Damn, watched the program this morning; it had been sitting on my DVR for a while. I teared up several times when he's discussing his dad and all that his dad meant to him. I lost my own father at age 19 and that was a long time ago. But one of the things we shared was watching the first ten years of Marino's career-- my father died about 6 months after the Dolphins' last appearance in the AFC championship game.
Marino is the only sports hero I ever had, and he's the only sports hero I ever wanted. I imagine that like anyone else-- Dan Marino, Sr., my father, myself-- Dan Marino has plenty of flaws. But to get to watch him for his entire career, as I went from elementary school, through high school, college, and then grad school, that was a magic that I wouldn't give up for anything else in sports.
I will always be a Dolphins fan, and I will always root for the Dolphins to finally get that monkey off their back and win a Super Bowl in my lifetime. But it hasn't felt the same-- it can't ever feel the same-- as it did before #13 hung them up.