The other day, Miami Arena was blown to bits. That's the building where I saw my very first concert: Billy Joel on his Storm Front Tour. I also saw R.E.M. there. And Elton John. And Tom Petty, in 2nd-row seats I had won through VH1 (I remember asking my sister "What's that funny smell?"). I had courtside seats to a Heat vs. Bulls game and got to pass a ball that landed in my lap to Michael Jordan. I went to the inaugural Florida Panthers home game. But it was a shitty venue in a shitty part of Miami, and it had been rendered obsolete in 2000 by the nearby American Airlines Arena, much as it had rendered the Hollywood Sportatorium (a legendarily bad venue with an amazing name) obsolete back in 1988. Still, it's kind of sad that a piece of my childhood is gone.