A Life Worth Binge Watching 

S3 E5 Phins Up

I’m pretty sure I came out of the womb yelling “Go Dolphins’, at least that’s what my Dad told me. I was raised to love Marino and my blood runs turquoise and orange. To be fair, I was born in 1972 when we had our undefeated season,  mostly with Earl Morral, the backup quarterback!  That season ended in a Super Bowl win against the Washington Redskins. They charged to the top again the next year with another Super Bowl Championship win over the Vikings. It was great to be a Dolphins fan!   After those glory years, things went a bit downhill starting in 1975 when we lost Larry Csonka, Jim Kiick and Paul Warfield to the World Football League. That was the end of our dominant running game.  

After  those 1970’s glory days, things took a bit of a downward turn.  We made a few playoff appearances with Dan Marino, but Dan the Man never got to wear a Super Bowl ring.  It seemed as though his light started to dim when Shula retired. Marino’s last game was an absolute disgrace when the Jacksonville Jaguars completely brutalized us in a 62-7 defeat.  Sadly, my Dad and I witnessed that game in person.  It was a sad, sad, day.  We haven’t acquired a solid quarterback since Dano.

It hasn’t  been easy being a Dolphins fan since then.  Even Hootie & the Blowfish made a song that said “the Dolphins make me cry”. I agree, Hootie…cry, scream and ruin a perfectly good Sunday.  Through it all, the good, the bad, and the ugly, I have still remained a fan.  I celebrated that fateful win on Thanksgiving ‘Day in 1993 over the Cowboys in the famous game coined “The Snow Bowl .”  I was furious during the 1982 Snow Plow game, when the Patriots coach ordered the snow plow operator to clear away some snow for his kicker, who went on to kick the game-winning field goal.  Let’s not get me started on how I feel towards the Patriots!  We have also weathered our share of controversy and scandal ever since Ross became the owner in 2009.  Remember Bullygate, the bullying/hazing scandal with Richie Incognito?  How about when O-line coach Chris Foerster was seen on video snorting cocaine in his office and forced to resign?  Then we have the recent news of owner Stephen Ross being suspended for tampering.  To be honest, I wish they would have just made him sell the team and take the GM Chris Grier with him.  They can’t draft, they can’t recruit and they won’t spend money.  The coaching staff has changed so many times since Shula and not one of them has been effective.  I have spent many years holding my head down in shame. 

My all time favorite controversy was the “Tank for Tua” season in which I ironically had season tickets that year.  This is when they were originally trying to draft  Joe Burrows, but couldn’t even succeed at that.  They won too many games with QB Fitzpatrick, otherwise known as Fitz-magic, and ended up with the 5th round pick instead, Tua Tagovailoa.  The only good part of the season was when my daughter, Abbie and I went to one of the games and were given field passes to watch the Dolphins/Patriots game as a consolation prize for being season ticket holders.  Trust me when I say, I couldn’t even give my tickets away that year.  

Now that my daughter lives in South Florida, it gives me a good reason to start going to games again.  Honestly, even though we haven’t been good in so many years, the games are still fun.  Tailgating at Hard Rock Stadium is a blast especially since everyone is suffering from being a fan with you!  I have gone to games with my Mom and Bonus Dad too and we had a ton of fun.  My friend Monique and I have an ongoing, friendly rivalry as she is a Jags fan, but she will always go to a game with me!  

After the first 2 games of this season, the jury is still out.  Last week against the Ravens was incredible.  What a comeback!  If we can keep a good running game, bump the defense up a notch and use our offensive weapons, we might have a good chance.  We have the receivers and the speed and I really like the new coach.  I have also joined the Dolphins Fan Club that meets at the Ormond Garage every Sunday to watch the game.  This might be our year (again)!

Collaborating credit goes to Dennis Culler this week.  Thanks Dad!

Melodye Lewis is a Friday columnist for Flagler News Weekly, inspiring women everywhere to follow their dreams of adventure.

Follow @ALifeWorthBingeWatching on Facebook. #ALifeWorthBingeWatching