Hi guys, My name's Si, im 25 and im from Plymouth in the UK and am an ex member of the Armed forces but am now studying to be a marine engineer. After watching the recent game at Wembley on the tv i decided to make an effort to expand my love for sport and start supporting an NFL team.
So heres my logic for choosing the dolphins. First i printed out a list of all the teams and cut them up to place in a hat. I then picked out a name, the one i had chosen was the New England Patriots. I decided i didnt like that one (no idea why) and put it straight in the bin. I carried on picking and didnt like any of the others either (by now i had picked about 6 or 7 teams :lol: ) all of a sudden i picked out the dolphins, decided i liked my choice and stuck with it, so here i am!!
I have a love for a lot of european sports, especially football (sorry, soccer) and my lifelong team are Preston North End (who admittedly arent great), they play in the second tier of english football. Other fave sports include Formula One, Cricket, British Touring Cars, World Rally, DTM, MotoGP and now thanks to my will to expand, NFL.
Now, I know NOTHING about NFL AT ALL! That includes players, rules, gameplay, previous winners (of anything) etc etc... But im ready and willing to learn, hopefully with the help of you guys. So if you'll accept me, id like to join the ranks of dolphins fans.
Cheers for reading and see ya in the forums!
chocky
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chocky, i think this is so cool. shows that the nfl having games in london are helping expand the fan base.......football is a great sport.....you will love the competition and intensity. the hard hitting is awesome too.
welcome to the site, you are totally welcomed here, and if you have any specific questions......dont hesitate to ask....chockyUK likes this. -
You definitely picked the right team and the right forum to post. First off, there is a pretty good history with this organization (1 being that it's the only team in history to go undefeated and winning the Super Bowl) and the posters on this site are spot on with their analyses, predictions, and overall have a well-informed knowledge of the sport.
There are plenty of other posters from the UK that visit this very board on a daily basis, and this place couldn't be more welcoming to those from across the pond. One of the more knowledgeable and well-revered posters on this board is Boomer from London.
Don't be afraid to ask anything at all about the sport as we are conditioned here to respect all posters from this team and those of other teams of the NFL. Even if you think it may be a stupid question, there are no stupid questions. Again you found the right spot and cheers for signing up. Once you get a good grip on the NFL and Dolphins in general, you'll see that it's an awesome sport and a great team to be a fan of (who wouldn't want to holiday in Miami? ;)).
Welcome to the site, sit here and relax and I'm sure the knowledge will come quick to ya and you'll be a well-informed poster in not too long from now. Cheers!chockyUK, TiP54, dolfan7171 and 2 others like this. -
great team choice :lol:
we can teach you a lot of this I'm sure.
I'll post more in depth after the eagles/cowboys game.
halftime edit:
my short ethical guide to loving dolphins football.
1) immediate hatred of the Buffalo Bills, New York Jets, and New England Patriots. They are all in our division (which is the American Football Conference East - or AFCE). Division wins are important.
2) in a playoff race the following teams must be hated. Pittsburgh Steelers, Baltimore Ravens, Cleveland Browns, Cincinnati Bengals, Tennessee Titans, Jacksonville Jaguars, Indianapolis Colts, Houston Texans, Denver Broncos, San Diego Chargers, Kansas City Chiefs, Oakland Raiders. They are all in our conference (American Football Conference - or AFC). Conference wins / losses are important come playoff time.
3) Wes Welker is benedict arnold.
4) the term "talk is cheap it's a sweep" refers to the 2009 meetings between us and the New York Jets. . . and will probably be applicable to us and the Bills, but we'll see about that.felly smarts, chockyUK, unluckyluciano and 1 other person like this. -
Might I add to anlgp's post that hatred of the Tennessee Titans should be mandatory no matter what. :lol:
Anyway welcome to the site and the Miami Dolphins' fanbase.
If you have any questions feel free to PM me. :up:chockyUK likes this. -
chockyUK, unluckyluciano and TiP54 like this.
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We have lots of soccer fans on this board, as you can see I'm an Arsenal fan!
I have heard of Preston North End through the FA Cup. :hi5:
We have a soccer thread if you want to discuss England and other teams:
http://forums.thephins.com/showthread.php?t=5774
Cheers!chockyUK likes this. -
Thanks for the welcome and tips all. Feel right at home already! I would say im looking forward to watching the dolphins on TV but i cant find where its televised in the UK apart from the odd one here and there, the next one i can watch is against the patriots in december (6th i think) so for now ill have to do with the nfl app ive got on my phone :lol:
@hammerbillsfan: Arsenal fan! such a shame, another fan wasted!! :lol: jokes! If i remember rightly, arsenal played preston in the FA cup cup in 1999 which preston were leading at half time and were pretty much destroying the arsenal defence... then came the second half and it was vice versa :lol: , anyway thats for a different forum!
