I think that article is 100% genuine BS and it represents everything I hate about sports fans. The Dolphins played 40+ years with only four losing seasons. Just like the fanboys in New England, it's very easy to say, "That's my team and they're the best!" That does not make you a fan though...not even close.

To be a fan of the Dolphins, you first have to be a fan of football and actually understand the game, the ins and outs, and understand everything that goes into building a winning team. I can't tell you how crazy it makes me feel when someone says, "The Dolphins sucked last week.....but I didn't watch the game." Sorry brother, but you're just not relevant if you can't spend three hours a week tuned into the sport you claim you care about. The same goes for folks who blindly say, "The Dolphins sucked in 2017, so they'll probably suck next year too." Sorry, I'm not handing out participation trophies because you can name three players on the roster.

Plain and simple, a fan roots for his team whether they're winning or losing. And they do so because they love the sport, they love the franchise, and they understand how ridiculously competitive the league is. Want something to be proud of? The Fins beat both teams in last season's Super Bowl.....with a backup QB, a screwed up schedule, and without a home field for almost half the year. A fan takes pride in that, despite the struggles, because they love their team.

This crap that I won't root for "my team" or "watch my team on tv" until they're winning again...that means they were never your team to begin with. To a real fan, the game is about so much more than just the final scoreboard, it's about the journey. the development, the struggles and everything that goes into putting a team on the field. That's what makes the winning so sweet, so special.

And if the Dolphins really are "your team", then show a little bit of pride and stop looking for things to whine about. In your professional career, have you found that whining is the fastest path to success? What if our players and coaches did that instead of actually trying to get better each week? So hate on our team all you want but check all that "poor me" stuff at the door- the Dolphins don't owe you anything and neither does their fan-base.

 

I feel his pain.

 

I watch every week and have been dissapointed for most of the last 18 years.Beating the pats doesn't mean squat unless we beat them in the playoffs if we could actually get there more than twice in the last 10 years.Joe philbin beat them 3 times and what does that mean?
By the way we didn't even play the eagles last year.

 

31 teams are "disappointed" every season, so if you judge us as Super Bowl champs or bust, then you're going to be disappointed 96.8% of the time. That's the odds of any given team winning the Super Bowl...a measly 3.2 percent if all teams are equal. And we know darn well that they're not even close to equal.

Let's say we do win the Super Bowl this year though; then what? Do we have to win it again in 2019 or we're disappointed with the path of the franchise? And what if we win it in 2019, 2020 and 2021? Will we say the franchise absolutely sucks in 2022 if they go 8-8?

That's the problem with that type of utopia mentality...no team is perfect. And when we absolutely destroy our division rivals in prime time with Jay freaking Cutler and you say, "So what...", that just blows my mind. Why even watch if the biggest games are meaningless to you? Doesn't that defeat the entire purpose of being a fan in the first place?

In 2007, our team hit an all-time low with a 1-15 season. We were facing the Ravens in week 15 with absolutely nothing to gain except maybe a shred of pride, while Baltimore needed the game to get into the playoffs. The Fins played horrible for four quarters yet the defense kept it close enough on the scoreboard to still be a game....and we absolutely stole it in overtime. One and fifteen, worst Dolphins team ever, and I couldn't have been more excited in the moment. As a sports fan, that's about the best you can hope for on any given Sunday...you celebrate those wins whenever they come.

 

A few harsh replies here. The article doesn't strike me as whining. The central quote here, it seems to me, is, "I get accused of being too hard on the Dolphins but, if so, it is tough love. I try to give voice to the frustration fans feel because I feel it, too, as the kid who collected the Royal Castle cards and grew up waiting for a new wave of glory days."

He's explaining why he writes what, and how, he writes, and giving a window into his own heart as a lifelong fan.

Perfectly valid and understandable.

I wouldn't put him in the same class as those "fans" who only care about winning. He just hates losing.

For my part, I follow the Dolphins, hope for them to win, get excited when they do, hate it when they lose, but at the end of the day I try to enjoy the games for themselves. Nothing else can be promised, just football.

