Being a football fan has evolved dramatically.
In the not so distant past, fans watched the games but, only on Sunday afternoon, and limited stats were what ya got from the Monday newspaper. If ya wanted to go to the game, tickets were plentiful and cheap.
Then there was "The Church Of Monday Night Football." That was "An Event" you just had to see, even if it was only for the halftime highlights. Chris Berman, Howard Cosell, Frank Gifford, and Dandy Don Meridith became Stars. It was SPECIAL. Things they said were repeated a million times. My favorite was a fan, shown on TV, holding up his middle fonger, and Dandy Don saying that he was just saying that Houston was #1. LOL
We moved on, as fans, to Sunday Night Football, and Thursday (Not Thanksgiving) Football. We had to become FRAKIN accountants because of salary caps and FA. We got tons of info and stats from ESPN, etc, and had to learn and process all this new info.
Now, we have more info and stats than some scouts and coaches. We can dissect, trisect, every play, and play it back 10 times to be sure we were right. We can look at stats after almost every play. We can refer to QB rating's, as well as how a player does on 3rd and 10 in the 4th quarter to make a point on how a player is playing. We know almost everything.
Oh yeah, and now we have to be lawyers.
All things considered, which era was better as a fan? And which was more fun?
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When Kareem Abdul-Jabbar was a lighting it up for the Dolphins — wait, what?
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There are MANY things I did not include on this post. Did not want to make it a "War And Peace" read. Add in if ya like.
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Without a doubt...the 70's. Not only were The Dolphins a dynasty, but football was...well, football. Not the circus it is now.
Coral Reefer likes this. -
The 70s. Not only did you have great teams (dolphins, steelers, cowboys, raiders) but they had personality (Zonk, Lambert, Stabler, etc) and as has been said the rules were still football back them not the two hand touch crap of today
Ozzy likes this. -
Flip a coin between the 70s with the beloved Dolphins and the hated Raiders (Stabler), Cowboys (Staubach), Colts (Jones), and Vikings (Tarkenton).
Then there were the mid 80s (the early Marino years) in which Dan was "the man" throwing 48 TDs in 84 and 44 TDs in 86. Fun, Fun, Fun! -
The time when they had to work at a car dealership or turn tricks to supplement their income.
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When Miami consistently went to and actually won two Super Bowls. Even though I was 10 it was the reason I fell in love with the game of football and flipper....
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Dandy Don, Gifford and Cosell came along long before Berman. IMO, he doesn't belong in the same breath. Those 3 were pioneers and Berman was a media creation. He was ok in his early years, but soon got too full of himself IMO.Ozzy likes this.
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Football was always a business.
I’m going to say the post-1978 era is my favorite as a football fan, not necessarily as a Dolphins fan. We’re living in the golden age of the Super Bowl. -
Not to the players/// -
Kinda strange that fans, so far, liked the era when we all knew a great deal less than we now know.
I can recall MONSTER debates, as a kid. I liked one player on D, and my friend liked another. We argued for a while until I said did you see the tackle my guy made on Sunday? Your guy never made one so good. He agreed, and the "debate" was over. LOL!!! -
They were GREAT times for fans. I remember looking forward to many match ups, aside from my Phins, where I could not wait to see the games. Oak/KC, Oak/Pitt, Dallas vs Wash, SF, etc. I hated the Cowboys.
Now, there is not the same animosity between teams, and rivalries have greatly diminished. JMO. -
The 70s and the Marino years when the Dolphins were well respected and it made all of us feel good. The 72 undefeated season is still a great cause for pride even these many years later and the goal all NFL teams try to attain. Don Shula is a legendary coach and he will be forever linked to the Miami Dolphins and what he accomplished here and what he gave to us.