Danell ellerbe said that, but to me it doesn't matter who said it, its true, and its been happening in this town for a long time, fans being over negatively critical without even thinking about their platform and the ramifications, and bottom line fans not showing up for the games at the stadium, or on time, and the ones that do, not really engaging into the game,these things affect the culture.. we can just blame folks like Miko and ellerbe for being stupid, or we can talk about how to become a better culture for this team we love.. think what you want about miko grimes however, she's right, if brent is being criticized thru her twitter account by dolphins fans then they are they idiots, he did NOTHING to deserve that and she's also right when she says ''you don't know what you got til its gone''..when a player feels disrespected by the fans, he's gonna check out and your not gonna receive his best effort...she's already planted that seed in his head. i will always try to to help...and maybe some of you all will as well...tweet her positive responses about brent, be proactive to make up for the losers, buy tickets to support the team, arrive in your seats early this year, stand when their on defense, {no matter what anyone says} and don't leave early.. fan support does affect and infiltrate the teams mentality, so we talk here about winning the Super Bowl, well its going to be hard without a good positive supportive fanbase, lets do our part to help..
While I agree a supportive fanbase helps, I don't think it helps as much as you think it does but more importantly, I don't understand your crusade. Actually, let me rephrase that, I don't understand the target of your crusade. You are trying to call people to action that have no impact. We are all already diehard fans and most of us don't live close enough to see games live. You act as if we are all "looking away" but there's not one thing we can do. We don't have the numbers to bring about change, even if everyone on this relatively small site all agreed with you.
It's always good when you can play the linebacker position, or be able to tell your *** from a hole in the ground on gameday.
I really don't think we, as fans, should ever get to the point where we blindly support a player who very clearly sucks simply because he's wearing a Dolphins uniform. However, the stadium renovation should make it easier to support the team in general. If Ross wants more fans in the seats he needs to create a better product, which includes both team success and the experience at the stadium. Nobody wants to shell out thousands of dollars a year for garbage simply to "support" overpaid windbags.
ya'll just don't get it, which is fine, continue to look away, and continue to be perceived as we are.
Let's be real. The Dolphins have the most loyal following of the Miami sports teams, but it's still largely fair-weathered. There's simply more interesting things to do in South Florida rather than sit in the boiling sun on a Sunday and watch a mediocre football team. The state of the team the past 15 years does not help the attendance in any way. Unless you're a franchise like Green Bay, Pittsburgh, or Baltimore, the attendance and fan support is going to suffer if the team hasn't won in 15 years. Hopefully that can change, because Miami fans will come out in full force to support a winning or decent team. I think the front office has done a good job putting together a winning product in the future, and with the renovations to the stadium, hopefully we'll see some more sell-outs.
How about this, instead of telling the members of this site we just don't get it, why don't you explain in detail what we the couple hundred spread out across the globe can actually do to improve the experience in a multi million dollar stadium we have no control over, can actually do? You keep acting like we have power to change the culture. The members of this site do not have that power.
Ellerbe getting injured allowed the discovery and breakout season from Jelani Jenkins. So, thanks, and good riddance.
IMO, the team hasn't won enough to merit a consistently sold-out stadium week in and week out. That said, in recent years, crowds have shown for big games and since Garfinkel's arrival, attendance has increased steadily. Plus you have a "new" stadium in the fold and ready by 2016. The smaller size (what is it, roughly 65k I think) will help make it seem like the crowds are larger. Plus you have the canopy to shade the fans. I've only ever been to SunLife once (2010 - it was a straight up dump, sorry to say, compared to other stadiums I've been to - Lambeau, Lucas Oil, Reliant) and that was a night game, but I'm sure that plays a factor.