So the Dolphins might lose but I try to enjoy watching them play, both as a team and the individual players.

I try to practise the art of appreciation.

 

There's no right or wrong way to be a fan of your team. This is bonkers.

 

People have vaunted opinions of their own as to why their favorite team fails. It’s the (insert favorite position or group to criticize)... some of y’all hold on to it and squeeze it to death like a baby and it’s teddy bear, or beat on it like the proverbial dead horse... on and on the beatings go, such a ponderous exercise. Misery loves company, it’s why we are here and endure the beatings.

 

I happen to have been a fan since 1966 and attended well over 300 Dolphin games prior to moving to Hawaii. So I certainly don’t need you to define what a fan is to me. Yet I also happen to be one of those individuals which thinks that a season is a complete failure unless the Dolphins win a Super Bowl.

The fact that 30 other teams fail each season is irrelevant to me. I don’t care that they failed, I only care that the Dolphins failed. Personally I have no interest in those so called fans who are happy to settle for a few meaningless wins during the regular season against teams who actually made it to the Super Bowl.

The problem with too many Dolphin fans is they have gotten used to mediocre and therefore a win over the Patriots during the regular season somehow equates to success for these individuals. I will continue to be a fan of the Dolphins but I will also view any season they fail to win the SB as nothing but another complete failure on the part of the players, coaches, and the front office.

 

Nobody has any right to tell anyone how to feel about a win or a loss. Mad if they are pessimistic or optimistic. No one on either side of the coin in any of this is any better of a fan than the other guy.

People are programmed to feel different about things in life than other's, how silly is it to truly be upset because someone is not as optimistic as you are.

The pessimists are winning this battle going away the past 30 years, maybe the truth hurts too many people.

 

Wow dude!
No point in arguing with you.You are content with 1 playoff win in 17 years and I want to win a superbowL someday before 1 die.
We are just different type of fans.

 

I never once said I was content- I simply said that the "Super Bowl or Bust" mentality some have is ridiculous. Everybody wants to see Miami win it all, but I'm so sick and tired of some "fans" saying stuff like Miami hasn't been competitive in 20 years.

Guess what, 8-8 is competitive on an elite level. That's about where we've been most years! Splitting our division series most years against the top franchise in football is also competitive..we were one catch away from sweeping the Pats in 2016. Yet all some folks can do is deliver doom and gloom since it's never good enough.

That's certainly your right to do so, but not because you think you've attended 500 games...which would be about 68 years attending all home games...even though we've only been around 61 total seasons. Oops!

 

How about this dude only 4 teams have gone longer with a playoff win than us,bengals,lions,browns and bills!This means we have flat out sucked!
Who cares we beat the pats when they go on to win superbowls while we sit home in jan year after year.Means nothing!
Wow settle for 8-8 elite?You fing kidding? That flat out sucks!Ask the pats fans how they would feel at 8-8.

 

Why do you keep making things up? I never said 8-8 is elite. Please go troll elsewhere.

 

Maybe I misunderstood but your exact quote is Guess what 8-8 is competitive on an elite level.

 

The NFL is made up of elite players and coaches. Winning half your game is definitely competitive.

 

Well if ur happy with that then we are completely polar opposite types of fan but fans never the less

 

I think KeyFin hit on some good points in his initial response. You either are or you aren't a true follower of this team...Any team in sports for that matter. He's saying "Miami Dolphins, win or lose" and I agree with that. Everybody has a reason why they became a fan of this franchise, mine is my father and Dan Marino. Point is, that has stuck with me over the years and I simply have no breaking point when it comes to this team.

