LEAGUES CUP 2023
Why is Messi’s new team Inter Miami called The Herons?
The world has got to know David Beckham’s club a whole lot better after the signing of former Barcelona star Messi.
To say that the 2023 MLS season hasn’t been going to plan so far for Inter Miami would be something of an understatement. The Florida club currently find themselves bottom not just of the Eastern Conference but also of the overall table after suffering 14 defeats in their opening 22 leagues games of the campaign.
Inter Miami on the up after Messi arrival
Yet there is a strong argument to say that no team in the United States is on more of a high following their sensational signing of seven-time Ballon d’Or winner Lionel Messi, who has put The Herons on the map even more than they already were.
Given that former Real Madrid and Manchester United star David Beckham is their co-founder and co-owner, the club hardly needed a profile boost. But the arrival of Messi, as well as those of former Barcelona teammates Sergio Busquets and Jordi Alba, means MLS’ current worst team is the one that everyone has on their lips.
In the last few weeks, the whole world has learned - if it didn’t already know - that Inter Miami’s home ground is the DRV PNK Stadium and that the team’s main nickname, as mentioned above, is The Herons.
Herons: Miami residents
Herons are long-legged, long-necked, freshwater and coastal birds who permanently reside in South Florida across the Miami-Fort Lauderdale region. Depending on where you look, herons symbolise slightly different things, ranging from persistence and autonomy, to balance and stability. The club’s crest depicts two Great White Herons, with their interlocking legs forming an ‘M’.
Why are Inter Miami called Vice City?
If you prefer, however, you can also prefer to Inter Miami as Vice City, which is actually the name of a section of their fanbase (Vice City 1896). The term was used to refer to the city in general back in the 1980s, a time when Miami was the capital of drug crime; liberal and illicit, up-market and popular.
The term was popularised by the 1983 film Scarface, set in Miami, the 1980s TV series Miami Vice and the 2002 video game Grand Theft Auto: Vice City.