What made you become a Dolphins Phan?

Grew up in SW FL with a family of Bills fans, saw Marino's first game for us and the phins were the local team even 100 miles south of Tampa w/a decent Bucs team back in the day.

 

Watched the Dolphins beat the Vikings in the Super Bowl. Locked in from that point. I will be 49 this year.

 

Growing up in upstate new York it surely wasn't exposure, it was my late grandfather who used to live in ft lauderdale and sent me everything dolphins, footie pajamas baby, that's right mothers, I rocked em, hats, and sneakers, it got me hooked.

 

As a kid, I was attracted to the cartoon looking logo, I think thats how they hooked me (pun intended). The aqua and orange colors definitely played a factor in my decision as well, they're such fun happy colors.

 

in 72-73 was living in upstate NY in second grade. In the lunch line a class mate asked me who I was rooting for in the Superbowl. I asked him who was playing and picked the Phins. Been a Phan ever since.

BTW your thread, you should start

 

My cousin used to draw team logos, for some reason I took on with the Fins. 15 years later, still a Phan at 25 living in New York.

 

My father was a fan of the Baltimore Colts in the 60's because he was a Don Shula fan. So I with my siblings were born in West Palm Beach so when Shula came aboard in Miami it was destiny for us to be Phinfans. I can remember watching games back to 1970.

 

My dad always talked about this Marino guy, then he took me to a game against the Jets in the Meadowlands. We had great seats, drank hot chocolate and saw the Fins come back and win a game they shouldn't have won, thanks to Marino. I always remember him dropping the ball right in stride to the receiver down the sideline, right over the defender. There was no way to stop that throw, and I was hooked.

 

Grew up on the gulf coast. Two teams that were always on TV, Bears and Dolphins. starting watching the Bears in 85. Then the incredible MNF game Chicago vs Miami. Life as a sports fan was never the same after that game. Of course, it was also mostly downhill from there.

 

My dad grew up in Miami and was a Dolphins and Canes fan. Naturally picked up the fanhood along with him. He's a Redskins fan now that we've lived in DC for so long, but he still follows the Dolphins. I give him complete rundowns and he says my following of the Dolphins if borderline scary.

 

Dan Marino Made me a Dolphin fan. i'm only 30 years old which means i missed the 80's.

 

I was 15 in the farming area around Lake Okeechobee (Belle Glade) when the news came out that the AFL was expanding and putting a franchise in Miami (Joe Robbie, Danny Thomas, et al.) I was hooked on AFL football then (John Hadl, Bambi, Jack Kemp, Babe Parilli, George Blanda, Ode Burrell, Billy Cannon, and a running fire hydrant named Charlie Tolar!!) and it just got deeper and deeper. No TV coverage of the opening game of the opening season, but heard Joe Auer run the opening kickoff back 95 yards for a TD. Been a phinatic ever since.

 

Fan by birth. I have never known another team.

 

I have lived in SoFla all my life. Same reason as any other team I support.

 

It was 1985, I was 8 years old and really started collecting baseball/football cards that year. Number 13 was always my "lucky" number and when I got a green boardered Dan Marino card I thought the colors of the team were cool and he was wearing "my" number so I started following him and the Phins. Growing up in Cleveland I didn't get many chances to see them play except for the few times they played at the old stadium but having had Sunday Ticket for a few years now I get to see my team every Sunday.

 

Moved from New England to south Fla as a young boy and started out as a Patriot fan until the Dolphins arrived and became Phin follower.

 

For me it was Dan Marino. I saw him slide around the pocket and threw a javelin (I mean a missle...lol) with his rocket arm 60 yds for a TD. I was sold after that.

 

The Cheerleaders. Next question.

 

Probably because we've been so good for so long! AM I RIGHT?

However, my father is a fan of the 'Fins... Which made me follow as well.

I was born and raised in NJ. I hate NY fans (except for mets... they don't do anything at all..) so I embraced my Miami team and soon adapted to the Red Sox strictly to bash the Yankee fans... Now I'm 50/50 with Phillies and Sox... I even see myself rooting for the Patriots here and there......

 

Grew up in Boca Raton.

 

THE ZONK!!!

I'm 49 now & a life long upstate NYer; but as far back as I can remember I can still see a very young Larry Csonka taking a swing pass in the left flat, turning up field and BOOM! Some poor DB/LB (can't remember) of the Patriots was later found 6ft under the turf.


I was hooked. ZONK has been my guy & the Dolphins my team ever since.