On one side, I do agree with you that this being too critical, showing up to games 20 minutes late, etc. is sort of toxic. But on the other side - Ellerbe had no room to talk about anything. It's great to be on a team who knows how to win? They had a worse record than the Dolphins last year. The Saints had the most negative fans going for a few decades (I grew up thinking of the Saints as the team with the fans with bags on their heads). Your point about Grimes is more than valid (I agree more than most probably would, as I think people underestimate players' home lives having an effect on their games)....but the issue is that his wife says she isn't a Dolphins fan, she's a Grimes fan and a journalist. She bashes the offense and implies that this is what she hears from Brent and the "rest of the Defense" and it's just ridiculous that he has let it go on. That is why fans are getting mad at her, because all she does is run her mouth about how great Grimes is and how bad the rest of the team (and Tannehill) are. A guy on the team's wife spending days on end implying that the QB/team are no good, and he's the only Pro Bowl guy, etc. is probably more dysfunctional and toxic than fans sticking up for their team. I know you may disagree, but IMO Tannehill was the best player on the team last year...at least from a consistency standpoint after the first few games. When I watch Dolphins games with friends who are fans of other teams, literally every single time they say something along the lines of "he was 10x better than I expected." This is ALL based on what they read on social media from our own fans bashing everything the guy does and I think it is ridiculous. This dude is tough as nails, not only from all these hits he takes, but to go out there and play well even when our fans moan and groan about every incomplete pass. It is hard to even read the game day threads on here because they're all about how Marino wouldn't have missed that throw or R. Wilson would've run for a first. Confidence is so important especially in a young QB and it is almost as if our fans want to find ways to break his confidence. Miko's quote about not knowing what you've got til it's gone applies for that too.
I'm a fan from foreign turf all the way over in Europe so I don't know that I'll get the chance to see the Dolphins play live in Miami (though I'd love to). Speaking in terms of other sporting events I have attended, though, I'd say three things factor in. 1 - Cost. Not sure what the ticket prices are but if lived in Miami and wanted to see games regularly it wouldn't need to cost an arm and a leg. If it were too expensive then even if local, a live game might be more of an occasional treat than something I'd do as a regular. 2 - Welcome. If I'm going to a 'home' game regularly it should feel like home - both safe and welcoming. In the age of HD TV sports it's getting harder and harder to compete with being able to get a great view from the comfort of your own home vs. being their live. It's a challenge to overcome the costs of travel time/hassle, and often worse view points (TV offers everyone the same, great view). So both the franchise and the die-hard fans need to work hard to make home games feel like home. The chance to really connect with, and be a part of something. 3 - Which brings me to the last point - perspective. I think a lot of the problem is to do with mentality/perspective. If going to a football game is about 'me' - about me seeing the game, and what 'I' get then I think live games in Miami will struggle because it'll just be about selling a product - sitting down in an environment and watching a game (hard to compete with doing that from home/with friends unless they love the atmosphere at the game). Instead, going to a game needs to be understood as something different. It's not about what I receive (great views, creature comforts) but what I bring and become part of - great atmosphere, support for the team. People are selfish at one level or another. In terms of consumerism most of us might be at our most selfish. What do I get for my money? It's a fair question, but it's also fair to point out that not everything has to be a business deal. Sometimes it's about love of something, coming together. If that sort of mentality change can happen then the atmosphere, as well as attendance, at games can change and it becomes part of the cultural identity. If, however, it boils down to just watching a game then I don't know that it'll ever change. Miami - I've never been to Miami but I have wondered that what with it being renowned for it's diverse latin culture if the love for football is there like it might be in other places. Do latinos grow up with that same love for football that other cultures do?
Garfinkel just posted this: [video=youtube;FSPssznx86I]https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FSPssznx86I&feature=youtu.be[/video]
That quote was more about Ellerbe being excited for this season in New Orleans than it was him disliking his time here. He's already apologized for the way the article made him come off and said he enjoyed his time in Miami and that Dolphin fans were great. Classic reporting in this day and age.
He also said this http://www.sun-sentinel.com/sports/...or-not-knowing-how-to-win-20150526-story.html
It's a chicken or the egg question... does the team win because the fans support them more or do the fans support them more because the team wins? I personally think it's the latter. And as Fin D pointed out, you're talking to the most engaged Dolphins fans in the world on this site, don't you think we already do enough as it is? What you say on here won't really make much of a difference.
