Did the Dolphins make a mistake by not moving to the AFC South? | Page 4 | FinHeaven - Miami Dolphins Forums

Did the Dolphins make a mistake by not moving to the AFC South?

BrowardDolfan said:
Agreed. So let's break up the Pitt-Cleveland rivalry, break up the Baltimore-Cleveland rivalry because hey - better geography? Give me a break.

The NFL knows tradition is key in sports and keeps the money flowing. Dallas would have been out of the NFC East a LOOOONNNNGGG time ago if this was a major factor.
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Or....

Imagine the AFCN w/ Indy, The ohio teams, & putzburgh
 
Every division goes through cycles. No one really expected the NFC East to be so competitive this year.

So, I think keeping rivalries with Buffalo, New York and New England was probably the main reason Miami stayed in the east.
 
This topic was a sore spot for me back then and it still is now. It’s beyond ridiculous that Miami isn’t playing in the AFC South, and before I give my reasons, I’ll point out that playing in bad weather or dealing with the Tom Brady dynasty twice a year does not factor into why I think staying in the AFC East was a mistake.

Also for the record, not only did the NFL give Miami a choice in joining the south, behind closed doors, the Commish wasn’t shy about applying some pressure in an effort to persuade Miami to move. The overwhelming reason older Dolphin fans wanted to stay in the east was due to historic rivalries. Huizenga didn’t want to give up those rivalries either. I’m an older Dolphin fan and to this day, I still find the decision short sighted.

It wouldn’t have taken long for a southern division with Miami, J’ville, Houston, and Tennessee to take on a college type of feel, which I think would have been really good not only for our franchise, but the NFL as well. I think we also have proof of that being the case if we look at some of the teams who embraced realignment at that time. Not only did the Seattle Seahawks change divisions, they made a giant leap of faith moving from the AFC to the NFC. It was a nerve wracking time for Seattle and their fans as they had only been around since the late 70’s and had spent that time developing nice rivalries with the Broncos and Raiders. After making the move, they developed a very intense rivalry with SF that far surpassed any of the rivalries they left behind in the AFC West.

Tradition is a slippery slope. Having zero respect for tradition is a dangerous thing but leaning too heavily on tradition can stand in the way of progress.

Some Fin Fans might bristle at what I’m about to say, but the NFL could easily live without Dolphins-v-Jets twice a year and in all honesty, our match-ups vs the Bills and Pats are important to the respective fan bases, but really don’t move the needle in terms of national relevance. Even as a diehard Dolphin fan, I’m pretty likely to sit down and watch a 49er-Seahawk game or a Bears-Packer game (when both teams are good) because those games just seem to have more flavor to them. I think Miami could have created the same thing in the AFC South with rivalries that grew into much more than what they have right now.
 
Bridgeburner said:
No one said the things you're saying. You're all over the place in your opinions and trying to setup strawmen to argue against. You also completely ignore that new rivalries would develop.
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Really? OP's post was:

Legit question, do you guys think the Dolphins should have moved to the AFC South when they had the chance? Trust me, I love the rivalries we've developed with the other AFC East teams over the years, I just wonder if our franchise would have had more success in the last 20 years playing the AFC South (and not having to worry about these snow games as much).
 
The divisions don't make sense at all

We are literally the most southern team in the NFL and all the teams in our division are up north.

I know everyone will complain about "but but Dolphins and Jets rivalry! Bills and Dolphins rivarly!" But Miami literally has nothing to do with Buffalo, NY or NE. It's only because they play each other twice a year....which means if Miami moved to AFC south New rivalries would be created. The battle for Florida would at least make sense.
 
Blake the great said:
The divisions don't make sense at all

We are literally the most southern team in the NFL and all the teams in our division are up north.

I know everyone will complain about "but but Dolphins and Jets rivalry! Bills and Dolphins rivarly!" But Miami literally has nothing to do with Buffalo, NY or NE. It's only because they play each other twice a year....which means if Miami moved to AFC south New rivalries would be created. The battle for Florida would at least make sense.
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We need totally realignment
Miami, Jax, Tampa, NO, and Atlanta
 
lucid22 said:
Legit question, do you guys think the Dolphins should have moved to the AFC South when they had the chance? Trust me, I love the rivalries we've developed with the other AFC East teams over the years, I just wonder if our franchise would have had more success in the last 20 years playing the AFC South (and not having to worry about these snow games as much).
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I always thought so and said it at the time. I thought the reduced travel would benefit the team. And we probably would have had many more playoff appearances over the last two decades.

But the Dolphins have always been a poor attendance team. Often the only games that legitimately sold out were the Jet's games. People like to say, "win and they will come" but that's largely been b.s. in Miami. They had never sold out their season tickets before this year. Not when they were undefeated and a juggernaut in the early 70s. Not when Marino was here. Never.

I felt that it was short-term thinking to worry about the established rivalries and that new rivalries would be developed. But the day to day financial concerns existed and they drove the decision.
 
BrowardDolfan said:
Really? OP's post was:

Legit question, do you guys think the Dolphins should have moved to the AFC South when they had the chance? Trust me, I love the rivalries we've developed with the other AFC East teams over the years, I just wonder if our franchise would have had more success in the last 20 years playing the AFC South (and not having to worry about these snow games as much).
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..and *I* the person you're quoting said they should have moved, but not because of that reason (which is dumb). Just because the OP said something doesn't mean the conversation is only limited to what he said.
 
Bridgeburner said:
..and *I* the person you're quoting said they should have moved, but not because of that reason (which is dumb). Just because the OP said something doesn't mean the conversation is only limited to what he said.
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Oh, don't be so offended. You stated "no one said the things you're saying", not "I never said the things you're saying". I just pointed out that cold weather was stated right at the beginning as one of the lame reasons to switch divisions. Kudos to you for not including it in your opinion to switch divisions.

P.S. The Yankees will still play the Red Sox, Michigan and Ohio State will continue to butt heads, and the Dolphins and Jets will still be sworn enemies, but keep hoping for that big time Titan-Dolphin rivalry to heat up.
 
We made the mistake two years ago drafting an AFC South QB in the first round. Should’ve drafted the AFC East QB
 
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