Your first Dolphins game in person? | Page 4 | FinHeaven - Miami Dolphins Forums

Your first Dolphins game in person?

Adam First said:
I barely remember it, but I was 11 years old or so. It was the 2000 opening day game against the Lions I believe. I recall it being very hot and I was very bored.

The first game I remember pretty vividly was the 2004 home game vs the Jets. I started getting into football heavily that year because I picked up ESPN NFL 2K5 for the PS2 and was running for 300 yards a game with Ricky Williams, and it was my first introduction to this cursed franchise. I've been to at least 1 game a year for most years since 2006.

2006 vs Vikings (W)
2007 vs Raiders (L)
2007 vs Bengals (L)
2008 vs Jets (L)
2008 vs 49ers (W)
2008 vs Ravens AFC Wild Card (L)
2009 vs Colts Monday Night (L)
2009 vs Saints (L)
2010 vs Lions (L)
2011 I don't recall going to a game
2012 vs Titans (L)
2013 I didn't go to a game
2014 vs Chiefs (L)
2014 vs Jets (L)
2015 vs Texans (W) - most fun I've ever had at a Dolphins game
2016 I didn't go to a game
2017 I didn't go to a game
2018 vs Raiders (W) - the picture of Hard Rock Stadium that I use in the game day threads is from that game
2019 vs Washington (L)
2019 @ Buffalo (L) - first road game
2020 vs Chargers (W)
2021 vs Texans (W)

Counting the 2004 Jets game, the Dolphins are 6-13 when I am in attendance. :(
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I wish I had kept a list like this. After a while, it becomes more and more difficult to even remember the games I’ve attended. I’ve tried to get to Miami frequently since my first trip there in 1993 for the game against the Giants. Best game I’ve seen in Miami was the 1995 season opener against the Jets…52-14. That was a great day. Also, got stuck watching Jay Cutler…and Matt Moore…beat the Jets in 2017 (nice comeback led by Matt Moore). Obviously, expected to see Tannehill. I’ve been unfortunate to watch the Bills stomp the Dolphins in Miami on three separate occasions. Ugh.

I’ve also seen the Dolphins play the Patriots in Foxboro three times, against the Eagles in Philly, the Ravens in Baltimore, and the Giants and Jets in the Meadowlands too many times.

I’ve definitely see more losses than wins, sadly.
 
andyahs said:
Very first game attended was in 1972 when the Dolphins played the Patriots.

We won 52-0

Great game and enjoyed the heck out of it.
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I attended that game also. We got season tickets beginning in 1972 and an unexpected bonus was that the row in front of us always had fans of the visiting team. Maybe 6 consecutive seats smack below us. I always looked forward to that because it allowed me to get a feel for each team's fan base.

Those Patriot fans were unlike any others. Six young college aged guys who took off their shirts throughout the game and were having a blast. Dolphins were favored by 17. But they didn't care about that. They yelled from the outset that it would be a massive blowout. Instead they were wagering on how long it would take the Dolphins to score. That was hilarious. My dad and I were loving it. It was like Name That Tune. Each guy would pick a lower number than previous.

The guy with the lowest number went extremely low. I thought it was too much of an overreaction. I said that to my dad. But almost immediately there was a Patriot turnover smack in front of us in the east end. Some type of controversial play. I don't remember the details other than Miami capitalized immediately for a touchdown and the guy with the low number was howling in glee while his buddies were chastising him for getting an undeserved break.

That game was ridiculous. Everything worked. Huge passing plays all day long. Plunkett was getting avalanched by the pass rush and when he did get it off everything looked like it could be intercepted.

The only problem with this game was that it preceded a big matchup at home against Namath the following week. I already had ideas about situational influence, that one outcome could positively or negatively impact the next one. We had such a joy ride against New England I knew darn well it would set up a struggle against the Jets.

And that turned out to be the second most difficult game of the season, behind only the Vikings game in week three. But the Jets game was easily the most tense all season. Not even close. The outcome was always in doubt and Namath scared the bejeebers out of you. The Minnesota game wasn't that way at all. It always looked like a defeat until the final minutes.
 
Awsi Dooger said:
I attended that game also. We got season tickets beginning in 1972 and an unexpected bonus was that the row in front of us always had fans of the visiting team. Maybe 6 consecutive seats smack below us. I always looked forward to that because it allowed me to get a feel for each team's fan base.

Those Patriot fans were unlike any others. Six young college aged guys who took off their shirts throughout the game and were having a blast. Dolphins were favored by 17. But they didn't care about that. They yelled from the outset that it would be a massive blowout. Instead they were wagering on how long it would take the Dolphins to score. That was hilarious. My dad and I were loving it. It was like Name That Tune. Each guy would pick a lower number than previous.

The guy with the lowest number went extremely low. I thought it was too much of an overreaction. I said that to my dad. But almost immediately there was a Patriot turnover smack in front of us in the east end. Some type of controversial play. I don't remember the details other than Miami capitalized immediately for a touchdown and the guy with the low number was howling in glee while his buddies were chastising him for getting an undeserved break.

That game was ridiculous. Everything worked. Huge passing plays all day long. Plunkett was getting avalanched by the pass rush and when he did get it off everything looked like it could be intercepted.

The only problem with this game was that it preceded a big matchup at home against Namath the following week. I already had ideas about situational influence, that one outcome could positively or negatively impact the next one. We had such a joy ride against New England I knew darn well it would set up a struggle against the Jets.