I will say one more thing - DJ - although changing the atmosphere in Miami games isn't something I can affect much (as far as I can figure) - with the technology we have at our fingertips these days there's plenty a creative bunch of fans can do to show their support for their team if they want to, even from a distance. So DJ - if you want to head up/coordinate some sort of thing where we Dolphins fans can do something to show support for the team, players, or even some sort of Dolphins charity event - I'd be happy to participate.
We'll see about that when Ellerbe and the rest of the 'Aints are at sitting at home watching the Dolphins in the playoffs.
sorry, but this is a ridiculous thread DJ. Our fanbase is no different than any other fanbase that is rooting for a team that hasn't won diddly squat in multiple decades. There have a been a lot of reasons for this team not winning, or a poor atmosphere in the stadium, but almost none of the relevant reasons have anything to do with the fan base. If a consistently winning product gets put on the field then you get the raucous support that you are searching for. plain and simple. Now, many of us are hoping that this is now the first year in that "consistently winning" window of opportunity now that we believe we have our franchise QB surrounded by a higher quality of talent, but we'll see by seasons' end.
Winning has to happen first. Then the fans will come. Winning won't happen just because the fans show up. Need to build a winning culture. And Stephen Ross cannot continue to retain ineffectual employees when they don't produce results. Fans know the definition of insanity is doing the same thing and expecting different results. You cannot expect them to continue paying outrageous prices to watch the same mediocre product on the field when ineffectual head coaches or other staff are retained year in, year out.
Yeah, it's usually the case that the better the product on the field the more support you get. However, fans do influence the game. In most sports there actually is a home field advantage, and a lot of that is due to fans, not just familiarity with the environment. Anyway, it does tick me off that it's Ellerbe that's saying this. I mean if someone like Suh came out after a few great seasons here and said the team needs more fan support, OK. But someone who underperforms?!@? No way.
It does in cities where there is a lot of competition for fans interests. And I'm not just talking about other sports franchises, but beaches, nightlife, etc. The one unique factor Miami has working against it is an unusually large Hispanic fanbase that historically hasn't shown a lot of interest in football. But I think that could change over time.
The Dolphins are young team. They'll learn. And the Saints have had 1 winning season in the last three years. And that's before the firesale of 2015, which included a potential hall of famer in Jimmy Graham. Certain to be Hall of Fame inductee Drew Brees maybe has 2 years left too. Good luck, Ellerbe. In the end, it's not like it matters what he says anyway. He's not a good player and we haven't lost anything in getting rid of him. Stills > Ellerbe.
I've been to Dolphins games in Cleveland that weren't sold out. There's also less to do in the Cleveland area during football season than there is in Miami.
Again with the denial. Why won't you just accept it, and get your sh** together so we can all move forward?
I lived in South Florida for over 50 years before moving to Maui. The one thing I always understood as a fan of the locale teams in South Florida was that fans in SF will only show up if the team is a winner. Most people living in SF did not grow up there and therefore they didn't grow up rooting for the locale teams. Many of the fans of the great Dolphin teams of the 1970's and 1980's have long ago relocated from the SF area or are no longer walking the earth. The younger fans have really not had a highly competive Dolphin team to root for since Shula left. Complaining about the lack of fan support isn't going to change the South Florida fan base. I can remember in the late 1970's there was talk of the University of Miami dropping football because of the lack of fan support. Once they started winning championships, that talk ended as the fans filled the stadium. Now that they have taken a giant step backwards, they once again are having trouble getting fans to show up for games. I don't think the fans in SF are any more negative in regards to their teams than the fans of other mediocre teams are in regard to their teams. I frequently go on other team forums to read comments from the fans of other teams and I find far more negative comments on these forums than I read on the Dolphin forum. If the Dolphins want more fan support, they need to win more games. It is really as simple as that. There are so many other things to spend your money doing in SF, besides attending games of a mediocre football team. Perhaps if players like Ellerbe would have played better while he was on the Dolphins, more fans would have shown up at the games. Instead of blaming the fans for their lack of support. He should have taken responsibity for the fact that it was the substandard play by players like himself which has turned the fan base of the Dolphins off and caused a reduction in excitement for the team over the last decade or more.
