The Dolphins debuted when I was in second grade in Miami. There was immense pride and curiosity. Teachers would talk about games and roster moves. So would Skipper Chuck, every morning on Channel 4 before school.
I'm glad CBS found that clip of Jackie Gleason touting the first Super Bowl telecast. There was nonsense a decade or so ago that the term Super Bowl wasn't used the first two years. Ridiculous. Not every writer and broadcaster accepted the term but it was already applied.
Miami was known for Jackie Gleason in those years. The weekly prime time show and June Taylor dancers. There was no such thing as South Beach, at least not that anybody cared about. We had Hialeah Park in the spring, and sometimes a big name young 3 year old.
Finally we had the Dolphins, and some hope to be eventually acknowledged. It was hardly 26 equal franchise at that point. Not even close. I'm not sure the younger fans grasp that aspect. You would go week after week and never hear a nationally broadcast peep about the Dolphins. The NFL teams were a world apart. Nobody was sure the AFL would survive. Once the merger happened the Dolphins actually mattered. Well, sort of. At that point the pecking order was the original NFL teams, then the two AFL teams that had already vanquished the NFL in Super Bowls -- the Jets and Chiefs. They were held in awe. Then the rest of the AFL teams sort of shuffled in at the back of the pack, hoping not to be eaten from below, like a duckling and a turtle.
It's still amazing how rapidly we became relevant and then dominant. My timing was incredibly fortunate, along with surroundings. Two friends were sons of Dolphin assistant coaches. I learned about the sport just in time to follow the team and appreciate what was going on, how historic it was, and how fragile it was. I saved ticket stubs from 1972, the first year my dad bought season tickets for the family, after we attended several games per season a la carte in earlier years.
I'm convinced it would not have had the same impact if I had been 5 years younger. Not close.
I'm loyal. I became a Milwaukee Bucks fan when they drafted Alcindor. I stayed a Bucks fan a half dozen years later when Alcindor (Jabbar) was shipped to the Lakers. Of course, the Dolphins loyalty had a geographic backdrop. Even though I'm a USC alum I don't root for them quite as passionately as my original home town Canes. That irks some fans on USC forums, where I'm respected but never fully embraced or understood. That's fine. I'm used to that. My sociology professor dad told me from a young age that I was an original thinker and that would prompt people to react in different ways.
I have to concede I'm not as avid a fan these days. Not with the Orange Bowl gone. That remarkable structure was a huge portion of my fascination with the local teams, along with boosting their fortunes. I despise the current stadium under any name or stage of patchwork.
The new logo is pathetic. That subtracts also.
Adjustments don't impress me, particularly when the logic is reversed. There is considerably more likelihood of meaningful variance in a sample of one person compared to one person, than 5 compared to 5, or 10 compared to 10, or 21 compared to 21, or 52 compared to 52. That's where the confidence interval and confidence level come in, with sampling and polling. In this case we are drawing from a valid population -- NFL prospects -- as opposed to sampling Washington, DC residents to decipher voting preference in Utah. The argument here is that our one guy really doesn't differ from those elite players, it's just that he's unfairly anchored because our 5 (offensive linemen) are worlds inferior to the typical 5, and 10 (other offensive players) are worlds inferior to the typical 10, and 21 (other starters) are markedly inferior to typical 21, and 52 (other roster members) not even close to other 52s.
Great. Believe whatever you want. Turn math and probability upside down. It's obviously popular on sites like this, when the dullard adjusters are allowed to roam and thrive while an incredibly gifted and astute poster like Shouright (by any name) is escorted out time and again.
I'll be more of a fan again when the adjustable era is finished. I hope it is not 8 more seasons, per my nightmare.
