Miami Dolphins Take Backseat to Heat and Marlins
by Kevin Nogle on Dec 8, 2011 10:37 AM EST
in 2012 Miami Dolphins News
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PrintSomehow, despite the night life, the beaches, and the sun, Miami is turning into a sports town again. Headlines everywhere, from local newspapers to national media such as ESPN and Fox Sports, have Miami news non-stop right now. But, it's not Miami Dolphins. It's Miami Marlins. It's Miami Heat. It's Miami Hurricanes. It's even Florida Panthers. Meanwhile, the story on the Dolphins continues to get bumped lower and lower.
How did this happen? Wasn't Miami always the Dolphins' city?
Suddenly, there's the Big Three. There's Ozzie Gullien and the Miami (Fantasy) Marlins. There's the division leading Panthers. There's constant news coming out of "The U" - admittedly, not always positive, but still news.
With the Dolphins, the main coverage is 2012. What happened?
The Dolphins are making a splash in the NFL right now. After starting the season on an 0-7 streak, the Dolphins are hot right now. They've won four out of five and three in a row at Sun Life Stadium. They are starting to be noticed throughout the NFL.
But, not in Miami. The Dolphins, on their way to their third straight non-winning season, cannot keep up with LeBron James, Dwayne Wade, and Chris Bosh talk. They cannot break through names like Mark Buehrle, Jose Reyes, and Heath Bell headed to the Marlins or Albert Pujols to SoCal not South Beach.
Winning will bring the fans back - and the Dolphins are starting to do that now. But, they need to make a bigger splash this offseason, if they want to get noticed in the sports mecca that's building in south Florida. Does that mean firing head coach Tony Sparano and bringing in a big name coach? Does that mean the Dolphins must land one of the top quarterback prospects in April's draft? What does it take to put the Dolphins back on top of a city with more sports news than it's ever had before? Can the Dolphins reclaim a town they once ruled?
In this 24-hours news-cycle world, in a city with more distractions than most, and a sports environment full of other options, the Dolphins must find a way to make themselves relevant again. Or else owner Stephen Ross will continue to buy all the Dolphins' tickets each week.
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Not gonna lie. This Marlins fiasco is going to end up being a huge mistake.
They’ll get folks to the games for the first year based on the new stadium affect. But after that I’m going to be surprised if they can keep the ticket sales at the level required to make payroll for this collection of players. Reyes is always hurt, Buerhle is at the tail end of his career, and Heath Bell isn’t the closer he once was. It’s interesting that the Marlins were able to fleece the public into picking up the bill for a new stadium and I’m anticipating another sign and dump plan that the Marlins have done in the past.
Official Driver of the Draft Andy Dalton Winnebago. In the sidecar of the draft Mark Ingram motorcycle.
by NavajoShamanSchoolAlum on Dec 8, 2011 10:40 AM EST reply actions
But, as long as they win a World Series before they dump
they’ll be fine.
Can’t wait til they move to another city and we’re stuck with a new State-of-the-Art Baseball stadium, funded by the city, that’s only used for concerts.
i am not a baseball fan, but i still dont see them as a better team than the teams with great bullpins.
Isnt is all about the pitching these days?
a wise man once said..."My cats breath smells like cat food"
My love for THE MIAMI DOLPHINS is unconditional...period!
Win for pride, Win for us fans!
Go Dolphins and beat those Eagles!
by Phinphinatic on Dec 8, 2011 10:57 AM EST up reply actions
It is.
"Theyas no fawking qwatahback!"-Anonymous Patriots fan at seeing the Wildcat formation for the first time.
I also support Occupy Joe Robbie
by texascowpunk on Dec 8, 2011 11:49 AM EST up reply actions
It may end up as a mistake, but it could work out quite well too
Other cities, such as SF and Philadelphia, who also shared stadiums with football teams, struggled with attendance and had similar numbers as the Marlins did. In fact, the Giants weren’t far from leaving SF. A new stadium has helped them a lot and it could for the Marlins as well.