I got to meet THE MAN about 10yrs ago (I guess longer than that; '99?) at a card show in Lauderdale while visiting my brother in law down in the Keys. There were hardly any people around except for a couple of collectors with a bunch of 3's & 9's for him to autograph. So my wife & her brother watch me bring my old, but still in pristine condition, poster of him against the Skins in SB VII that I got from the old scholastic book order program that our elementary school offered.


Well, he just had his head down signing all those 3's & 9's, when I dropped my poster down he paused, looked up at me & I said I came all the way from Rochester NY just to see him. He said 'really?' I just laughed & said I couldn't lie to THE ZONK; my wife & I came to see her brother & take in the Monday night game against the Bills. Incidently, this was Marino's & Kelly's last game against each other. DOLPHINS WIN!!!

He signed it to me with H.O.F. '87. He was inducted the day my wife & I were married (08/08/87).


I felt 8 yrs old all over again.

 

my dad with my first ever visit to the USA took me to a dolphin game in 1988....the rest is history....

 

I was in 2nd grade when I saw this game:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yDLXupWcfio

Pretty much everyone in my 2nd grade class had a Dallas Cowboys Starter Jacket (including me, my mom wanted me to fit in). I remember watching the Dolphins win this game, then a few weeks later due to a snow day, I got to stay up and watch them play San Diego on Monday Night Football. I was hooked at that point, as I really had no interest in football (my hometown team, the Bengals, were just entering their awful tailspin of the 1990s at this point - my family are all Bengals fans other than myself) and thought Miami must have to be really good to beat the Cowboys. Then, Dan Marino came back at the start of the next season and won the shootout against Drew Bledsoe and the Patriots. My love for the Dolphins has grown ever since.

 

Pops.

 

Poor parenting

 

I grew up in Western New York, a suburb of Buffalo to be exact. I just could not understand what the people saw in The Bills. Every year it was the same old same old and the people would also say "maybe next year". I was introduced to the dolphins when I saw them play the redskins, 1982 , Superbowl XVII ( John Riggins ate them for lunch that game) and I was just hooked instantly. I loved the Dolphins because at the time they owned the bills for like 20 years straight. The Bills fans actually tore down the goal posts in the end zones one year. Bills fans were in such a frenzy they cut the goal posts up in the parking lot and were selling 2 - 3 inch pieces for $20 each. I was at that game and actually helped carry a large piece of the goal posts. Shortly thereafter a man named Marino took over and that was it for me. I have not missed a game since.

I actually was very surprised when I got older to find out on boards like this that the true dolphins crowd does not really dislike the bills as much as other teams like the Jets and The Patriots. Bills fans hate Miami with a passion. I still think there is no other team that Bills fans hate more then the Dolphins.

 

When I was 6, I learned about dolphins and how smart and just generally awesome they were... Then I found out about the Miami Dolphins and I was hooked!

My father, a die-hard Patriots fan from way back has never recovered...

Interesting side note: My younger daughter picked her favorite team at age 6 the same way I did. She's now a diehard Lions fan.

 

Long story, grew up in St. Louis a Cowboys fan despite we were supposed to hate the Boys, I cheered for the Cardinals but they ALWAYS sucked, worst owner in the NFL Bill Bidwell. (they didn't leave St. Louis untill a few years after I did). Then in 1980 I moved to the mountains just West of Denver and you can't help but become a Broncos fan there, IMO best/most loyal fans in the NFL. They had a waiting list for season tickets back then ('80-'83) of over 40,000 people, even though they sucked until I left for Africa the year they drafted Elway. Then my company moved me to South Africa in 83-84, no way of even getting any news of NFL there so became a fan of Rugby in Johannesburg, as well as Cricket and Soccer.

After 2 years in Africa my company moved me to HQ in Dallas for 8 years so naturally I followed the Boys, even for the 2 years I was in Bryan/College Station turning around our subsidiary. Then I quit that business, moved to Connecticut and still cheered for the Cowboys, but then the Pats hired Parcells and I was a fan of Parcells and became a Pats fan till he took them to the SB & lost, then he went to the Jets. (Gulp here I'm throwing up at this moment) so I became a Jets fan. (please don't hate me for that). When Parcells left the Jets I was a man without a team, though I still liked the Cowboys. Couldn't root for the Giants due to growing up the Cardinals were in the NFC East so was raised to hate the Giants.