As for the competitive aspect, I feel like we'd fit perfectly in the mediocre category based on what I personally have seen of them since 1989. I'm never going to claim to have watched every single solitary Miami Dolphin game ever, but the 90's were exciting with this team despite the heartbreak, and the 2000's have been nearly two decades of mediocrity. While being mediocre sits uncomfortably with me, it's far from a reason to jump ship. I don't care what other franchises have or haven't done, and I don't want to compare. Every team has history, and every fan of every team has a reason why they support that team. Some people are attention seeking douches that jump on the bandwagon so they can wave their winning team in their winning life in everyone's face. Others actually really like Tom Brady, Lebron James, Sidney Crosby, Duke basketball. Pessimism lurks around every corner on the internet about every subject imaginable. Let the debates to rage on. I'll just stay an angry Miami Dolphins fan.

 

I think the article was spot on.

I've been a Dolphins fan my entire life and will be a Dolphins fan until the day I die. I'm typically an optimist when it comes to my favorite team. And win or lose I will always wear my Miami Dolphins garb.

However, I too at times wonder if I will ever see the Dolphins win a Super Bowl. I've seen them play in 2 Super Bowls, but I was 10 and under when that happened and of course they lost. And it's frustrating. And it's sad. And it's just plain ridiculous if you think about how this once proud franchise has become a laughing stock. And they really have. People are laughing at the Dolphins.

 

I honestly think we're very close to being a deep playoff team. Losing RT last season was devastating and I get why people are angry...winning six games sucks. We are going to have a very potent offense though since it seems like all the pieces are falling into place.

 

That is definitely true. When I tell people i'm a Dolphins fan, they usually scoff and make a joke or something. Thing is IDGAF and i've yet to meet a single Pats fan (that lives outside of New England) that knows who Ben Coates, Steve Grogan, Curtis Martin, or Irving Fryar is. Most of them jumped on the bandwagon after Brady got established. I'm coming up on year 30 of following this team, so I too wonder "when, if" they will ever even get back to a SB. Part of me is still waiting on that Dan Marino replacement to show up and stay awhile. Tannehill has been ok, but this season is his swan song with this team if he doesn't get us to the playoffs.

 

Yeah, I was blessed to see the 71, 72 & 73 Superbowls. Stuck on a treadmill of mediocrity since 2001, with the brief glimpses of hope in 08 and 16. I don't see anything to indicate I'll ever see them win another Superbowl.

 

So true about the Patriot fan part. The same thing could have been said about Cowboy and 49ers "fans" in the 1980's and 1990's. So many people jump from bandwagon to bandwagon it's not even funny.

Before 2001 I knew one Patriot fan my entire life and he was living in Florida and was actually my best man in my wedding. His entire family was from Boston. He's a real Pats fan (damn him...lol) However, now every other person I meet is a Pats fan. Such BS.

I will say this, however, if/when the Dolphins ever do win another SB it will be much better for those of us who have stuck by them than those who jump from team to team.

 

Those were before my time. I've been trying to watch every game since 2001. The recent milestones in 08 and 16 give me hope that we can at least stumble into some dumb luck once in a while. Especially the contrast from 07 to 08. Like all fans I hope they win but I am in it for the whole ride. 07 was a ***** of a season and the only game I didn't watch that year was Zach Thomas' last game for Miami, I still regret it even though NE destroyed us. ZT54 was rear ended on the way home that day, missed the rest of the season with neck issues, and was cut by Parcells on arrival. You can probably tell by now he was my favorite player. But I was at the stadium for that overtime victory against Baltimore and the atmosphere walking back to the car, probably my favorite moment at that place. The context sucks but damn was that place electrified once Camarillo caught it. I was already hooked, but since then I have doubled down.

 

live and let live.

 

I was just trying to be honest- fans stand behind their team no matter what. Just go to England to watch their brand of football and start spewing how much your favorite team sucks...you'll probably be running for your life over there. I don't know how to be a casual Miami Dolphins fan though- I'm 100% all-in regardless of what happens each season.

I can see the other side of the fence though- I used to think I was a Miami Heat fan until Dwayne Wade left. The next season I found myself watching more Bulls games, and then more Cleveland games once he headed that way. Now that he's back home I'm temporarily a Heat fan again...and I'm probably done with NBA basketball once he decides to retire.

