Our winner, whose name is Carmen by the way, has granted us permission to post his essay.
I hope you enjoy it as much as we did.
87
------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Why I Root For the Miami Dolphins
I was a 7 year old boy and it was a few days before the Miami Dolphins were going to be playing the San Francisco 49ers in Super Bowl 19. My grandfather was dying of cancer at the time. His time was limited but he never let it get him down. I really never followed the NFL, I was only 7 years old. Yet, my grandfather was the biggest Miami Dolphins fan on the face of the earth. Through the years he loved Kiick, Csonka, and Bob Griese. The one man who he really was a fan of though was Don Shula.
My grandfather loved Shula because he embodied everything he thought a coach should be. Firm but fair and always a man who whether he won or lost did it with class. One thing my grandfather always told me was, "It's alright to lose, as long as you lose with class and give respect to your opponent." He believed this is something Don Shula always did.
At the time we lived in South Florida and it was the day after the Dolphins had just beat the Steelers to advance to the Super Bowl. My grandfather loved seafood and we went to this one little restaurant by the coast that had the best lobster around. It was about 4:45 in the afternoon and the place was almost empty. Then all of a sudden a group of guys walk in. Among that group was Don Shula. It was the Dolphins coaching staff. They went to this back corner and sat around this large round table. My grandfather had his back to the door and the table didn't even notice who had just walked in. I, 7 years old at the time and not a football fan, didn't even know who just walked in. My mother, father, and aunt did though. While they didn't want to disturb Mr.Shula from his business and his meal, they also knew him coming over to my grandfather to say a few words would really boost his spirit.
So, my aunt and mom walked over to the table, told Mr.Shula of my grandfathers condition and asked if he could come over to just say hi and wish him well on his fight with cancer. Don Shula was out of his chair before my aunt and mom could even finish asking. He walked over, patted my grandfather on the back and began talking to him like he had known him for years. It was only a 3-5 minute chat they had but it seemed like it went on forever.
From that day forward I became a fan of the NFL and more importantly a fan of the Miami Dolphins. With people like that at the cornerstone of an organization, how could you ever root against the Dolphins.