That's great. But I gotta feel bad for the kid. You're signing him up for a lifetime of sports suffering.

 

Where's Sick, this is how it should of been done brother..lol

 

On a serious note, in my best rocky 3 ivan Drajic voice, " I will break you"

He's going to break someone this year is my prediction, one of the afc east qbs cause we play them twice and that's better odds of someone getting broken..lol

Dude blacks out I'm tellin ya, it's not his fault..

 

cool Dude. Kids cute. Mine are getting older now. Mine were the same way. Still are to a point except my 11 yr old has begun playing football. Biggest linemen out on the field 5'6 and 160 lbs in 5th grade - well now 6th grade. I have seen 1 or 2 kids bigger, but it is rare. Cole has become a big fan of Cam Wake. Last year though he told me he was thinking about changing his favorite team to the Seahawks. When I asked him why he said, "because there colors are Cool, and they win ---- a lot" When i asked him about the phins he responded " well if they won more I would like them more." Lets hope this year is that year. Bummed me out - - - till this day.

 

Said every Dolfan for the past decade.

 

It is a good roster on the outside looking in and I applaud the effort. We could have done more. Management went all in given the circumstances.

There are still many holes, especially the OL, unproven receivers and what could be the ultimate fail - Joe Philbin is still the head coach

Everything now in place was put in place at the direction of other's Ross brought in to make it happen FOR Philbin.

We have now lead the horse to water -- ???? is will he drink

 

That is awesome.:lol:

 

I have been a fan since 66 and I like the talent that has been brought in the last few years and I think finally, the coaches will put the starting five OLineman(minus Albert until healthy) out there from the start of training camp and I think the OLine will be FINE. We have invested for years on the OLine and we have 3 first rounders and 2 third rounders to battle it out for us..plus Jamil will get a chance to win a job..this team looks really good and guess what? I will be positive again this year. It amazes me that every year fans are freaking negative, before training camp even starts. Fins up.

 

defense mechanism, so used to getting beat down by loosing season after losing season that you dont get yourself hyped like you used to. Man I can remember some of the most disappointing times ever were the Marino years and for me the Pennington year. I think is was 2008 or 09

Doesnt mean the love isnt there just means it becomes a "yea show me" thing

The belief that the prize was the super-bowl left when Jimmy left. Ever since it has been reduced to making the playoffs

 

This

 

I think the yeah show me thing attitude is really hard to stick to, you have a team that has had more turnover on a per snap basis then any other in the whole damn league, we've added some great players got rid of some luggage, and have a new dynamic in the venue, if you choose to bring that type of fan mentality/energy you will sit on your *** waiting for something to happen, instead of doing your part to give your team energy and support so that they have a better chance of succeeded and performing at a higher level..

what atmosphere do you think a pro athlete can excel at, fans sitting on their *** with your mentality, or fans who wipe the slate clean every year and are foaming at the mouth for success?

you should be as hungry as this team should..a team with this kind of turnover does not care about your feelings, they want you to be screaming your *** off supporting them so they have a sense of loyalty from their fanbase therefore making them play for something besides themselves.

 

this my *** mister.

 

Yes 2 socks,believe me, I understand but things are starting to look much brighter. For years I knew we were stuck in limbo but we are becomig a very solid team. That's where my optimism is coming from..we are getting oh so close, and this could be the year we break through.

 

For me, I just don't understand not getting hyped up. If there's no joy in it AND no hope, then why stick around? Just find something else to enjoy that will bring you happiness. Life is too short to stay in any relationship that makes you miserable, whether its a love relationship or friend one or even a sports team.

I legitimately don't understand why people bother if they are so miserable. I mean none of it is important and completely voluntary. Its just a game after all.

 

I think people bother because to them it is important.

At the extreme, there are people who value their sports team over friends and relationships (or at least these are contingent on there being no conflict over the team they root for). Not saying most are like that.. just answering your question.

 

Yes, I understand the fan that is miserable exists. I'm addressing those people after all. I understand that they do it because they feel its important.

What I don't understand is why they choose to be miserable. Why is it that important to them if they are miserable?

 

their poopie heads.

 

Can't speak for them, but anyone who voluntarily tries to do something that is so difficult they will have to struggle mightily to do it for a potentially greater reward later on is choosing a path of misery. Lots of important discoveries/inventions/businesses were made that way. Some people choose the easy way out, others choose to struggle for a potential reward they'd otherwise not get.