I brought up D-Wade for a reason- about a dozen years ago he said the smartest thing I've ever heard. It was during an interview in the playoffs and the reporter asked him how he felt about an opponent running his mouth so much. Well, Dwayne looked at the camera and said, "I have no opinion because I don't do negative."

The reporter seemed kind of shocked since it clearly wasn't the gossip she was looking for, so Wade took her silence to elaborate. He said something like, "If you're positive about everything in life, it makes you happy, helps you focus on your goals and have more success. But when you're negative, not only do you waste any possible chance of learning something or getting better, but you also waste your time as well while sacrificing your mood. There is absolutely nothing to gain in life by being negative so I try my best not to do it anymore."

That's sort of been my mantra ever since- focus on the future that you can control, not on the past that's already written in stone. So when I hear folks complaining that their lives are so ruined because Miami didn't win a Super Bowl recently, it's almost comical to me because it makes ZERO sense. Why on Earth would you punish yourself over something you had zero control over to begin with?

It's just not logical- let it go and focus on the future.

 

I don't get this logic. You're not going to meaningfully influence the Dolphins' future chances of winning a SB either. So by this logic we shouldn't focus on the Dolphins in the first place.

 

My only point in regards the the NFL is that it doesn't make sense unless you gain something from it. If watching the games makes you excited, or you get inspired by the play then great...it's a positive thing in your life. But if watching makes you angry, bitter, etc. then it may make more sense to invest your time elsewhere.

That other statement wasn't about the Dolphins as much as it is about you and how it impacts your life. If you get too swept up in the negative to the point where there's no longer personal enjoyment, then it's just as self-destructive as drinking, smoking or any other bad vice.

 

I can agree with that.

btw.. to that D-Wade quote.. for me it's far more important to be accurate than to have a positive attitude. Different ways to succeed so it's fine for people to think differently, but I totally disagree with his viewpoint.

 

You have to keep this all in perspective. It is very difficult to win consistently, over a long period of time in the NFL.

If you look at it, just about every team in the NFL has stretches where they can be bummed about losing.

Think if you are a Browns fan or even a Bengals fan. Yeah they've gone to the playoffs a few times with Dalton, but they didn't win much and then look how long it was before. Nothing special for them. Think if you're Titans fan. Think if you're a Bucs fan. Until, this year, a Jags fan, a Jets fan, a Bills fan, a Chargers fan, a Redskins fan, until this tear, a Vikings fan, look even at a Dallas fan. Dallas is considered one of the more successful franchises, well, how long has it been since they won a SB, 20+ years or something, look at a Colts fan, etc, etc, etc, etc.

It's just very rare for that to happen. It's just the Patsies and really no one else.

It's the moments. There are always good moments and just like in life, you have to savor those good moments.

When our time comes, if we're still alive, it will feel awesome and even if we win a couple of SBs, believe me, if we go a few years after that without many wins, we would be just as bummed then. It's just the nature of the beast. Just enjoy the moments, enjoy the hope, enjoy the mass debauchery and drunken depression after a loss. revel in it. :tt1::beer:

 

Well, he didn't mean it to be ignorant of life around you or anything- he just meant that we're all faced with stuff every single day and it's your perspective that determines how it will effect you.

For instance, if I call you a jerk then maybe you get mad and spend five minutes writing an angry reply, and then when someone else says something ugly you switch off the cpu and storm to bed. But on the way, you realize that the dog chewed up your favorite slippers, your kid left the milk out for the 6th time today and you cant find the darn TV remote. So finally, after a really crappy hour, your wife comes to bed and says she accidentally hit your car in the driveway....and you explode.

Looking back though, it wasn't your wife's attitude, the kid and the milk issues, the dog, or even the remote....it was me that got you focused on negative crap that doesn't matter that set you down that path. And maybe if I hadn't angered you, then you would have remembered to put away your slippers finally so the dog can't get them, have a positive talk with the kid about spoiled milk, etc.

