Any one remember? | FinHeaven - Miami Dolphins Forums

Any one remember?

I remember playing basketball that morning in a local park, with all of my neighborhood friends. Very matter of fact. Nobody was concerned at all.

The Dolphins did not reach my rushing yardage projection. I was irritated about that. While playing basketball and leading up to the game my theme had been at least 200 yards rushing. Sometimes I got bold with 250. I didn't see how it wouldn't happen. I believe the final tally was slightly below 200.

But stats don't always cooperate when a team jumps out to a big early lead. I didn't learn that until perhaps a dozen years later...new to Las Vegas and studying trends. In that Super Bowl the early rushing total suggested well beyond 200. But once the lead was significant the game reached a lull stage, without as much urgency on offense and mostly containing the Vikings.

There are few things in sports as random as the final outcome when a dominant team or athlete surges to a huge advantage early. The stats can keep going. Or stall. The margin can keep going. Or stall. Tiger Woods cruised during the fourth round countless times, the win already secured. Analysts who rely on that final time or margin as absolute can be fooled by frontrunners more than any type of performer.

I have a tape of this game. Everything is familiar from my memories as a 14 year old except one thing: I am always shocked at how tight the tailback is to the line of scrimmage. I always want to grab Mercury and yank him a yard or two further back. I guess when I went to school at USC a half decade later our Student Body Right featured different spacing...allowing more time for Marcus Allen or other tailbacks to pick and choose. I retain that image as ideal, and not the Dolphins version from the early '70s.

That era was so special I'm not overly bothered that it hasn't repeated. We earned it then and haven't earned it since. That's the way I look at it. Great choices then and poor to middling choices subsequently. And I'm not merely referring to draft picks. Those Dolphins were virtually unanimous as smartest team in the league, if not professional sports period. The Celtics under Auerbach owned that smartest in sports tag for so long. But that team stalled briefly in the early '70s, until picking up an unexpected title just a few months after this Dolphins/Vikings game. That was kind of surprising when they upset the Bucks and Jabbar in a 7 game final.

With the Dolphins and Celtics simultaneously on top, there was much discussion in summer 1974 toward which franchise was the smartest in the sporting world.

I like to mention that type of thing because it gets lost to time. Nobody thinks of those 1973 Dolphins with any connection to the Boston Celtics. They were briefly linked on sports radio talk shows and in bar stool type conversations. If we had ESPN type programming from that time frame the clips would be startling.

The Celtics won again two years later. Then Bird, and more smart stuff.
 
I was born in 85 so I didn't really start following seriously until 2001/2002. But it would have been cool to see the team in the glory years and to experience a super bowl win.
 
I've watched and loved this team for about 30 years. It's been a long time. I'm glad you oldtimers can still remember the glory days so vividly. I can only hope I get to experience that just once.
 
Just goes to show you, you have to be in your fifties, at least, to remember the Dolphins winning the Super Bowl, your late thirties to remember the Dolphins in a Super Bowl, and your early twenties to remember them winning a playoff game.
 
Those were the days. I loved watching Csonka running over people and having a great OL with Kuch, Langer, Little and the rest. God I miss Kiick, Morris, Fernandez, Buoniconti(may he rest in peace) and the rest of the team. Jim Mandich(may he rest in peace) was a Nick Saban hater and Dolfan to the end. I loved that guy's passion.
 
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I have to give props to the people here that weren't even alive when we got out two rings. You guys are true fans! Even those that were around to watch Marino (those were some heartbreaking years too). Glad we all just keep on keeping on with this team....and keep waiting for the next ring.
 
Yeah what really blows me away are the POST Marino fans. WTF is wrong with you people?
 
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