The Football Dream Becomes a Reality

Growing up as a Dutch-American kid, with heavy influence from my dad, my first love was football. The non-American kind. I loved playing “the beautiful game.” Being able to run on the field and score goals was something that always made a 10 year old me feel good.

I loved watching the game, too. As a kid, you always want to do like your dad, so I made alliances as a very casual Feyenoord fan. Since a lot of you don’t know, Feyenoord is a soccer club based in Rotterdam, Netherlands. Where my family is from. Because of the time difference, I never get to watch games, so there always seemed to be a miss-connection between me and my first love.

The game brings out all of your emotions. That’s the beauty of the game. Since it was my first love, it was also my first heartbreak. In the 2010 World Cup Finals, when Andres Iniesta scored a late overtime goal to win the World Cup for Spain, defeating the Netherlands 1-0. I felt dead inside. I cried for hours.

International soccer was the only time i got that real connection to the passion of the game.

Since i was a kid, I always dreamt about one day, there would be a soccer club i can consistently cheer for. Sitting on the couch and watching the tv, hearing fans chant and scream always amazed me, how people can have such a connection to a team or sport. I always wanted to be a part of it.

 I remember seven years ago, in 2013, I was sitting in high school marketing class, when the announcement came. David Beckham was bringing an MLS team to South Florida! It was finally happening. I thought, “okay in maybe in about two years this thing will get going” well two years went by, then another two years and still no game had been played. They barely had a name, let alone a roster or stadium.

Now finally, after seven long years of waiting, Inter Miami CF will play it’s inaugural game on Sunday.

This team is very Miami. From being linked to some of the world’s biggest stars, from the colors of the jersey, the logo and a roster of players from Latin backgrounds, this team is for Miami.

Inter Miami has fielded a roster to be proud of, a roster that wants to be successful fast. They signed Mexican star, Rodolfo Pizarro to a record fee. They traded for USMNT regular Will Trapp and signed Lewis Morgan from a major team in Europe. There aren’t many sexy names on the roster yet but it’s a good roster nonetheless, that should be competing for a playoff spot.

The Miami sports scene, after the last few years, deserves a breath of fresh air. This is it. I hope fans come out and support this club because there’s a generation of young soccer players in Miami who need this.

There are a lot of people out there like me, who always dreamt of having a soccer club to root for. And no, this isn’t the premier league with the world’s best players. But it’s fútbol, in Miami. What can be better than that?