I know.. we're talking about fans of a sports team here, but if you start with the premise the team is that important to them, then there are many examples of people choosing the tougher path than the easier one. I'll tell you this.. while I see the Dolphins as just a sports team and in that sense isn't that important, I'll stick with them no matter how much misery they cause me :wink2:

 

Not the same thing.

This isn't about difficulty, this is about flat out being so miserable that you refuse to let yourself have hope for a positive outcome. People are saying they refuse to be optimistic or get excited. This isn't climbing a mountain, this is rooting for a team. Not too mention, none of the fans on here that are in the group I'm talking about chose this team BECAUSE they weren't winning a lot.

This is about what I call the "stubbornity of tradition" (yes, I'm aware "stubbornity" is not a word) and it has nothing to do with overcoming adversity.

 

Maybe it helps to switch to a case where maybe both of us are (certainly I am) in the group you speak of. In the Olympics, I root for the US (with a few exceptions where I like a particular athlete). In certain sports however, I have NO hope of the US winning because that's just being realistic. Yet I'll still watch the competition and root for the team only to lament how we continue not to be good enough to win.

You sure you don't have similar experiences?

So why do we do that? Yeah, I think sticking with your team (country) through adversity is a big reason. The adversity in question isn't personal adversity.. it's adversity for the team (which as a fan you feel you are a part of).

 

This has nothing to do with it. It's not the same and not analogous.

You are not rooting for America BECAUSE they are underdogs. Nor do you refuse to have hope and lament about it in public forum every chance you get.

I feel like you're arguing to argue. If you are, I don't operate that way, and therefore don't appreciate it. I argue a lot but always because I genuinely feel the stance I'm taking. If you're not doing that, then so be it.

Other than that, no I don't root for anything thT makes me miserable, not even family members.

 

Excellent. You are giving that kid a gift that will keep on giving throughout the rest of his life. It will also give him great memories of you. Nothing sadder than a person without sports fanaticism, or happier than a person whose team has gone all the way.

 

I thought I addressed the issue quite well. None of the people you speak of root for the team because they are underdogs. They simply continue to root for it even when they are underdogs, even if that makes them miserable. Like I said, I do that when rooting for this country in the Olympics sometimes.

 

Cute kid and great parenting. I was watching a phin's game with my infant son when he utter his first words "bad pass". Of course that was 15 years ago during the Jay Fiedler years and in all likelihood he just mumble baba or something like that but my wife and I swear it sounded like "bad pass" and it was right on cue.

 

Its just not the same thing. The US in the Olympics is a team overall across all the sports (and then are in the top every OGames). Sucking at one sport in the OGames is more analogous to the Dolphins being in the Top 4 every year but not being very good at punt returns. Its meaningless to what I'm talking about and draws no useful parallels.

It is as I said earlier, they are beholden to the team for nothing more than tradition. The joy no longer exists for them, so they should just find something else.

 

Joy does exist it is just minimal. Why do you want these "people" to find something else?? Is this so the fantasy land that has been created can be kept. These people you talk about love their team deeply and would never root for anyone else. They are so conditioned to disappointment that they have become accustomed to it. They don't get hyped like they used to because it just leads to depressing results. Take the Dolphins for example. They have not won the super-bowl for 43 years. So 43 years of loosing. Have they won games? sure, but the object is not to only win 9 or 10 regular season games. The object is to win the superbowl.

The loosing is tradition. It is sad to sit here and type that. Sad in the fact that people on this board and elsewhere can only keep their optimism by changing the rules. Now it is acceptable as long as we make the playoffs. This is the new "acceptable" level of achievement. I think the "people" you refer to have kept it real. Anything short of super-bowl is met with controlled excitement so that they don't put a gun to their head. For the same reason y'all have changed the rules so you can one up the other's by "staying positive". Somehow magically you've become the better fan because your positive.

Nonsense

 

It's certainly not meaningless to what you're talking about. You want to stick to a single sport where this occurs? Fine, try national team soccer (biggest sport in the world) and what rabid fans think of their teams. Sometimes you get unbridled optimism (way beyond realistic) and other times you just hear this massive chorus of criticism and despondent attitudes towards the team. Most fans in misery for longer periods and they still stick with the team.