The problem with FL is, no one is from SF anymore. South Floridians want to get out and every else is moving in. It's not like any other place. I'm surprised DJ because you see this firsthand. I hate this topic with a passion because Florida does not belong to us Floridians anymore.
Actually Alex it makes you look pretty foolish when you list two teams who actually sold less tickets to their games last year than the Dolphins did. Also the Raiders have had more games blacked out in their locale area than any other NFL team in the last ten years. Once someone one buys a ticket, he is entitled to do whatever he wants to with that ticket. Even if it means he puts it in a drawer and goes to the beach instead of attending the game. The Dolphins were in the middle of the pack in the NFL in regards to tickets sold in 2014. Far ahead of both the Raiders and Browns in that regard.
I think the roof will help, I think a dome would be better! I've been to games and because I don't live there the humidity about killed me! And miko grimes is a racist, so her and Brent can leave whenever they want! Sent from my 6+
yeah well I disagree with your last statement. when I say it like I said it I'm certainly not calling out our members for being the culprits, I'm speaking like as we are a whole.. my main point is we have a lot of fans that are not about helping the culture, they are about hearing themselves on radio or seeing their words in print, they have no understanding of how to nurture a culture so the players feel welcome and supported.. for example, you don't continue to insult brent grimes wife, you don't do it because you know how it could affect the player that plays for your team.. so, maybe us smart cognizant fans should help the situation by reaching out..cause lets just say brent is the sensitive type, listens to his wife, starts to feel disrespected, those are real scenarios, and inevitably will affect his play on the field... the stuff that ellerbe said is just true, and nothing short of the ob2 is gonna change our passive behavior in this town, however, if you don't want to continue to be looked at like one of the worst fanbases in sports, then we need to do every little thing possible to help inspire a change, if your ok with it, then cool bones, I happen to believe its been part of our demise so I'm always gonna try and challenge fans to do whats necessary, because for the most part, I don't think fans understand the impact of their words, or lack of support, or the impact of what a great fanbase does have on the performance of a team. the dolphin execs need to step up their game as well, you moved some concrete because you recognized a flaw in energy in your building..and thats flaw was affecting performance, so be proactive now that you got some new digs, campaign for a different attitude and etiquette inside.. but most of all, its a constant good vrs evil battle, you don't just give up and let it take care of itself, or wait for the team to win a championship.. so even though we know miko is a bit crazy, and some of the things that are being said about her husband, our player, are completely uncalled for, and we know it, do you wanna look away?
most certainly that stadium was a cancer, we know that though, i don't even argue anymore to those who don't get that aspect..the new stadium, with shade, and closer seats is going to help a lot..
The formula is simple: win and they'll come. Nothing is a substitute for winning. Especially in the event town that is Miami. And preferably make it exciting. Stephen Ross rightfully wants sexy electric offense. Entertain us and put a roof over our heads. Because right now we're perfectly content watching mediocrity and disappointment from the air-conditioned comfort of our living rooms or bars stools and big screen TV -- a.k.a. the best seat in the house. The Dolphins are on the right track here. And decreasing capacity was also a smart and needed move. As for Miko Grimes, she loves to **** on this fanbase and accuse us of being ****ty fans. Meanwhile she bashes her husband's teammates -- including the starting QB -- all over the radio and social media. She airs dirty laundry and shares private conversations/sentiments in public. Her thin skin, big mouth and need for drama/attention is subversive and more divisive than anything we could perpetrate ourselves. Her insistence on interpreting everything as a slight against her husband is tired and ridiculous. That's what alienates fans. No one has a problem with or roots against Brent Grimes. I would argue he is one of the most popular players on the team from a fan standpoint. I certainly wanted him here and respect his grind and his game. I pay no attention to her. She is exactly what Atlanta fans said she would be, and that we would be glad to see her go. Brent Grimes won't leave because of anything the fans have done. Whether she realizes it or not, Miko already said as much during last season. As she said, Grimes will leave when the Dolphins decide the terms of his contract are no longer desirable. The fan stuff is simply her stock-in-trade. And I would argue that the vast majority of negativity directed at Brent -- and it ain't much -- is the result of her actions in public. We'll be here long after she's gone, rooting for the same team we always have. When Brent does leave, I hope it's as a champion.
