champions from the state of Florida.

It all started in 2001 with the University of Miami winning the BCS Championship game. Arguably the best college football team put together had the likes of Clinton Portis, Ed Reed, Jeremy Shockey, Bryant McKinnie, Willis McGahee, Andre Johnson, Jonathan Vilma, Phillip Buchanon, Kellen Winslow, and Sean Taylor. Just a fabulous job done by Miami scouts, who seem to have been so proud of themselves for putting a team like this that they significantly got lazier.

There was a year long hiatus for Florida in 2002, but it was quickly made up for in 2003 when three Florida teams won championships. In the NFL, the Tampa Bay Buccaneers won their first championship in their franchise history. In the MLB, the Florida Marlins upset the New York Yankees to win the World Series 4-2. This completely ripped the hearts out of Yankees fans around the world due to the fact that they just finished a seven game series with the Boston Red Sox winning the game seven thanks to a guy named Aaron Boone hitting a homerun in extra innings. And in the AFL, the Tampa Bay Storm took the title.

Florida’s luck continued in 2004 when the Tampa Bay Lightning won the Stanley Cup in the NHL. In 2006, the Florida Gators took the NCAA basketball championship in a year full of upsets. The Miami Heat came back from a 0-2 deficit to the Dallas Mavericks to defeat them 4-2 and win the NBA championship; this was their first championship in their franchise’s history. Finally, in 2007 the Florida Gators continued their domination winning both the NCAA BCS championship and NCAA basketball championship.

Adding up all of the championships won by the state of Florida in a seven year period, the final count is 9. We still have three more years to go, which begs the question, which Florida teams have yet to win a championship in this decade. In the NBA, the Orlando Magic; in the NFL, the Miami Dolphins and the Jacksonville Jaguars; in the MLB, the Tampa Bay Devil Rays; in the NHL, the Florida Panthers; in the AFL, the Orlando Predators; and in college, the Florida State Seminoles.

By the end of the decade, Florida can make a serious run at 12 to 13 championships. In the NBA, the Orlando Magic has a decent maturing squad who can pull off a championship before the end of the decade and the Miami Heat could most certainly repeat. In the NFL, both the Miami Dolphins and Jacksonville Jaguars have a potential to win a championship. In the MLB, the Florida Marlins could be a surprise team due to their youth, and with Florida’s luck, who knows what can happen to the Devil Rays. Ok maybe they can’t, I think I’m getting a little carried away. I don’t know too much about the NHL, but it looks like both Tampa Bay and Florida have records over 500 so maybe they can do something. The Orlando Predators in the AFL went to the Arena Bowl last year and lost so they can most certainly win a championship. In college, it is so unpredictable with teams finding new players every year that any of the three large universities in Florida can win a championship.

It’s not only about the championships either; Florida is also hosting five Super Bowls in this decade: two in Miami, two in Tampa, and one in Jacksonville. This brings huge amounts of celebrities and parties to the state. With this much luck, people in Florida have nothing to complain about. Non-stop partying and celebrating championships should keep their spirits high. Not to mention the fact that they have some of the best beaches and weather in the United States. For the first time in my life, I actually wish I was a Floridian to witness greatness year after year. All I know is that for the remainder of the decade, if a Florida team is participating in a championship, you can’t go wrong betting on them.

Sports Moment of the Week

The Florida Gators won their second consecutive basketball championship last week being the first to do so since Duke in the early 90’s. They also are the first school in history to be football and basketball champions in the same year.