I went to my first Dolphins game at 4 and will never forget it. My dad took me to the Superdome to watch the Dolphins and I remember just liking the team because my father is a fan. Then I became a Marino fan that day because he always had the ball. That was Marino's rookie year. Of course, the rest is history with Marino..... I have two daughters now (one newborn) and the other 5. She likes the Dolphins because, well, she likes the mammal. But her damned mother is a Steelers fan, and she likes the Steelers as well. Funny, but the most beloved football team by female fans are the Steelers (this was in an article on USA Today or NFL.com a couple of summers back). Since her mother and I have been together, her mother has begun to appreciate the game a little more because of her better understanding of the game. This, in general, has made the game more fun for her. But back to the topic, I agree with posters who have said that a child's "hero" (whether right or wrong) in the NFL are generally winning at the game. But would you have your child like a Dez Bryant because he is having a good year? I sold my wife's Roethlisberger signed football I purchased for her several years back because I do not need my daughter asking about him without my telling her he's a POS. I like good players, but I prefer good people; everyday and twice on Sundays.....
Me too! but kids don't appreciate punters, or elite players on their team! fields is the most skilled player on the team. Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk
My dad is a Giant fan, 1 brother Is a giant fan, brother a jet fan, living in New York the smart move would have been me turning into a giant fan, but some reason I went to Miami, only able to watch 2 to 4 games a year, rest of the time I'd watch helmets on nfl.com. Now with it being easier to watch nfl games and direct tv being more popular, teams can find other teams to root for and watch their games. Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk
I believe this franchise is in the state where it needs a massive identity to connect to if its gonna save itself.. Only one name I can think of that we have the chance to aquire.......T'eo.
I'm 20, attend NC State, and pull for the Dolphins and the Clippers. I'm used to being a fan of sub-par teams... except for the clippers here recently.
I'm 19. Really didn't care for football when I was younger, just caught a glimpse here and there with the family. Didn't get interested until 2007 and what do you know? A Dolphins game was on, vs Ravens, and it was the only win of the season. Since then I've been a loyal fan.
Wanna know how bad the dolphins are? A thread is started about our kids being fans and I am being mentioned more than the team lol Seriously though using my son as a example is not a good way of doing things. We live in Charlotte nc. When I was growing up in west palm beach Florida from 1987-2008 every publix, radio station and billboard had a dolphins logo on it or was sponsored by the team. It was IMPOSSIBLE to not root for the dolphins, not to mention my entire family are die hard dolfans. However, since my now infamous thread about my son being a panthers fan, he has tilted very much to the dolphins. He wants to do what I do. He wants to make me happy (with no effort to sway him either way) I mean what kid doesn't want the approval of his father?! He is doing a good job. Will randomly say "hey daddy, go dolphins! Go dolphins!" I don't know how much it will last living here, but at least it's a start. For the record, this is my son and his room, photos taken TONIGHT.......hey, at least I am trying right?! My favorite, this was unprovoked I just said to pose haha
It doesn't help that south Florida is so transitional. A higher rate of long-time residents moving out; others moving in who were already fans of another team, and then they have kids who grow up supporting daddy's team. And not meaning for this to sound racist at all, but I'm not sure the influx of Haitian & Cuban immigrants over the years have football as their main sport of interest.
well aqua added to orange does make brown damn right you will. I think I've found the underlying problem here... nursery? Jesus... he looks old enough to shave man!
I think you hit the nail on the head CrunchTime I have 7 nephews and i dont know if I persaude them into being dolphin fans because of what you just posted. here is something that gets overlooked . in 2002 to 2006 we did have some talent but we didnt replace them with anyone that has any marketability we dont market our players any more either. people can say what they want about these guys but we Had Welker , Chambers Ricky , Daunte Culpepper and Trent Green McMichael , Donald Lee , Zach Thomas , Jason Taylor Larry Chester, Junior Seau ( RIP) Sam Madison , Patrick Surtain and Brock Marion i used to see people in all those players jerseys I know many around here dont like some of these guys but I know many people that liked almost all those guys so I am not afraid to say I was a fan of those guys . here his how bad Miami is nowdays we dont Have a Ronnie Brown or Ricky Williams nor do we have a premire qb ,TannyHill will never be a star in the eyes of the media and that will hurt the perception of this club.. what Miami doesnt have is a Keith Byars Keith Jackson or a Irving Fryar or a O.J McDuffie if we had two of those guys we would be playoff bound.
