The Fin Fan Illness... | Page 3 | FinHeaven - Miami Dolphins Forums

The Fin Fan Illness...

47 years doesn't seem so bad. Losing the Orange Bowl was a disaster. From that point forth I assumed I wouldn't see any more championships. Same thing with the Canes two decades later
 
I don’t agree with the notion that we have to wait and see until they have all the right players. If this coaching staff needs a gazillion draft picks in the first three rounds to be successful, this thing is most probably not built for long-term success.

The 49ers just went into MetLife without their starting QB, RB, backup RB, All-Pro TE, All-Pro DE and starting LB and they still beat the **** out of the Giants. Yeah, I know it’s the Giants but still, my point is that other teams somehow win football games without hall of famers at all positions so why should we expect less?
 
All is well...I had a vision last night!

We upset the Seahawks and go 10-6....Tua gets in at some point and leads us into the playoffs!

With my margin of error on my visions it could be 9-7...still last playoff spot!

enjoy the ride!
 
BlueFin said:
All is well...I had a vision last night!

We upset the Seahawks and go 10-6....Tua gets in at some point and leads us into the playoffs!

With my margin of error on my visions it could be 9-7...still last playoff spot!

enjoy the ride!
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Some may call "visions" delusions.

I like the proposed outcome, but i don't see a scenerio, barring a Fitz injury, where we go 9-3, and also have Tua leading us into the playoffs.

If you have to choose, would you rather playoffs, or Tua getting meaningful playing time?
 
marino2duper73 said:
So, I've been observing the fan base on FH for many years, as I take as much of an interest in my fellow Fins fans as I do my team. As the team has progressed and regressed over the past half century, the mentality of a Dolphins fan certainly HASN'T changed. Question success, and confirm disappointment.

This year is no different then any other. What starts in April with pessimism and doubt, then post-draft and into training camp (no matter the Covid), the cautious optimism begins to take shape. Then when the season begins, the "illness" starts to infect the gen pop on FH.

Games not played well trigger the calling for the front office to be imploded, and any progress is met with resistance out of disbelief, or being the "beaten dog" that is our fan base trusts no treats in the dish.

This Dolphins team is on year two of a MASSIVE rebuild. Evey core position is being evaluated. Every specialized roster move is a litmus test of the staff's ability to evaluate talent. Every injury or player incident under a microscope.

The "illness" that has sickened Fins fans for decades is to always expect failure, even if there is progress. To always assume the front office does not know what it's doing, and rightfully so based on the results of past GM, coaching, and player decisions.

However, this mentality that fans have is EXACTLY like a chronic illness. We've learned to live with the symptoms, and the optimism for a cure can be just as easy to dismiss as false senses of security.

Our fan base has never experienced a true rebuild, so it has no idea what it looks like. Would we know what success in a rebuild represents? Do we even understand what progress looks like, when we have only seen regression with multiple coaches, GMs, and players? Self diagnosis of this illness is impossible.

So in year two, with a young and bright HC in Brian Flores and a competent GM in Chris Grier, the trials of the cure for the illness are happening. There will be setbacks, as there are in any "solutions to problems" agendas.

My hope is that the fans that have the "illness" don't continue to ignore the symptoms, as those of us that participate in the trials will be cured in a time sooner than thought possible.

Go Fins!
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Here's how I look at it. I think there are too many people that are too serious fan wise. I know we all are, but the 5 year old walking into Disney world feeling of joy for a persons sports teams is lost by many. There are fans of every team that are callous and hardened from expectations not working out as they like. The more often this happens, the more callous they become. We have fans on this site who, unless every defensive play is a sack or INT and every offensive play is at minimum a first down or a TD, we're going backwards. Negativity is much easier than positivity to some. I say just kick back and enjoy the ride and I'm going into every game thinking we have a chance. If you think about it in a 16 game season, we only get 96 hours of Dolphins football to enjoy. Let's make the most of it.
 
Fans are irrelevant. Fans, and their opinions, don't mean anything. I imagine if you found fans of any team with a losing culture (Cincy, Detroit, Jets, Cleveland), they are similar to Fins fans. Their expectations are low and they have become sarcastic about the possibility of sustained success.

Its never the fans fault. Bad ownership, bad coaching, bad draft decisions, bad FA, bad luck, etc. Bad teams encounter all of those. Just look at the 2017 draft. We picked Charles Harris, Raekwon McMillan, and Cordrea Tankersley with our first three picks.

The Steelers, picking after us in the first two round picked TJ Watt and JJ Smith Schuster. The Saints picked, after us, Ryan Ramczyk, 3rd Round, Alvin Kamara, and 4th round Trey Hendrickson.