Ok I guess yall are right, and I say that because I believe it's all been connected to the stadium, so seeing that it is going to be better I'll wait and see if things change..
DJ let me ask you something, and I am serious here, so hear me out: Lets say we have a "mom and pop" grocery store that has been around since the 1960s. Me and you are brothers. We have been shopping with our parents at this "mom and pop" grocery store our entire lives. They always produced the best meat, cheapest bread, competitively priced cereals, and great customer services. Fast forward to 2006.....the store is still there....new owners....same name....same store colors and cart and aisle set up that we're used too. However, they sold us some expired meat. Some stale bread. Some crap tasting cereal, and provided HORRIBLE customer service; all the while raising prices for products, and not providing a "value" to us as a customer. Sure we "have shopped here since we were little"....and we'd "rather" shop here more than any other publix, winn-dixie, or any other corporation grocery store. But lets call a spade a spade....they provide more value, cheaper prices, better quality, and phenomenal customer service; Now, lets say you go to the top "miami grocery store fan" message board, and tell people over and over again how current and past employees of "mom and pop" grocery store keep coming out and saying they wish all of Miami shopped there, and how we need to buck up, suck it up, stop looking at the details, and just blindly shop at "mom and pop"...accepting stale bread, ****ty steaks, and higher prices, while throwing our money at them. And tell me how ridiculous that sounds? I mean seriously dude, I am with you. I love this team. I would be there if I lived in South Fla still. But there is NO DOUBTING how ****ing terrible we've been. Even when we're good, its because of a Tom Brady torn knee "luck" that we're good. The last time we had a "competitive" year in year out football team, Jay ****ing fielder was our QB. You know how many QBs we've had since then? Busted draft picks? Head coaches? How long do you expect people of South Florida to blindly keep eating ****ty steak, and throwing money at them to keep doing it? When there is publix (the beach), Winn-Dixie (the clubs) and "Whole Foods" (The Miami Heat)....why would you keep blindly shopping at "mom and pop" (the Dolphins) ??? Think about it dude.
What if the mom and pop store's new owners are still family, what if you care about the fact that the family business, your family business, is going downhill? What do you do?
Well I know this.....Ellerbe did absolutely nothing to help increase the fan base with his sorry a$$.
I don't know, but I've mentioned this before and no one takes into account that at least 500,000 or so Dolphin fans who have moved far away from Dade and Broward Counties.....Out of these, could be 40-50% season ticket holders and another % for the fans that buy the 4 game package, and then double OR single game buyers.So, out of all of the fans that finally said enough is enough that still live there, and may have just given up live football for different reasons. But,with our team ascending, and how much better we are going to be, and with the Stadium remodel, we should have ALL Games Sold Out ! And that will not only fire up our Teams Offense, and defense, but it will fire up the crowded stadium..and we will then, Start an Home Field Advantage that is very hard to come out as a winner if you are the out of town teams,players,coaches,fans...it's gonna be Great......I can feel it !! and NONE OF THIS, THIS YEAR !!
I know several long time season ticket holders who have moved to the Carolinas. We keep going to the games and we keep cheering for the team. And, I renewed my tickets for next year at a higher price. But, I don't blame people at all that don't want to come out to watch an inferior product. For years the Dolphins have been average to below average and haven't had an exciting offense. That is a bad combination to draw fans.
