Dolfan99
Buffalo, its whats for dinner
Thought i'd share Marino's retirement speech with those who have never read it. It is hard just reading it, can't imagine how hard it was for him to say it.
After 17 years I would like to announce my retirement from the Miami Dolphins. After playing the game of football most of my life, this was an extremely difficult decision. But I know that I had made the right decision for me and my family. I am very proud of the success that we have had as a team for 17 years, as well as all my individual accomplishments. Not many people have an opportunity to spend 17 years of their life doing what they truly love to do. And as I stand here before you today, I can say that I had been blessed with a career greater than I could have ever imagined.
I am extremely proud of the fact that I was able to play 17 years for the Miami Dolphins. And I am going to miss it. I am going to miss the relationships with the players. I am going to miss the fans. I am going to miss the great friends that I have made over this time. I am going to miss all the good times that we have had together. But most of all, I am going to miss Sunday afternoons.
There are not many situations in life that can compare to the emotions, the competition and the preparation that go into a football game. It is a great game. I have been blessed over the years to have a great family and support from them and today they are here. My mother and dad are here. I want to thank them for everything over the years, the support that they have given me, and it is special because through my whole career, ever since I have been a little boy, they have been able to watch every game that I played. There is not many guys that can say that. To my dad, he is the best coach I have ever had. Thank you, both.
To my wife, Claire, we have been through this 16 years together. We have had a lot of ups and downs, but we have accomplished a lot of things. You have always been by my side. You are an incredible mother and you are my best friend. Thanks. We have five fabulous children, Michael, Danno, Joey is just smiling - this is not easy Joe - Ally and Niki. Guys, I was always hopeful that I would play long enough for them to see me play the game that I love, and they were able to do that. I hope that always have fabulous memories of me being a Miami Dolphin. Thanks guys.
There are so many people that I would like to thank, starting with the Robbie family. I want to thank the late Joe Robbie and his son, Tim, for giving me the opportunity to play here and a special thanks to the Huizenga family, Wayne and Marti. You have always been very supportive, and it was an honor to have been a part of your football team, but most importantly, I want to thank you for your friendship.
I am honored that Coach (Don) Shula is here today. Coach, not only have you been a tremendous impact on my carrer, but you have taught me how to be a true professional. I am very proud of the fact that we were able to win more games than any other coach/quarterback combination in the history of football.
I thank all the coaches that I have worked with over the years and all of the great players. To the Dolphins staff, the people who are in the building here that you see each and every day. To our team president, Eddie Jones, thank you. To the guys that work and help the players with what they are doing each and every day: the equipment staff, Tony Egues, Charlie, Joey, guys that are important to the players. A guy that is not here anymore is Bobby Monica, he is a friend. The trainers, guys that take care of me, getting me in shape, try to make me the player that I am: Ryan Vermillion, Troy Maurer, Brad Roll is here and John Gamble, thank you. And the Public Relations staff, Harvey Green has been great, 11 years I have worked with Harvey. Fudge Browne in community relations, thank you, Fudge. There is one person that is kind of unique, our video man, Dave Hack. He is the only person that has seen every touchdown pass that I have ever thrown. I thought that was kind of neat.
I have played with so many different players over the years and thrown touchdown passes to 51 different players, but there were some special players in my career that I would like to acknowledge. When I started out here with the Miami Dolphins, I had a great group of receivers - Mark Duper, Mark Clayton, Nat Moore, Jim Jensen, Jimmy Cefalo, but there will always be a special place in my heart for Duper and Clayton. They caught more touchdown passes than anybody that I have ever played with. As they have always said, they made me look good, they made me a star.
Don Strock, thanks for helping me when I was a young quarterback. Thanks to Dwight Stephenson, who was the most incredible leader on the field. he is a hall of fame player as well as a hall of fame person. Thank you Dwight, and more recently to Richmond Webb, who was on my left side and taken care of me for so many years and to probably the toughest football player I have played with - O.J McDuffie. Thanks to all of you guys, you have made life easy for me.
Some special friends that are here : Marvin Demoff, we have been through a lot this past month. I want to thank Marvin for coming from Los Angeles. Another person, Ralph Stringer, who has helped me a lot in my community work here. I want to thank him. I want to thank the members of the media for covering me throughout my career and supporting a lot of things that I do charitablewise. I have some close friends that have done a lot of work with me, and I appreciate that.
Finally, to the Dolphin fans. It has been an honor to play here in front of great and supportive fans. Together we have shared many memories. I feel that I have always had a special relationship with Dolphin fans everywhere. I thank you for being behind me throughout my career. I hope you have enjoyed these 17 years as much as I have.