Again thanks for the welcome guys, im currently trying to learn the most complicated rulebook i have ever come across :cry: but if it helps me understand this great sport then its worth it!
Im off to bed now after watching the cowboys/eagles match (started at 1am in UK and finished at 5am so im rather tired!!). Hope to see you all in the forums pretty soon with my stoopid queries!!
Much love!
chocky :knucks:TiP54, dolfan7171 and hammerbillsfan like this. -
Welcome chocky! You chose the best team for sure! anlgp pretty much summed up the compulsary stuff.
If you have sky sports check it out every sunday as we get two live games from 6pm and then the late Sunday game on Five - unfortunately this is the worse coverage we've ever had of the sport but thanks to the internet theres plenty of places to watch the phins every week.
Shame about PNE at the weekend but head to the other sports forum > world soccer thread if you fancy talking soccer.
This is a great site and as everyone else has said don't hesitate to ask if you have any questions. -
You definitely picked the right team and Dolphins forum that's for sure. Trust me when you learn all the rules and things about the NFL it is worth it. When I was younger I remember watching Dolphins games and learning all the penalties and rules of football and it seemed complicated when I was a kid but it helped turn me into the Dolphin fan I am today. I love to watch football every Sunday especially the Dolphins.
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Welcome Chocky! If you had an almost unnatural hate towards the Patriots when you selected them, then it only goes to figure you were bound to be a Miami fan. :)
There's a number of intelligent posters on the board, but don't feel intimidated or be afraid to ask questions - we're a family and will help you learn about the sport any way we can.
Welcome again.chockyUK likes this. -
Welcome! There are several other UK Fin fans that are members of the site. In fact, we have fans from around the world who are members here. You will fit right in so make yourself at home and enjoy being a fan of the classiest and one of the most storied franchises in the NFL.
chockyUK likes this. -
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Welcome to the family. Three months here you'll love the Phins more than you love your neighbor's wife!
chockyUK likes this. -
Welcome!
You will enjoy this.
Just like yourself, i became curious in football (or american football as you guys call it on europe) Difference being that I moved to states and it was everywhere. It looks complicated, but it really isn't. My best advice to you would be to record one game. Any game. And watch it from very beginning to the very end with with a rulebook. So when something happens that you don't completely understand, look it up, google it, ask us. Whatever. Doing that once or twice will realyl slow things down for ya. My grilfriend had no understanding of the sport what so ever until she started going out with me. After roughlt two years, she understand the game COMPLETELY. 100%. She even watches it on her own, and then corrects me when i mess up!
lol
What does that tell ya?
You will enjoy the game and you will enjoy the site.
Guarantee it.chockyUK likes this. -
You have chosen the best football team EVER.
You will find the guys in here are great. their helpful and knowledgeable about the team and the game. They never cease to amaze me.
So sit back and enjoy the antics of thephins.com. Again you have made the right choice. This IS the place to be if your a Dolphin fan. :up:chockyUK likes this. -
You are hopping on at just the right time. We are getting ready to win alot of games and some championships in thenear future. Young squad with great management.
First of all...we are a Team with a very rich tradition.
A few numbers to remember:
1966 - Year of the founding
17-0 - Undefeated record of the 1972 Team
9 - Hall Of Fame players
22 - Playoff Appearances
13 - Division Championships
5 - AFC Championships
2 - Super Bowl Championships -
the fact you put down the patriots and chose another team, shows your destiny has been chosen.
just remember a couple of things:
1) ronnie brown is awesome.
2) marino is God.
3) stay out of the lounge area of the forum the people there are the bottom of the barrel scum. :shifty:
oh yeah and welcome.....opfinistic and chockyUK like this. -
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Well thats given a warm fuzzy feeling inside :lol: im a member of many many forums around the world, including one that i own myself, but i have never come across one where members get a personal message and offerings of help etc from mentors. I already had a great feeling about this site thanks to the welcome posts, but now its gone beyond that. it truly does feel lke feel ive just inherited a load of brothers and sisters!
Thanks for making me feel welcome. I hope to be a member on this site for a long time and am especially looking forward to learning about this seemingly great sport.
Thanks again
Si :knucks:steveincolorado, TiP54 and cnc66 like this. -
steveincolorado and cnc66 like this.
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before i make a fool of myself, which forum would be best to post questions about rules? i have a couple of queries that im just not understanding at all, Thanks in advance.
Si -
Suggestions and Questions
Or, you can pm a mentor if you wish to be private, or just post it here in "your" welcome thread whilst you have everyones attention. :hi5:chockyUK likes this. -
Thanks mate, slight misunderstanding though, i shouldve written it properly, i meant where do i ask about rules of the sport, if there is such a place?!
Si -
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I would recommend recording a game, preferebly a Dolphins game, seeing that its your favorite team now ;D but record a game, and watch it. When a big play happens, or just something that you aren't aware of, replay it.
if there is a falg, and you don't understand, pause it and look it up.
