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Dolphins all business for game in London

Daytona Fin

Daytona Fin

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When the Dolphins last played in London, they were part-ambassadors, and part-tourists.

Then-owner Wayne Huizenga rented out the Tower of London for a team party. A 26-foot Jason Taylor robot roamed Trafalgar Square.

It was the first regular-season NFL game held overseas, and the league expected its teams to help spread the gospel.

“You saw a lot of fans wherever you went,’’ said center Samson Satele, one of just a handful of current players who were on that team in 2007. “They have their own football out there, obviously. But they were still learning [our] football game when we were there.’’

The Dolphins are back in England this week for a return visit, but without the animatronics. This time around, it’s strictly business.
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The team will make the eight-hour flight to the United Kingdom overnight Thursday and leave right after the game ends Sunday.

At least the players will. Their gear will have to catch a later flight, just one snag in the complicated process of moving a football franchise overseas — if just for a weekend.

Getting together 53 players, two-dozen coaches, countless staff members, their families and the 18,000 pounds of equipment that’s needed to play an away NFL game — from shoulder pads to chewing gum — is tough enough when the game is in Tampa.

Now imagine checking all those people and all that gear through customs.

“The big concern is the manifest,” said Dolphins equipment manager Joe Cimino, who will play traffic cop when the team’s chartered flight lands at Gatwick Airport about 7 a.m. Friday. “Each department has had to submit customs, and they’re really sticklers on what you have.”

That’s why Cimino’s team began the process long before the flight leaves from Fort Lauderdale on Thursday afternoon. It can take up to five hours to check all of the luggage headed to London, particularly since the team will need gear for both a light practice and the game.
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Another headache: Making sure each player and coach has the proper paperwork to leave and enter the country.

Everyone needs their own ticket. And a good number of Dolphins players have never left the United States before. Stu Weinstein, the team’s director of security, began the passport process back in June. The team long ago facilitated documentation for dozens of players, many of whom are no longer on the team.

While playing internationally will be a new experience for most of the current players, the franchise has a long history overseas. Weinstein has helped plan trips to Tokyo, Berlin, and of course, London in 2007.

“It’s definitely gotten easier,” Weinstein said.

The NFL likes it that way. Games abroad aren’t going anywhere. Expect more of them.
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Read more here: http://www.miamiherald.com/sports/nfl/miami-dolphins/article2235557.html#storylink=cpy
 
Customs are sticklers with the Dolphins equipment and gear, yet the southern border is totally open for people to come and go. Yep, makes sense.
 
they better be. with any luck we end up 2-2. most of the NFL will be 2-2, certainly our entire division could be 2-2. so theres hope
 
uh huh, all business. let's see how this circus travels.
 
London lighting it up in Dolphins colors.

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I despise these overseas games. Do this **** in preseason. Having said that both teams suck and are going nowhere fast so meh.
 
That's awesome to rent out the Tower of London. I hadn't heard that story. More respect for Huizenga. I'm surprised he didn't try to patch the place.

I remember my knees buckling the first time I took a tour of Tower of London. The guides are quite detailed and animated in their versions of all the beheadings. Some tourists were roaring but I was kind of queasy. This may not be the ideal time to mention that, but it's what they talk about. I don't doubt that it's removed from the tours right now, or at least softened.

Maybe a trip to Whitechapel would be a superior option. Jack the Ripper was supposedly identified a couple of weeks ago. Just make sure to stay away from the photo of that final victim, Mary Jane Kelly. That's another one that made me cringe. I couldn't wait to get to Ireland and the heritage of nothing but camaraderie.
 
roy_miami said:
I despise these overseas games. Do this **** in preseason. Having said that both teams suck and are going nowhere fast so meh.
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Agree, make them the third preseason game so the Euro fans at least get to watch the starters for a while.
 
roy_miami said:
I despise these overseas games. Do this **** in preseason. Having said that both teams suck and are going nowhere fast so meh.
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I understand but really no one was asking for your approval and the games are always sold out over here and we love having meaningful games here and seeing the game grow this side of the pond.. as a fan since SB XVII do you know how much grief I have had to put up with liking this game over 'soccer'.. a game I detest.. I am so thankful for these games and the new fans that have emerged even amongst my friend base .. I am happy to go to every game the NFL put on over here in London for as long as they are able to find clubs willing to come across.

The comments by Satele annoy the hell out of btw.. we are still learing the game.. Miami is one of the better supported franchises in the UK and has had fans since before Marino.. me included.. many many brits have a great knowledge of the game actually.. just cos we dont live in America does not mean we are stupid and uneducated in this game.
 
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