Good teams with good cultures scout, draft, and develop players. Bad teams with bad cultures pick players like Harris, McMillan, and Tankersley. And then rebuild.

As a fan, I find the Ownership, FO and Coaching staff contemptible. Since JJ, we have had as HC--Wannstedt, Saban, Cameron, Sparano, Philbin, Gase...and now this guy, Flores. The Steelers have had Tomlin and the Saints have had Payton. Bad teams have bad coaches good teams have good coaches. Year after year after year. Names change (or don't for good teams) but the results are the same. Good teams win, bad teams lose.

Are fans, who've been watching this team decades supposed to be impressed and change their minds because the Fins beat Jacksonville last week? GMAFB. But, fans can be impressed. Beat Seattle and win the week after and many fans will say, "Really? Things are changing?"

Until then, Fans expectations with this team are in the gutter...about where they should be. The team earned it.
 
FinsWinEventually said:
Fans are irrelevant. Fans, and their opinions, don't mean anything. I imagine if you found fans of any team with a losing culture (Cincy, Detroit, Jets, Cleveland), they are similar to Fins fans. Their expectations are low and they have become sarcastic about the possibility of sustained success.

Its never the fans fault. Bad ownership, bad coaching, bad draft decisions, bad FA, bad luck, etc. Bad teams encounter all of those. Just look at the 2017 draft. We picked Charles Harris, Raekwon McMillan, and Cordrea Tankersley with our first three picks.

The Steelers, picking after us in the first two round picked TJ Watt and JJ Smith Schuster. The Saints picked, after us, Ryan Ramczyk, 3rd Round, Alvin Kamara, and 4th round Trey Hendrickson.

Good teams with good cultures scout, draft, and develop players. Bad teams with bad cultures pick players like Harris, McMillan, and Tankersley. And then rebuild.

As a fan, I find the Ownership, FO and Coaching staff contemptible. Since JJ, we have had as HC--Wannstedt, Saban, Cameron, Sparano, Philbin, Gase...and now this guy, Flores. The Steelers have had Tomlin and the Saints have had Payton. Bad teams have bad coaches good teams have good coaches. Year after year after year. Names change (or don't for good teams) but the results are the same. Good teams win, bad teams lose.

Are fans, who've been watching this team decades supposed to be impressed and change their minds because the Fins beat Jacksonville last week? GMAFB. But, fans can be impressed. Beat Seattle and win the week after and many fans will say, "Really? Things are changing?"

Until then, Fans expectations with this team are in the gutter...about where they should be. The team earned it.
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This is the saddest thing I've read today, however I've only been up a few hours so there's still time. All this angst, petulance and condescension from someone desperate of their own irrelevance.
 
Danny said:
It's not an illness. It's called we haven't won a SB in 47 freaking YEARS and we're tired of waiting. People can give us all the "we're rebuilding and it takes time" all the want but fans just want results. Trust me, give us a winner and the FO/HC and team will get their props. Till they show us something different than what we've seen for years and years, expect most fans to feel the same way. This team has let the fan base down time after time. Stop calling out the fans that are sick of waiting for a winner. After all these years of losing the fans have a right to be upset.
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so we should be impatient with Flores, because of Wannstedt?
 
My thoughts for what they are worth(not a lot)
Fans are the only constant about a team, owners, staff, coaches and players come and go. The fans remain often regretting nailing there colours to the mast of a particular team as they watch others getting all the glory and your best realistic hope at the start of a season is the team achieve mediocrity.
Sadly for FinFans we start the season full of hope only to have any thoughts of post season dashed not too long after the season starts, when optimism gives way to realism.
On the rebuild, I have this as year one. Last year was the “let’s see what we’ve got” year. This year is rebuild one, hoping to see an improvement throughout the roster probably be around 8-8 one either side maybe. Next year is my year 2 I expect to be in play off contention, year 3 I want play offs (sadly so will the Patsies and Bills)
 
rent this space said:
so we should be impatient with Flores, because of Wannstedt?
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You can have all the patience you want. All I'm saying is don't blame the fans for being upset after 47 years of not winning a SB and after being so bad this whole century. I'm not blaming Flores for what's happen before.
 
Danny said:
You can have all the patience you want. All I'm saying is don't blame the fans for being upset after 47 years of not winning a SB and after being so bad this whole century. I'm not blaming Flores for what's happen before.
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These other team's successes just happened to occur in the span of time you care about. Miami had an undefeated season, two HOF QB's and years and years of playoff appearances that happened in the span of time other people were able to participate in. It's the circle of life man.