Hey, his wife was doing a pretty good job at it! I live in Pennsylvania, and no kidding, the football jerseys I see most often outside of Steelers and Eagles' jerseys are Miami jerseys. I don't know if our fans are more predisposed to flaunt their team or I'm biased in noticing the tendency. Just seems like they are one of those teams that have fans spread across the country than focused within the actual state in which they play, which other posters have echoed here before. Most importantly, where can I get adult-sized versions of those totally badass Optimus Prime jamjams?
Heh. I turned a Canadian friend from Manitoba into a Dolphins fan 2 years ago, the guy watches all the games now, he's my age. He's only a buddy I do online gaming with. And if the Dolphins ever get good again, the bandwagoners will come. Some will stay true, some will move on to the next bandwagon.
Well, I'm turning 24 next Tuesday. So I can somewhat related to this topic. I live in South Florida all my life but never got into football. My parents are immigrants from another country(it's not a Caribbean country). Always been a keen basketball fan since the early-1990's. But growing up, I knew who was Dan Marino and the Miami Dolphins. So the years went by, the "Run, Ricky, Run" period happened, never seem to be interested in football in high school, no Dolphins Super Bowl, then Patriots fans start popping out of nowhere. But I'm telling you, there are native Dolphins fans where I'm from but also a good number of Cowboys fans. Seems like every Mexican-American person I know is a Cowboys fan. LOL. So, during the 2007 season, I started to get into football. Though I had to choose between 3 teams. Dolphins since I live in the market, the Lions - always had sympathy for them, and the Steeler because they look cool with those uniforms. So, the first football game I watched was that Ravens @ Dolphins game during that same season and oddly choose the Dolphins. I guess I made the right decision. No turning back, already invested emotions into this team. The way I see among the young guys in my neighborhood, some are Dolphins at heart but others are reluctant to be associated with the Dolphins and will say "Nah, I'm a Patriots fan." It just tells you what the team reflects on the younger audience. But it's South Florida, it's a very fair-weather fanbase over here. Once this team starts winning, they will come and wave flags.
I can't tell you how many people I found out are all of a sudden 49ers fans. They came out of the woodwork. I've always prided myself that Ive been a fan though the rough times, and there has been a lot more rough times then good since I started rooting for them, and when they finally do turn around, I know that I stuck with them and I am not one of the bandwagon fans. I have a cousin who grew up a Jet fan and 5 years ago, became a Pats fan, I just say a friend of mine say that she is no longer a Jet fan, but rooting for the Giants. I don't get how anyone could do that. Lets say Giants win a super bowl this year, can you really enjoy it? there is no attachment their. Those people I don't call fans. Yeah they say they are, but they are really not. You are not a true fan of a team unless you rooted for your them when they were down, and stuck with them.
I couldn't follow sports as a kid. Loved playing them, but couldn't sit still for 4 hours and watch a game. Was bored out of my mind. And I was a kid during the Marino years. I didn't become a real fan until I was about 19 and in college and couldn't play sports anymore.
To kind of blow up this theory. Im 28 and live in Indianapolis. I was born the year the colts came to Indianapolis. They were terrible the first 10-15 years. They have a ton of fans my age now that were not fans 10-15 years ago. Its just a matter of winning.
My boy is about to turn ten, and is on his second tour of duty if you will as a Dolfan. He changes teams the way some people do underwear. He's been a Redskin fan, Steelers fan, Dolphins fan, Giants fan briefly IIRC, and currently shows "some" interest again in the Dolphins (mainly because of his old man, I'm sure), but hates that "they lose all the time." He even showed some interest in the Patriots at one point, but I had to put my foot down on that one. To the point of the OP, it's just another reason why this organization really needs to turn it around.
It's getting to the point where a generation full stop hasn't seen a consistent winning Dolphin team! I was 15yrs old when I joined the Phins fraternity in 1985. You do the math. I'm not getting any younger! :-)
My son is almost 13 and is a big Dolphin fan, but not as big as he is a Heat fan. Most of his friends are much more into basketball and the Heat than the Dolphins. when I was growing up in the 70s and 80s the Dolphins were the only game in town and they were good every year. The Heat, Marlins and Panthers didn't exist. Every boy I knew who was into sports was a Dolphin fan, with the exception of a few who may have recently moved to South Florida and already had allegiences to other teams. Now it seems there area lot of kids who are into sports, but not football that much. They may still play fantasy football, but they don't have very strong allegiences to the Dolphins or any other NFL team.