I want to thank everybody in the organization, all the players I have ever played with, my family and for the media coming out here today. It has been great. Thank you very much.
After 17 years I would like to announce my retirement from the Miami Dolphins. After playing the game of football most of my life, this was an extremely difficult decision. But I know that I had made the right decision for me and my family. I am very proud of the success that we have had as a team for 17 years, as well as all my individual accomplishments. Not many people have an opportunity to spend 17 years of their life doing what they truly love to do. And as I stand here before you today, I can say that I had been blessed with a career greater than I could have ever imagined.
I am extremely proud of the fact that I was able to play 17 years for the Miami Dolphins. And I am going to miss it. I am going to miss the relationships with the players. I am going to miss the fans. I am going to miss the great friends that I have made over this time. I am going to miss all the good times that we have had together. But most of all, I am going to miss Sunday afternoons.
There are not many situations in life that can compare to the emotions, the competition and the preparation that go into a football game. It is a great game. I have been blessed over the years to have a great family and support from them and today they are here. My mother and dad are here. I want to thank them for everything over the years, the support that they have given me, and it is special because through my whole career, ever since I have been a little boy, they have been able to watch every game that I played. There is not many guys that can say that. To my dad, he is the best coach I have ever had. Thank you, both.
To my wife, Claire, we have been through this 16 years together. We have had a lot of ups and downs, but we have accomplished a lot of things. You have always been by my side. You are an incredible mother and you are my best friend. Thanks. We have five fabulous children, Michael, Danno, Joey is just smiling - this is not easy Joe - Ally and Niki. Guys, I was always hopeful that I would play long enough for them to see me play the game that I love, and they were able to do that. I hope that always have fabulous memories of me being a Miami Dolphin. Thanks guys.
There are so many people that I would like to thank, starting with the Robbie family. I want to thank the late Joe Robbie and his son, Tim, for giving me the opportunity to play here and a special thanks to the Huizenga family, Wayne and Marti. You have always been very supportive, and it was an honor to have been a part of your football team, but most importantly, I want to thank you for your friendship.
I am honored that Coach (Don) Shula is here today. Coach, not only have you been a tremendous impact on my carrer, but you have taught me how to be a true professional. I am very proud of the fact that we were able to win more games than any other coach/quarterback combination in the history of football.
I thank all the coaches that I have worked with over the years and all of the great players. To the Dolphins staff, the people who are in the building here that you see each and every day. To our team president, Eddie Jones, thank you. To the guys that work and help the players with what they are doing each and every day: the equipment staff, Tony Egues, Charlie, Joey, guys that are important to the players. A guy that is not here anymore is Bobby Monica, he is a friend. The trainers, guys that take care of me, getting me in shape, try to make me the player that I am: Ryan Vermillion, Troy Maurer, Brad Roll is here and John Gamble, thank you. And the Public Relations staff, Harvey Green has been great, 11 years I have worked with Harvey. Fudge Browne in community relations, thank you, Fudge. There is one person that is kind of unique, our video man, Dave Hack. He is the only person that has seen every touchdown pass that I have ever thrown. I thought that was kind of neat.
I have played with so many different players over the years and thrown touchdown passes to 51 different players, but there were some special players in my career that I would like to acknowledge. When I started out here with the Miami Dolphins, I had a great group of receivers - Mark Duper, Mark Clayton, Nat Moore, Jim Jensen, Jimmy Cefalo, but there will always be a special place in my heart for Duper and Clayton. They caught more touchdown passes than anybody that I have ever played with. As they have always said, they made me look good, they made me a star.
Don Strock, thanks for helping me when I was a young quarterback. Thanks to Dwight Stephenson, who was the most incredible leader on the field. he is a hall of fame player as well as a hall of fame person. Thank you Dwight, and more recently to Richmond Webb, who was on my left side and taken care of me for so many years and to probably the toughest football player I have played with - O.J McDuffie. Thanks to all of you guys, you have made life easy for me.
Some special friends that are here : Marvin Demoff, we have been through a lot this past month. I want to thank Marvin for coming from Los Angeles. Another person, Ralph Stringer, who has helped me a lot in my community work here. I want to thank him. I want to thank the members of the media for covering me throughout my career and supporting a lot of things that I do charitablewise. I have some close friends that have done a lot of work with me, and I appreciate that.
Finally, to the Dolphin fans. It has been an honor to play here in front of great and supportive fans. Together we have shared many memories. I feel that I have always had a special relationship with Dolphin fans everywhere. I thank you for being behind me throughout my career. I hope you have enjoyed these 17 years as much as I have.
I want to thank everybody in the organization, all the players I have ever played with, my family and for the media coming out here today. It has been great. Thank you very much.