What D Wade was saying is that with every challenge in life, you can take a positive reflection to grow from the experience....or you can get sucked in to taking the low road. It's all perspective and making the choice to not let the world get the best of you.

Anyway, you obviously don't have to agree...I just thought it was pretty darn smart because we all waste so much time in life fretting over dumb things, which ultimately makes us less able to deal with them.

 

Yeah I was disagreeing with specific aspects of what he said. For example:

"But when you're negative, not only do you waste any possible chance of learning something or getting better.."

That I think is demonstrably false. There are lots of successful people that focus on the negatives specifically to learn from mistakes. So if a positive-only approach works for D-Wade that's fine, but what he said doesn't apply in general.

 

Good article. Painful to be reminded. The truth is right there staring us in the face. A very good point the Dolphins management actually thinks Ryan Tannehill can carry this team to a SB. They decided again not to pick a QB. So unless you think Tannehill can get it done the writings already on the wall for this season. Sad to think about already. Sigh
With obviously no backup plan to Tannehill we go where he goes for the for seeable future.

 

I have to disagree with you.
Firstly, you don’t know if the successful people would have been more successful if they had adopted an ‘embrace the positive’ rather than an ‘avoid the negative” policy.

Secondly, all the research on workplace training supports the premise that embracing the positive leads to more successful outcomes. The simple math way of explaining it is that for any task there are a limited number of successful methods, but an infinite number of methods to fail. Where avoiding the negative is a useful tool is as a way to remember and avoid ‘fatal’ errors. However, with ‘recoverable’ errors it is more efficient to teach people how to find the path to success again rather than to teach them to avoid the myriad of paths to failure.

 

What Wade said is demonstrably false. You don’t “waste any possible chance of getting better” by focusing on correcting what you did wrong and not being positive!

I mean.. learning works precisely through correcting mistakes. That’s how it looks like learning mechanisms at the neuronal level works, how behavioral conditioning has been successfully modeled, and also how machine learning works (most of which was inspired by what neuroscience and psychology discovered in the 1960’s and 1970’s).

Furthermore, there’s a whole field in psychology studying behavioral biases, including why many people are overly optimistic or overconfident in their abilities, even when one can demonstrate their views are inaccurate. The reason such phenomena are a mystery to science is precisely because they’re not “rational”. That is, such optimism or overconfidence seems to result in suboptimal decision making.

You can google all that to see for yourself. I’d gladly provide references except that I’m in the Kongwa in Tanzania right now and internet connection is kind of random here lol.. and I don’t have a laptop either making simple things like searching for and linking to websites quite difficult.

 

I get the "positive thoughts" mantra, but that's nothing more than self-soothing or compensating for something else, IMO. I think D-Wade did the professional thing and I doubt he believes that quote. I mean, if I got a B on a test I was mad and angry and negative. That negativity and being angry enabled me to obtain a graduate degree. When I was in Afghanistan I sure as hell didn't walk around like everyone was friendly and positive and such. I was negative 99% of the time. lol...And I'm alive because of that negativity...partly IMO.

 

Being "negative" is absolutely necessary otherwise a team, a organization, or a player would never improve.
Wait...........maybe thats the problem around here?
To much ignoring the obvious to have a feel good environment. Dopamine is powerful ****.
Welp on to year 20 of mediocrity........

 

I think you're taking it the wrong way- if a bad grade drove you to getting a graduate degree, then it definitely wasn't negative thinking. Maybe you pouted for a little while, but then you got your act together and worked even harder. The negative person would say, "Well, I did my best and all I could earn was a B, so I might as well quit now." You were definitely positive, regardless of how much you complained.

There are people who spend their entire lives saying something like, "I really could have been something in life if it wasn't for that <fill in the blank>". That's what I think D-Wade meant with being negative...or at least that's how I took it. You didn't get the girl because of that jerk across the street. You didn't get the promotion because that darn co-worker bad-mouthed you. In those situations, if people would just focus on themselves instead of everyone else then maybe they'll get the girl or the promotion more often.