Well I am a 17 year old fan and knowing that I not only follow the team but also look at these forums I will be lifelong. I have many friends my age who enjoy watching the Dolphins but many dont watch every game and few look at Dolphins news through the weekdays. Not sure how the fans were when you guys were my age but that is the perspective I have of the fans now.
Thankfully we're not losing as many younger generation Dolphins fan as we could because there are still fathers out there willing to pressure their kids into a life ruled by disappointment and guilt. Sort of like catholicism.
In a nutshell, yes. That's why its IMPERATIVE for Ross to get this ship righted and soon. You see it everywhere you go. I was just in Dadeland Mall with my wife the other night (ugh......if I hear O Holy Night one more time......), and I noticed this on purpose - I looked for people, especially kids with sports gear on. I did this because they were talking about it on Joe Rose's show a few days ago. I counted the number of kids I saw wearing Heat, Dolphins, Patriots, Cowboys, Marlins and Hurricanes gear. My totals were not encouraging for the Dolphins. I counted 79 kids with Heat gear, 26 with Dolphins, 22 with Hurricanes, 14 with Patriots and 12 with Cowboys gear. Not a single one with Marlins (or Panthers for that matter) gear on. If you do the same thing in a Boston area mall, I would guess its 35% Red Sox, 30% Patriots, 20% Celtics and 5% Bruins with maybe 5% Cowboys and the other 5% split with everyone else. Those would be my guesses and nothing scientific. Boston is and will always be a Red Sox town 1st.
Lots of kids in South Florida have always rooted for other teams, even when the Dolphins were good. Even when I was in school at Gables High in the late 1970's there was always plenty of kids who were Jets, Cowboys and for some odd reason we had a bunch of mouthy L.A. Rams fans. I think that had to do with one of Rams had gone to Gables High a couple of years before I was there.
I started going to Dolphins games in 1966, when I was 15 and the team had just entered the AFL. The team was terrible, but that was expected since they were an expansion team. Of course seeing Joe Auer return the first kickoff in Dolphin history for a TD is something I will always remember. In 1966, the ticket prices were affordable for most families and the Dolphins had a "huddle club", which provided a rooting section for children at very reasonable prices. The first four years the Dolphins were basically a losing franchise, but they had the best GM in the business at the time, Joe Thomas, and they quickly became a winning organization when Joe Robbie hired Don Shula away from the Colts. With low priced tickets and a championship quality team, the stands were filled with over 70,000 fans every time the Dolphins played in the 1970's and throughout the 1980's. There were thousands of young fans attending games with their parents during those years. Today ticket prices make it difficult for many people to attend the games. It can cost three to five hundred dollars for a family of four to attend a game, depending on where the seats are, the price to park their car and whatever food or beverages they buy in the stadium. So I think economics, along with a losing team has been the main reasons there are less young people attending games today. Especially when parents can sit at home and watch the games for free on television. In the early years of the Dolphins, all home games were blacked out, even if the games were sold out. So if you wanted to see the Dolphins play when they were in Miami, you had to actually go to the game. I think if the Dolphins can get the team turned around and start winning on a regular basis, young and old fans will once again become more energized in regards to the team. The fact is that Miami just doesn't support losing teams and until they start winning, fans of all ages will find other things to do on game day, instead of showing up at the stadium.
F*&K the younger generation. The team will be long gone by the time they have jobs and actually will pay to go to a football game. The younger generation takes its impressions from the older generation and as I stated in another post the general populace in S. Florida right now cares about one thing, what they can get for free from anyone that give it to them.
In 1966 lets admit, things were a litte different inS.Florida and it has nothing to do with football. In 1966 S Florida had a completely different fan base. That fan base is gone my friend. It all lives north of Sunrise now.
Growing up on the Mississippi Gulf Coast, I remember a small collective group of hard-charging Saints fans. They were so bad when I was younger, they were infamously referred to as "The Aint's" locally, with paper bags over their head to boot! Now that the Saints have won the Super Bowl (I mean, who was not pulling for the Saints that year sans Indy fans??), you see Saints jerseys everywhere, and fleur de lis decals on parade! It's a little hard to palate, especially when I am in a grocery line and talk football with someone claiming to be a die-hard ("I have been a Saints fan since childhood" type) and he knows nothing about his team.
