We started our passion post series in celebration of our first decade anniversary as a firm which now seems so long ago.
We originally asked each of our lawyers to write about their passion outside the law. We are now reaching a new year as a firm, and a lot has happened in a few short months. We have a few more attorneys to spotlight before we wrap up our series. This month the firm is highlighting Scott Brown. Scott has over 17 years of experience as an Insolvency Litigation attorney and has been a Chapter 7 Panel Trustee in the Southern District of Florida since 2011. He has served as a trustee in numerous multimillion-dollar bankruptcies. Scott’s passion, described in his own words, is enjoying sporting events with his family and making great memories.
Passion Outside of the Law- A True Miami Sports Fan
In these crazy, scary, and uncertain times, we have all learned so much about what we took for granted just a few short months ago. Like so many of us, I never truly realized how important professional sports were in my life. I never imagined a basketball season without basketball or the prospect of a football season without football and as crazy and unappealing as the idea of watching a game on TV without fans in attendance originally sounded, I think we would all love to see one today.
This got me thinking about the impact that sports have had on me, and about all of the amazing memories that revolve around being at games with my family – first with my now 91-year-old dad while I was growing up, and later on, with my wife and two sons. As I scroll through the thousands of pictures in my Google photo account, so many of them revolve around sporting events and sports. In this time of upheaval and uncertainty, those pictures and memories bring a big, much-needed smile to my face. So I guess you could say that spending time at sporting events with my family is a passion of mine outside of work – From my dad and me at Dolphin games in the old Orange Bowl to my wife and I at Canes games back in the good old days (also at the Orange Bowl) to watching the Avalanche beat the Panthers and win the Stanley Cup, the Marlins in the World Series, sitting in the pouring rain with my now-adult sons Marc and Adam at Joe Robbie Stadium watching Peyton Manning win the Super Bowl, and most exciting, special and memorable of them all, at the AAA in 2006 watching the Heat win their first championship with my family. Oh, the amazing memories that sports have given my family and me.
As a born and bred Miamian, there were no options growing up. There were the Dolphins and the Dolphins and the Dolphins. So naturally, I grew up a Dolphin fan. And some of my best childhood memories revolved around our Sunday morning ritual of a father-son breakfast at Pumpernick’s, followed by a drive down to the Orange Bowl, remembering my dad negotiating for “no-block” parking in someone’s front yard (you had to be there to understand), and rocking the Orange Bowl as the Dolphins won.
Those were great times and great bonding experiences with my dad that I’ll remember for my whole life. And luckily, the Dolphins were really, really good. I remember the 17-0 season (I was 7), and my dad taking me to the airport to welcome the Dolphins home. I remember the team coming off the plane and Don Shula lifting up the Vince Lombardo trophy. I remember chasing Bob Griese and Larry Czonka and Paul Warfied for autographs. Those were amazing times that I will never forget because it was father-son time. Then came the Dan Marino years. I remember going with my dad to Stanford Stadium in 1985 to Super Bowl XIX like it was yesterday, and I also remember that awful, incredibly long and painful plane ride home after our humiliating loss. But the memories of being there, with my dad, will always bring a smile to my face and joy to my heart.
So naturally, when Jodi and I had kids (now 22 and 25), I remembered all of those great times with my dad and the bonds we developed going to games together and hoped that I could have similar experiences, and provide those same great memories to my boys. By the time Marc and Adam were old enough to start going to games, the Dolphins were well into the second or third decade of being truly awful and all but unbearable to watch. But my kids, being young, naïve and unjaded, didn’t know of the storied history and the great decline, so we continued the Sunday tradition of Dolphin games, sans Pumpernik’s which had since closed.
And while we never stopped being Dolphins fans, somewhere along the line, the Heat came into our lives. I don’t remember when, but it’s been at least 25 years since I became a Heat season ticket holder and die-hard fan, and it’s been the source of so many smiles and great memories for my family and me. I remember how lucky we were to have won lunch with Tim Hardaway. This time at home has been nostalgic and these pictures of my boys on the Heat practice court shooting hoops with Tim Hardaway and his son and current NBA player, Timmy Hardaway, Jr. And just the other day, we found a box of pictures of the family with D Wade his rookie season at the Heat Family Fest luau, of Marc & Adam sitting on Shaq’s lap, of being on the floor for the Heat’s 1st NBA championship, and of the 4 of us with the Big 3.
In talking to Marc & Adam, I came to realize that these are amongst their fondest childhood memories, just like my old memories of Dolphin games with my dad. As were all of the Heat themed birthday parties and even all of those awful seasons when you couldn’t give a ticket away. But we, as a family, were always there, usually 25+ games a year, because it’s who we are and one of the things we all enjoy most as a family. And I guess it’s why even at 22 and 25, Marc and Adam still get a thrill going to Heat games, and also taking pictures and chasing autographs at season ticket holder events. It’s the memories we are all making that make it all so special. And I hope that when my kids have their own children, sports will bring them the same joy and amazing memories that it has brought me.
I guess that’s why I miss it all so much right now and why, like macaroni and cheese or pizza, it is a source of comfort and joy in an uncertain world. And whether the Heat and the Dolphins are good or bad, it’s the family time and memories being made that makes it so special. Absence certainly does make the heart grow fonder, so I hope that we are all making great memories and igniting a great passion for watching sporting events again soon.
About the Author: Scott N. Brown is a Chamber USA ranked partner of the firm and panel Trustee. Scott is considered a thought leader in the industry and has been practicing in the bankruptcy/insolvency field for 17 years. Scott concentrates his practice on court-appointed fiduciary representation, creditor’s rights, complex bankruptcy litigation, and business reorganization. Scott has been a Chapter 7 Panel Trustee in the Southern District of Florida since 2011 and has served as a trustee in numerous multimillion-dollar bankruptcies. Scott also routinely serves in a variety of other fiduciary roles including as Chapter 11 trustee, Examiner, and Receiver, and has also served as a mediator in multiple bankruptcy disputes. In addition, Scott routinely represents other trustees, assignees, and receivers.