Successes in the Sunshine State: A Preview of the 2023-2024 Sports Teams

Despite its brief history, there has been no shortage of accolades within professional Florida sports. As we get into the heart of sports season, let’s take a surface-level analysis of Florida’s top athletes and what their futures hold. 

Tampa Bay:

Hockey? In Florida? Up until 1992, this didn’t exist. However, in just 31 short years of existence, the Tampa Bay Lightning have become one of the most prominent teams in the National Hockey League. Residing in Amalie Arena in downtown Tampa, the Bolts have built a franchise that Floridians are proud to claim as their own. Riding on the backs of marquee players such as Vincent Lecavalier and Martin St. Louis, the first Stanley Cup was brought to the Sunshine State in 2004, after defeating the Calgary Flames in 6 games. 

Tampa Bay owns a respectable combined record of 3-3 in Stanley Cup finals appearances, most recently falling to the Colorado Avalanche in 2022 after back-to-back Cup wins in 2020 and 2021. After a first-round exit against the Toronto Maple Leafs a year ago, head coach John Cooper has confided trust in the roster and is assured that they’ll be back competing for Lord Stanley’s hardware in the 2023-24 season. 

Tom Brady left some big cleats to fill in Raymond James Stadium. After announcing his retirement, there became a QB vacancy for the Tampa Bay Buccaneers starting job. Although drafting Florida Gators QB Kyle Trask in the second round of the 2021 draft, he had some competition with 2018 first-overall pick, Baker Mayfield. After a hard-fought training camp, the Sooner alumni came out victorious, being named the team’s starting QB for the 2023-24 season. 

With a consistent top-10 defense and a wide-open division race in the NFC South, Baker has a chance to get the Bucs their 3^rd division title in just a 4-year span. Being on top of the league twice in their history, most recently in 2020, Tampa Bay is looking to be a dark horse candidate out of the NFC. 

Miami: 

Tampa Bay’s cross-state rivals, the Florida Panthers, haven’t performed like the Bolts have. Eastern Conference champs in their 3^rd year in existence, 1995, however, success was a blunder after that. The Cats have only finished atop of the Atlantic Division a total of 3 times, most recently in the 2021-22 season, the same year they won the Presidents trophy. 

Although success has been historically minimal, a near Cinderella run in the 2022-23 season when they finished as the 16 seed and made it all the way to the Finals, falling to the Vegas Golden Knights in 5 games to hand them their first Cup, gives the Panthers hope for the future as they have got their franchise cornerstones in Aleksander Barkov and Matthew Tkachuk.

When you hear of Dolphins, you usually think of their naturally upturned mouths before you think of their speed, But these ones are as fast as can be. Devon Achane, Jaylen Waddle, Raheem Mostert, and the “cheetah” himself, Tyreek Hill, make up the statistically fastest offense in the NFL, Hard Rock Stadium’s own, Miami Dolphins. A 50-year Lombardi Trophy drought is circling the drain as the Dolphins have built themselves to be serious Super Bowl contenders.            

A stellar head coach in Mike McDaniel, along with an intimidating offense, Pro Bowl-caliber defense, give the Fins just about everything they need to hoist the Lombardi this coming February. Fresh off a Divisional Round loss to the Buffalo Bills, quarterback Tua Tagovailoa and the rest of the Miami faithful have built up an even better roster than the one from a year prior and are hungry for revenge. 

Lebron James, Ray Allen, Chris Bosh, Shaquille O’Neal, the list goes on. The Miami Heat have been lucky to have some of the most respected names in the basketball world pass through their organization. King James carried the team on his back to not one, but two championships in back-to-back years, 2012 and 2013. Although in the midst of a 10-year championship drought, Miami has consistently won their division and been playoff contenders, claiming 7 division titles in the past 10 years, most recently in 2023 when they eventually fell to the Denver Nuggets in 5 games, losing the NBA Finals. 

2 Finals losses in 4 years, 2020 and 2023, give the Heat a huge chip on their shoulder, and with a starting 5 of Tyler Herro, Kevin Love, Bam Adebayo, Jimmy Butler, and Kyle Lowry, the 305 has something to look forward to as their team is a force not to be reckoned with in the East. 

Jacksonville:

Still prowling for that first Super Bowl win, the Jacksonville Jaguars have plenty to look forward to this upcoming NFL season. Fresh off an AFC South division title, they get their WR1, Calvin Ridley, back from his year-long suspension. In an offense that already possesses the weapons necessary to make a run, with players like Trevor Lawrence, Travis Etienne, Christian Kirk, Evan Engram, and Zay Jones, Duval County is hopeful that these franchise players can make a run for the Lombardi, despite have a less than elite defense behind them.

 2 division titles in 6 years, along with a passionate fan base, give the Jags all the support they need to continue their success in the team’s short history, despite not having any hardware in the trophy case. 

Orlando:

Stuck in the mud. A comparison that sums up the history of the Orlando Magic pretty well. 1 winning record in the past 11 years combined with only 2 Finals appearances, both lost, in their franchise’s history, don’t give the Magic much hope. However, with Paolo Banchero being awarded Rookie of the Year in 2023, combined with a youthful roster of Markelle Fultz and Jalen Suggs, an inexperienced roster might be what Orlando needs to hit the refresh button and give the history of their organization a new look.