I disagree that people should just quit rooting for a team if it causes them misery. My whole point here is that you feel you are part of something else, and you're willing to stick through things thick or thin.

Rooting for the Dolphins in the past decade has caused me more pain than happiness I think (I'd be surprised if that wasn't the case for many others given how the team has disappointed), but I don't see why I should dump them because of that. Of course I have a great deal of optimism for this upcoming season (while some don't), but that was not the case for many seasons prior. We just disagree on this issue, which is fine.

 

its not acceptable to just make the playoffs, every end has a new beginning, so lets start there, when there is regime change, that brings different talent to the process, you have to give that change a chance to succeed on even playing ground, so when each change has been given its fair opportunity and they come up short, then fire and change until you get it right, I truly do not understand folks who threaten to leave because of what has happened over the past 10, 20, 30 years, it make 0 logical sense, theres nothing you can do but hope that the people you do hire are the right people..Now my hope lyes in Hickey being a good evaluator of young talent and Tbaum with the cache to lure special personalities, those dynamics deserve a chance to succeed..I think folks who live in the past about a game that is constantly changing in personell on and off the field, seems to me that that person has the problem..

im excited as ever, I don't understand how everyone is not as excited, theres fresh blood..fresh blood means change, never know with change..

talking to people who say they're bitter and that affects how they will approach the season..what would you do if you didn't have a team you love, a team to root for, a team to build and change when needed..this site to come to, the action, the bond to the team, the hope to win..

you'd be nonos happy.

 

There is more to the experience of The Dolphins then just winning and loosing. So it is also the experience and the cheerleaders. I am always looking forward to the cheerleaders...lol:up:

The old saying, "it takes More to be #1" The intangibles are what make the difference and sometimes it can be simple stuff. When you see your team struggle through last season because of line problems and then watch them have a decent offseason but fail to adequately address the OL because they blow their load on a defensive player who is outstanding, you just scratch your head and go Huhhhhhh?????? Suh is to early, will we be better? with out a doubt. Superbowl better - not a chance. So why blow the load??? Suh is 2 years to early. You blow your load to appease the fan base. Maybe Suh will still be in his prime. Maybe 2017 it all jells.

I would have addressed the line and added depth at a few other positions. I think that would put us closer to the actual acheiving the prize ---super-bowl.

then Maybe I should just be optimistic, and not say anything???? Either way I am Joe Philbins favorite - One that keeps his mouth shut

 

2 socks, your philosophy on building a champ team is flawed imo..you don't wait when you have a chance to acquire a player like suh..did the patriots sleep on revis when he became available?

we have three good solid players on the line..we can handle two 2nd year players that are in their 2nd year in the system..you don't deny suh on behalf of guards..

Suh elevates the team as a whole..he requires two players to be stopped...its science man.

 

I actually feel like I've matured enough to go beyond just the Dolphins and really enjoy football in general. I mean, the NFL is so national these days that the media gets you pumped up for the Packers-Patriots game almost as much as you were the Dolphins game you've been anxiously awaiting.

I think that as time moves on, future football fans will be more fans of the event, the spectacle and the sport in general and less die-hard in their fanaticism of a single team.

People are getting smarter and smarter in how they see and understand the game thus fans are becoming less emotional and more analytical which is leading to more rational and casual views that celebrate good execution, no matter who it was that did it. I'm actually at the point now where I'd almost rather watch a team that executes their offense or defense well more than I would the Dolphins--IF the Dolphins are playing badly.

Almost. ;)

Folks from the older generation I watch with generally get really tied up in the emotion of the game and practically give themselves a heart attack watching the game. They regularly get to the point where they either turn it off or leave the room.

I will never be like that because I see the game mostly as a balanced of competing forces--a cause and effect thing. I'm not going to get upset if the Dolphins lose if I understand why they lost or how they were outplayed.

If you're one of those people that blames everything on the refs or on bad luck or other teams getting good breaks, I honestly pity you. That's a recipe for extreme emotional torment and I think those are the fans that are truly unhappy and probably should walk away but sadly, cannot.

I know quite a few Dolphins fans like that. It's sad really. They really are affected by the game in a way that modern viewers just cannot fathom.