Look at that avatar of the Miami Fan in the message above yours. Some kind lady choose to grace her derrière with the updated Miami Logo. We may not have championship trophies to brag about but we have some things we can appreciate. Maybe some of these angry, impatient fans should stop and appreciate the "little" things in their lives.
 
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marino2duper73 said:
So, I've been observing the fan base on FH for many years, as I take as much of an interest in my fellow Fins fans as I do my team. As the team has progressed and regressed over the past half century, the mentality of a Dolphins fan certainly HASN'T changed. Question success, and confirm disappointment.

This year is no different then any other. What starts in April with pessimism and doubt, then post-draft and into training camp (no matter the Covid), the cautious optimism begins to take shape. Then when the season begins, the "illness" starts to infect the gen pop on FH.

Games not played well trigger the calling for the front office to be imploded, and any progress is met with resistance out of disbelief, or being the "beaten dog" that is our fan base trusts no treats in the dish.

This Dolphins team is on year two of a MASSIVE rebuild. Evey core position is being evaluated. Every specialized roster move is a litmus test of the staff's ability to evaluate talent. Every injury or player incident under a microscope.

The "illness" that has sickened Fins fans for decades is to always expect failure, even if there is progress. To always assume the front office does not know what it's doing, and rightfully so based on the results of past GM, coaching, and player decisions.

However, this mentality that fans have is EXACTLY like a chronic illness. We've learned to live with the symptoms, and the optimism for a cure can be just as easy to dismiss as false senses of security.

Our fan base has never experienced a true rebuild, so it has no idea what it looks like. Would we know what success in a rebuild represents? Do we even understand what progress looks like, when we have only seen regression with multiple coaches, GMs, and players? Self diagnosis of this illness is impossible.

So in year two, with a young and bright HC in Brian Flores and a competent GM in Chris Grier, the trials of the cure for the illness are happening. There will be setbacks, as there are in any "solutions to problems" agendas.

My hope is that the fans that have the "illness" don't continue to ignore the symptoms, as those of us that participate in the trials will be cured in a time sooner than thought possible.

Go Fins!
Click to expand...
Beaten wife syndrome
 
OK, time to get a little personal.

Like many of you, I'm divorced (thankfully, not from this tiny, adorable woman in my avatar). I was first married from 2000-2007 and it was great, until it wasn't. We didn't have kids, so that made the divorce a great deal easier, but it was still incredibly difficult for me. It's like that old saying: "it's always a minor heart attack until it's YOUR heart attack!"

Anyway, the divorce forced me to step back and take a long look at myself. I was 42, in the midst of getting a divorce and having to rebuild my life. I had to look at myself and say where do I need to spend the bulk of my energies? Do I really need to get so emotionally involved in things I have no control over? I was inconsolable after the Sea Of Hands, but then again, I was nine. I was depressed after Earl Campbell ran all over us on Monday Night Football. I can't stand John Riggins. I can't think about Super Bowl XIX and not think about Chuck Studley. And don't even mention the playoff loss to the Chargers in 1994. Now I had to decide: do I want to live the rest of my life like this? I had to wean myself from going from zero to raging every time something doesn't go right with this team. Dolphins go 1-15 in 2007? Hey, I got bigger problems, pal. My best friend and soon-to-be ex-wife just threw me out of our house in a torrent of tears.

Since then, I'm still every bit a fan as I was back when they won their first Super Bowl, but now, I don't allow myself to get so incensed over every defeat or unrealistically euphoric over every win. I know they're not going to go 19-0 every season. I know not every draft pick and free agent is going to be getting fitted for a gold jacket five years after they retire. NO ONE DOES. Like I said, I've been a fan since 1974. I've seen drug cases involving this team when the only drugs I knew about were St. Joseph's aspirins. I've seen this team get swept by the Walt Michaels and the Jets four years in a row. I've seen that chicken-necked Steve Grogan repeatedly beat a Bill Arnsparger defense. I've seen Don Shula have a losing season. I've also seen the Jets go down in a sea of mud in the AFC championship game. I've seen Marino pull off an Academy Award-worthy fake spike. I think I'm finally now seeing the foundation for steady and consistent growth, which will lead to steady and consistent winning.

And I'm loving every unpredictable second of it.

Michael
 
Danny said:
You can have all the patience you want. All I'm saying is don't blame the fans for being upset after 47 years of not winning a SB and after being so bad this whole century. I'm not blaming Flores for what's happen before.
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You can complain all you want, it doesn't mean it happens any faster. In other words, it doesn't matter how long since you've eaten, it still takes 3 hours to cook a roast.
 
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