Then we moved to SE FL (West Palm Beach) in 2001 and I became a Dolphins fan as I believe in rooting for your local team. I then found this place called FinHeaven.com and was seriously hooked on the Fins, moved to thePhins.com when the rest of my favorite posters moved here. I suspect at 60 years old as of last month I'm pretty much a Dolfan for life, even though I may be moving back to Dallas in a few months because I've been asked to be Vice President of Sales for a company there, (can't say who, I signed a non-disclosure agreement), though they won't be ready for me for 4-6 months. Fortunately though I may be able to work from my home office which will likely be moved to Fort Myers, FL in 2-3 years. WPB/FTL/Miami has become a Megopolis rat race so, will likely be moving to Ft. Myers and be on a plane every week or at least Monday-Friday 3+ times a month.

Even if I do end up moving to Dallas I don't know if I could root for the Cowboys again, just can't stand Jerry Jones, and I'll still be able to follow my beloved Dolphins on this awesome website, I would miss you guys & gals more than living in S FL.

Sorry for such a long post on this but as you can see it was pretty complicated my becoming a Dolphins fan. Seriously can't imagine not remaining a FinFan even if I move away, with this "home" website and all of you whom I have grown to consider family and who I would miss too much to ever stop being a member of thePhins.com so I'm pretty much settled on my team for life. Go Dolphins!

 

Don Shula's 200th win. It may not have started it but it sealed the deal. My neighborhood friends included fans of the Eagles, Chargers, Bengals, Cowboys and Steelers yet we all grew up on Long Island. "Anybody can be a Giants or Jets fan, but will you stick by your own team no matter what happens?" So, one of the teams available was the Dolphins and my friends suggested them to me. Said I'd probably relate to Don Shula but I wasn't sure what that meant until I saw the game on TV that Sunday. The Patriots were awful that year but the game was in the "snakepit" of Foxboro and they sent Miami into overtime. Miami prevailed and the announcers talked about what a milestone it was for Coach Shula. I was hooked since.

 

Not to mention the 70's, but thats ok cuz I'm 46 and I missed most of the 80's too.


Been a fan my whole life, literally, I was born the same day as the team, 1/13/66. Moms got pics from 2nd bday with a Phins uni, helmet and all says I wore it every day til she hid it.

My sixth bday my mom waited for Sunday for the party. Made me a cake with the most awful green icing, mini Dolphins and Redskin players, goal posts, hash marks and all. We were in VA and my bandwagon jumping old man was pulling for the Skins. I still hate Garo for blowing that shutout, then next year he was a Vikings fan. He still doesn't know ish about football lol.

My first flag football team, the Dolphins. I picked #66 for my second favorite Dolphin, coach wouldn't give me 39 cuz my chubby azz was the center. We went undefeated thru the state championship. I know...pretty sad my best football was over at 7 yrs old.

I wanted to be a killer B, I woulda changed my name just for the chance.

91 championship game vs Chargers was and still is the greatest football game ever played. Yeah, I said that. G.O.A.T.....

And then came the pornstached one and Run Ricky Run. Little did we know how great those days were til we had to look at them from this side of the millenium.

A decade of despair, from hero to zero one fist pumpin field goal at a time.

My favorite jersey is the one with my two year old's name and birthday for a number, like her twelve year old sisters which is just getting to old to wear any more.

Why am I a Dolphin fan? I was born that way. And I know before I die my children will get to attend a Super Bowl with me and watch my team hold up tiffany, but I sure wish they'd hurry it up a little I been waitin a LOOOONNNGG freakin time and I ain't gettin no younger.

 

Self-explanatory

 

I went to High School with Joe Auer Jr.

When I was a kid there was only one team in Florida-the Phins. So it was only natural. When they added the Bucs i kind of followed them as well, but I'll be a fan of the Dolphins until I die, or if they move out of Florida.

 

Dan Marino

 

Got a Miami Dolphins helmet radio around 1968-70 when I lived in Frisco Colorado as a kid. As some here know I am bad at sticking with my guns so here I am.
My family (all of them) are die hard Cowboy fans so much so there are three steak houses or bars with the name Cowboys some how are another in each of them.
So when Miami plays the Cowboys I'm always the odd man out (and always will be).

 

Grew up in S. FL and some of my earliest football memories are of the weekly gathering to watch the Dolphin games in '72. As I grew up and started exerting my early independence in the form of picking my favorite teams, the Dolphins were the one team that never differed from my dad's choice. For me, I liked what the dolphin represented in terms of being smart, fast and tough (killing sharks by ramming them with their heads, that's also why I always thought the helmet on the dolphin was ridiculous). I liked that dolphins were pack animals. That seemed to correlate well with a team concept. I viewed the dolphin as the best mascot for a team. I also thought the colors were unique in a league where so many other teams seemed so similar and trying to "look" tough.

 

Due to al the bad drugs I did when I was in Vietnam.

 

Not if they are the Cardinals and still owned by the Bidwells.