Florida shines bright as the sun in the major sports leagues
In recent years, sports teams based in Florida, USA, have established themselves as powerhouses in their respective leagues. The NHL's Tampa Bay Lightning, a team led by Steven Stamkos, Andrei Vasilevskiy, and Victor Hedman, won the Stanley Cup in 2020 and 2021 and reached the Stanley Cup Grand Final in 2022. In the same National Hockey League, the Florida Panthers reached the Stanley Cup Grand Final in 2023 before falling to the Vegas Golden Knights, and in 2024, they took top honors by winning the Stanley Cup against the Canadian powerhouse Edmonton Oilers and their leader: Connor McDavid. The Tampa Bay Buccaneers won the Super Bowl, the NFL's ultimate prize, in 2021. They were led by former New England Patriots stars Tom Brady and Rob Gronkowski. In another sphere, at the end of the 2021-2022 season, the Miami Heat, led by the spectacular NBA player Jimmy Butler, sat at the top of the Eastern Conference. The following year, at the end of the 2022-2023 season, the Florida team participated in a third Eastern finals in four years.
Lionel Messi, the one that changes everything
However, in the same state proclaimed to be "the Sunshine State", there are other teams for whom it's not so obvious, such as Inter Miami FC playing in the Major League Soccer (MLS).
But that was until the arrival of soccer legend Lionel Messi, whose arrival was announced with great fanfare on July 15, 2023.
Since then, everything has changed, both in Miami and throughout the Garber circuit. His arrival, a pivotal moment for the sport in America, has created an unprecedented craze for soccer, MLS, and Inter Miami FC. Wherever Messi goes, spectators and fans flock in droves. North America's professional soccer league, once a laughing stock for football fans, is now watched around the globe for the latest exploits of Lionel 'Leo' Messi. Which is not bad at all because when the man who played for FC Barcelona and Paris-Saint-Germain, as well as the Argentine national team, with whom he won the last edition of the World Cup in December 2022, arrived, the Florida soccer team was languishing at the bottom of the MLS standings.
... They are now at the top of the overall rankings...
This phenomenon of attraction is undoubtedly manifesting itself all the way to Quebec, the province of Canada from which I am writing to you with pleasure. On Saturday, May 11, 2024, Inter Miami and their legendary striker, Lionel Messi, played a match against Montreal FC. From the day before the match, when the Argentinian demigod and his teammates set foot in the Quebec metropolis, it was complete hysteria. Thousands of fans converged on the hotel where he was staying and the Saputo stadium where the match would take place. In economic terms, thousands of fans spent thousands of dollars to experience, in their own words, the best night of their lives. Still in terms of figures, tickets for this long-awaited duel between Miami and Montreal sold for between $300 and $9,700. To give an idea of scale, for the May 15, 2024 match between Montreal FC and Columbus SC, these same tickets sold for between $15 and $334.
Despite a 3-2 defeat for the home team, Lionel Messi, considered by many to be the greatest player of all time, played the entire match during what could potentially be his first and only career visit to town. It would be unwise to underestimate the significance of this opportunity. Inter Miami was leading the MLS overall standings with 27 points from 13 games as of May 25, 2024, while Montreal FC is positioned 12th in the MLS East with 12 points from 11 games. The coach of the Floridian club may have been tempted to rest Messi for the upcoming matches, but he opted to field him. Although Messi did not score in this much-anticipated game, he completed the full duration of play, marking the first time this season that he did not contribute to the scoresheet.
A splendid painting by Sevigny dedicated to Lionel Messi, considered by many to be the greatest of them all.
Time to witness greatness
The arrival of an international football star is not a first. Pele, Johan Cruyff, Wayne Rooney, Frank Lampard, Thierry Henry, Kakà, Didier Drogba, David Beckham, Luis Suarez, Olivier Giroud and Alessandro Nesta are just a few of the many international stars who have made a name for themselves in the world's most popular sport and decided to come and shine in America too. It's a safe bet, however, that the presence in MLS of Lionel Messi, considered by many to be the greatest player of all time, represents a turning point for soccer and North American sport. Once the youth and the people are inspired by a larger-than-life athlete like Messi, who knows what can happen?
Only time will tell. And I can't wait to find out.
David Leboeuf
To purchase a limited edition print of the painting 'Lionel Messi: Welcome to Miami' click on the link below:
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