If you do that every week for rest of the season, you will pretty much will have a grip on the basic rules.chockyUK likes this. -
Basic things to know to get you started:
- Just like most sports, in football you must defend your goal, as well as try to advance to your opponents goal.
- If the team with the ball doesn't move forward by at least 10 yards in 4 tries, they lose possession of the ball. This is why they punt the ball to the other end of the field on the 4th try.
- If a team successfully moves the ball into the other team's goal, its a touchdown (6 points).
- If a team kicks the ball through the goal posts, its a field goal (3 points).
- After a touchdown, the team must attempt another play. If they decide to try for another "touchdown", it's 2 points. If they attempt a field goal, it's 1 point. They only get one attempt.
- Passing the ball forward is only allowed once per play, and it can only be done from behind the point where the ball started.
- If a team is tackled in their own goal while possessing the ball, it's called a safety, and the other team gets 2 points and possession of the ball.
- Winning is very difficult, and if a team has secured victory, they can kneel the ball to run out the clock in the final 2 minutes. This is not considered poor sportsmanship.
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I did indeed, thanks for that. Ive just earmarked the patriots game in december to record, thats the next i get on tv over here until i sibscribe to sky sports. I am however going to record this weekends patriots/colts game (i feel dirty :lol: ) and see if i can get anything from that. I wouldnt mind being able to watch the dolphins/patriots game and understand most of it, but i think ill have my work cut out!
Cheers mate :up:opfinistic likes this. -
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Is a football saying, which means that there are no "gimmies" in the league. Any given team can win any given sunday.
Lots of examples.
Two years ago patriots win their first 18 games (all regular season games, their playoff games and only game left was the Superbowl, championship game) They set records that year left and right. The only team that has ever went undefeated was the 1972....Dolphins. Us :) So it looked like the team they played, Giants had no chance. Sure enough, Giants pull of an upset and win. Another perfect example was in 2004. It was late in the season, Dolphins were 2-11, closing out one of the most horryfying seasons in Dolphins history. On other hand, Patriots were 12-1, with their only loss being to another powerhouse team which they defeated in the playoffs on their way to the superbowl victory. Game was on monday night (which means teh whole country got to see it) The 2-11 Dolphins beat the allmighty Patriots, showing a perfect example of the "Any given sunday". The game was played on monday, but thats just a minor detail :PchockyUK likes this. -
Chocky any member like our friend Alen1 here who you see that has the badge "Scout" in their signature means they 100% absolutely know their stuff when it comes to the sport of football.
I'd like to think that the majority of us are well educated on the sport, but these posters have been acknowledged by the lot of us for their knowledge.
They know specific in depth things like how to know different defensive schemes and how offenses match up against other teams defenses as well as individual position responsibility on a given play..
In particular besides the Aforementioned Alen1 there is Vengeful Odin (VO), Boomer, CK, Gish, Conuficus (Con).. anyone you see writing articles on the front page of http://www.thephins.com ..
every week there is an article posted called "Keys To The Game" and it informs you of who we're facing and what it is we have to do to be able to win the game. This week it is located here
http://www.thephins.com/2009/11/13/keys-to-the-game-tampa-bay-at-miami/
The next best thing I can recommend you do besides recording a game is to learn your positions and what their responsibilities are on the field.
offense
Quarterback (QB - Chad Henne), Halfback (HB Ronnie Brown/Ricky Williams), Fullback (FB Lou Polite), Wide Receiver (WR Ted Ginn, Jr., Greg Camarillo, Brian Hartline, Patrick Turner, Davone Bess), Tight End (TE Anthony Fasano), Left/Right Tackle (LT Jake Long /RT Vernon Carey), Left/Right Guard (LG Justin Smiley / RG Donald Thomas), Center (C Jake Grove).
defense
Left/Right Defensive End (LDE or LE Kendall Langford, RDE or RE Randy Starks), Defensive Tackle (DT or NT Jason Ferguson/Paul Soliai), Left/Right Outside Linebacker (LOLB Jason Taylor / ROLB Joey Porter), Middle / Inside Linebacker (MLB , ILB Channing Crowder, Akin Ayodele), Left/Right Cornerback (LCB Vontae Davis / Sean Smith), Free Safety (FS Gibril Wilson), Strong Safety (SS Yeremiah Bell).
it might seem like a lot but watch a game you'll hear them called consistently.
edit:
i'd also learn our starters.chockyUK likes this. -
chockyUK likes this.
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Hey guys, thanks for the extra tips. Ive not been on in a while, im recording games all over the place so i can watch them, learn who people are and see what the hell is going on :D . Ill be bk for sure pretty soon after ive watched a few more games. One thing ive established so far is chad heene and ricky williams have oodles of talent, im enjoying watching them.
We dont celebrate it over here but Happy Thanksgiving to you guys. Hope you enjoy the plethora of football over there for today!!
Much love and see yall soon.
Si
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