And that turned out to be the second most difficult game of the season, behind only the Vikings game in week three. But the Jets game was easily the most tense all season. Not even close. The outcome was always in doubt and Namath scared the bejeebers out of you. The Minnesota game wasn't that way at all. It always looked like a defeat until the final minutes.
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Wow, great memory about the game. I was 10 years old at the time so details for me are not as good as yours.

I think I remember seeing you there. :-) :)
 
I wish I knew exactly what my first Dolphin game was. I know my first game in the Orange Bowl was 1965...Coral Gables vs Miami High. It was incredibly anticipated all season and 50,000+ fans attended. My parents were Gables alums. I remember sitting in the lower bowl north side roughly 40 yard line and being more interested in the pageantry and activities in the stands than the game itself. My cousins came with us. They were slightly older and running around. I had just turned 6. My parents were trying to keep me at our seats but I wanted to run around with the cousins.

Gables lost. That I remember and everyone seemed surprised. Gables was considered the new powerhouse and Miami High the old guard. Here's a summary:

miami-history.com

Record Crowd Attended High School Football Game in 1965 - Miami History Blog

October 2nd, 2015 Miami High against Coral Gables High was always a big matchup in the 1950s and 60s when it came to high school football. The game played on November 11th, 1965 elevated the rivalry. Coral Gables was ranked...
miami-history.com miami-history.com

My first Dolphins game was probably 1966. We would get the McArthur Dairy promo tickets for $2 and enter through the west end zone. Then you could take the ramps and sit wherever you wanted.

That season at Canes games I was still having trouble paying attention to the games until my dad told me to watch #89 on every play. That sounded ridiculous. I assumed all the players were the same. Then my eyes bulged out almost immediately. I looked at my dad, who was grinning, as in, "See what I mean?"

#89 was Ted Hendricks. He was throwing players around like rag dolls on every play. It was astonishing. Hendricks never bothered with conventional tackles. He'd always stand the guy up and attempt to rip the ball away. So many times he'd get screwed by the official who said forward progress had stopped. That's when I got my first taste of the Orange Bowl crowd. Numbers weren't high at Canes games but decibel level was extreme whenever fan favorite Hendricks made another freakish play.
 
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andyahs said:
Wow, great memory about the game. I was 10 years old at the time so details for me are not as good as yours.

I think I remember seeing you there. :-) :)
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Those memories are easy partially because of those opposing fans in front of us. They defined each game. But the Patriots fans spoiled me. I wanted all opposing fans to be like that. On the opposite end of the spectrum were the St. Louis Cardinals fans. They were fully dressed in their red get ups head to toe. They must have been in their 50s but seemed ancient because they never said a word. Just sat there all night and took their lumps. Huge massacre on Monday Night. That was a couple of weeks after the New England game but it felt like a different century and dimension. Big letdown.
 
September 2,1966. This was the first regular season game in Dolphin history. The Dolphins played the Oakland Raiders and Joe Auer returned the first kickoff in Miami Dolphin history for a TD.
The Dolphins eventually lost the game but that was the date of my first Dolphin game and the beginning of what has turned into me attending more than 400 Dolphin games over the next 50 plus years.
 
Game 1,

Was there when Joe Auer ran back the first play the Dolphins ever had.

Yep an ole gezzier. Finding it funny that Fans now days see a 500+ season as success, and the goal of making a playoff..... (though understanding the hardship of 20+ years of being losers.)

Success will be when team goals are being in the SB and then winning.... But luckily I know what that was like compared to the not only team dysfunction but IMO fan dysfunction as well...
 
Not sure of the exact game, but it was a home game against Buffalo in the early 90's. My grandparents were season ticket holders, and after that they took me to games against AFC east teams every year for the next few years until they had to give up their tickets.
 
MILLERTIME31 said:
Ahhh man...that was my 1st Fins game too! Sat up in the nosebleed section across from the Diamond Vision/Scoreboard. You forgot to mention Gary Anderson jumping over the top for a TD....he got AIIIR and it looked awesome from waaay up there too!
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I thought Gary Anderson was going to be a star. That was an incredible play. We had endzone seats, so he scored in front of us. I wound up going to a lot of games at the 'Murph' the years I lived up in Ventura.
 
Not all the way back to the beginning, but close. Kansas City v Miami at the Orange Bowl, 1968.

Jan Stenerud personally scored 4 times as many points as the Dolphins.

It was a very quiet three hour drive back home.
 
Durango_95 said:
Not all the way back to the beginning, but close. Kansas City v Miami at the Orange Bowl, 1968.

Jan Stenerud personally scored 4 times as many points as the Dolphins.

It was a very quiet three hour drive back home.
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I remember that game very well because of Chuck Zink's disgusted reaction on his Skipper Chuck Popeye Playhouse children's show on Channel 4. I watched the program each morning before school. He always showed Dolphin highlights on Monday morning. He was a positive guy and obviously that's the needed tone on a children's program.

But after that Chiefs game Skipper Chuck was almost fuming. You could sense it in his demeanor and tone. Normally he showed at least a half dozen plays and summarized the game for a minute or more. Not this time. He showed only one clip. The Dolphins opened the scoring with a very short field goal. He showed the play then said, "That's enough of that. Kansas City won 48-3."

Wow, does that remain etched in my memory. I told my dad how Skipper Chuck reacted. Just a week or two ago I thought about the game and went looking for highlights on YouTube. They were there. I mentioned the Skipper Chuck anecdote in the comments.
 
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