Wondering How/Why Our Legion Of International Members Became Diehard Fins Fans | Page 3 | FinHeaven - Miami Dolphins Forums

Wondering How/Why Our Legion Of International Members Became Diehard Fins Fans

I'm from Norway and growing up I had zero exposure to American football. No games televised on local channels, no results reported on in newspapers, etc. And this was before the arrival of the internet.

After my parents bought a satellite dish, I one day came across a college football game on a channel called Screensport. It must've been in 1991, I believe, I was 17 years old. I don't remember exactly why but my interest was piqued. I started watching and figuring out the rules on my own. If you know nothing going in, the rules aren't all that intuitive. Until I figured out the down and distance system, I remember wondering why the players and crowd would sometimes celebrate a 2-yard run but be unhappy with a 7-yard run. I especially enjoyed the tactical part of the sport and the way you could score from any position on the field, at any time.

I can clearly remember when I fell in love with the sport. It was watching the 1991 Sugar Bowl between underdogs Notre Dame and favored Florida. I stayed up watching it live but Florida dominated early and took a 15-0 lead. It was the middle of the night and I figured the game was done, so I went to sleep. The next day I watched a recording of the rest of the game and saw Notre Dame completely take over with Jerome Bettis scoring 3 rushing touchdowns in the final quarter, including two long ones behind a dominating offensive line.




That come-from-behind reversal combined with the pageantry of college football (and possibly the commentating team of Michaels, Gifford and Dierdorf) really cemented my feelings about the sport. I've always enjoyed rooting for the underdog.

At this point I was hooked and I was able to find a relative who had a cable channel that televised the Super Bowl live and he recorded the game for me on VHS that year. It wasn't a very competitive game, the Redskins pummeled the Bills, but I loved everything about it. The halftime show is still a favorite.




The following year, every Notre Dame game was televised on either Screensport or Eurosport and I kept cheering for Mirer, Bettis and Brooks. I remember the snow game against Penn State as another brick in the wall that was my growing love for the game.

No channels were televising the NFL, though, but at this point I was so into the game that I settled for listening to Armed Forces radio broadcasts of games on an old AM radio in the basement where the reception was best, along with watching CNN's offering of a weekly half-hour "NFL Preview" show with Ron Meyer and 10-second game hightlights on Monday mornings before going to school. Why did I pick Miami as my favorite team? Dan Marino, simple as that. From the very start, I always loved the vertical passing game, there was something just so beautiful about those long, perfect arcs that hit receivers in full stride 40-50 yards down the field. And no one threw a better ball than Dan.

I do still remember how during that '92 season, the Dolphins and Cowboys emerged as my two favorite teams. However, Dallas went on to win the Super Bowl and that settled things for the underdog-lover in me. Miami was my team.
 
There's a lot of us Dolphins fans out here on the Left Coast too. I grew up in Idaho before the Seahawks existed. I first saw Miami Lose To Dallas in the Superbowl; I too liked their unusual team name and their unique colors. The following year they won the perfect season Superbowl on my 9th birthday! Local TV televised national games so successful teams like Miami, Oakland, Pittsburgh (ewww!), Dallas (ewww!), Denver, and Minnesota were the the teams we watched every week. Now I root for Seattle too, but Miami still is my team. It's nice to have a team like Seattle (New England West) to fall back on during these decades of Dolphins mediocrity.

Kinda sucks tho... Miami plays Seattle once every 4 years. In 2016 they played at Seattle so I went, but they had not come to Seattle since 2004 before that. And now this year they are back in Miami again; that's 3 of the last 4 games in Miami. I don't understand the NFC vs AFC home/away scheduling, but I guess with the Covid Season coming perhaps it's best that they play down there, so maybe I can go to a 2024 game here and Miami could be pretty good!

Anyway there are a lot of Dolphins fans up here and we hearken back to the Glory Days of the Great Shula teams.

RW
 
I'm very impressed - Ozfin. Also impressked that Vaark remembered that's where I originally come from. I grew up in Eden Hills - went to Pulteney and University of Adelaide.
Spike did you start following the Fins back when you were boxing kangaroos over Vegemite sandwiches or when you became a South Floridian?
 
Spike did you start following the Fins back when you were boxing kangaroos over Vegemite sandwiches or when you became a South Floridian?
No, I only became a Dolphin fan when I accepted the opportunity to work in the US and it just so happened that I was based in West Palm Beach. If I had been sent to Colorado, I would have been a Bronco fan. If I had been sent to (god forbid) Green Bay, I would have been a Packers fan. I love sports and my passion is such that if I commit to a team, I commit 100%.
I still have a thick Aussie accent and follow my Australian teams but I no longer box kangaroos, wrestle crocodiles or swim with the sharks, stone-fish and blue-ringed octopi.
 
No, I only became a Dolphin fan when I accepted the opportunity to work in the US and it just so happened that I was based in West Palm Beach. If I had been sent to Colorado, I would have been a Bronco fan. If I had been sent to (god forbid) Green Bay, I would have been a Packers fan. I love sports and my passion is such that if I commit to a team, I commit 100%.
I still have a thick Aussie accent and follow my Australian teams but I no longer box kangaroos, wrestle crocodiles or swim with the sharks, stone-fish and blue-ringed octopi.
Denver 's loss is our gain!

Spike you should come play with us in The Lounge!!
 
Also in the UK, for me it was a number of reasons, watching Dan Marino on Channel 4, loved the kit and loved the thought of living in Miami - who wants to live in cold wet parts of the country - and strangely i always loved Gloria Estefan and Miami Sound Machine in the mid 80s - so essentially anything to do with Miami was cool in my young world.
 
and that includes Canadian, Mexican, Central and South American fans

Why and when did you become a Dolphins fan?

Who is your all time favorite player?

Given the country borders and distances involved, other than FH, how do you keep up with the team?
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I started watching football when I was living on Guam. The Fins were about the only team on during that time, and I took a liking to them just as my interest in football was heating up.
 
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