Unfortunately, there isn’t a lot of trust in the Marlins’ ownership. Loria is viewed as a historically cheap owner and the news of him pocketing shared revenue and being forced to spend more money on players helped further that view. The SEC investigation won’t help either as Loria may be exposed for campaign contributions in exchanges for stadium funds and also the belief that the Marlins ripped off city officials to pay for the stadium when they had plenty of money themselves.
Loria has a chance to turn it around by fielding a quality club and actually save their players. Part of the reason the Marlins have struggled to build a following is because they’ve always lacked “that player” to create a following. They almost had it with Gary Sheffield, but he left. Edgar Renteria was supposed to be the new face, but he left as well. When Miguel Cabrera and Dontrelle Willis were sure to be the biggest stars in Marlin history, they were dumped for cheaper options. Really, fans were left with Jeff Conine as their favorite. Sorry to Jeff, but he was only an average player. Now they have others such as Josh Johnson and Hanley Ramirez. They have a chance to show there is a change in how the club operates. If they start actually building a team and keep their stars instead of disposing them for cheap youth, they have a shot at succeeding. They don’t even have to win the World Series to gain a backing, but they have to play competitive baseball and hold on to their franchise stars. Otherwise they’ll be back in the same boat, even with a new stadium. The stadium issue was terrible and was a huge factor for the Marlins’ poor showing, but now that the issue has been resolved, Loria is the only obstacle left that could prevent Miami from backing the Marlins.
- Attempting to debate with a person who has abandoned reason is like giving medicine to the dead.
- Defeat isn't bitter if you don't swallow it.
Contributing Writer to the The Phinsider
I saw this coming
the Dolphins need to turn it around fast before they lose fans in this town, particularly the young fans, tomorrow’s fans, who are already more interested in the Heat. The Marlins are being smart and seizing the opportunity to steal some limelight by gaining independence from the struggling Phins and their stadium. and now with the Marlins actually playing in Miami proper, they’ll be more accessible. Dolphins gotta move fast.
by BULLieving in Miami on Dec 8, 2011 10:54 AM EST via iPhone app reply actions
In the offseason
We willhave to make a huge play like you said Mosul. But last time we did that, people still didnt show. After bringing in Marshall and Dansby, people still didnt come. Can you imagine who we could possibly aquire outside of Peyton Manning that would garnish enough attention to get all of those lame ass Miami residents to support their team like all of us, who cant due to distance, would love to.
I almost get season tickets every year just to have them, knowing full well that i will not be able to attend a single game. As a Mental Health Counselor for the homeless, we dont exactly rake in the big bucks. Mix that will living in LA, money is always tight.
Anywho, it seems that winning is what will work more than anything. But even when we made the playoffs going from 1-15 to 11-5 winning 11/13 games to make the playoffs, were residents really that interested? I vaguelly remember the stands being embarrassingly empty for a home payoff game.
All this amounts to, to me, is that Miami doesnt deserve the Dolphins. We have a great fan base and an amazing tradition. This team deserves the Detroit or NY treatment, or how about the NBA’s OK city thunder fans. They are like the cameron crazies of the NBA. We havent had home field advantage in a decade.
So sadly, the reality is to make a big splash, it wil likely have to come in form of a new coaching staff. I am currently on the fence about sparano and would love to see the team win out and save his job, but maybe the city needs a new coach more than the team does.
a wise man once said..."My cats breath smells like cat food"
My love for THE MIAMI DOLPHINS is unconditional...period!
Win for pride, Win for us fans!
Go Dolphins and beat those Eagles!
the valley
woodland hills area. I would say i live in woodland hills, but then no one would have any idea what i am talking about.
a wise man once said..."My cats breath smells like cat food"
My love for THE MIAMI DOLPHINS is unconditional...period!
Win for pride, Win for us fans!
Go Dolphins and beat those Eagles!
I think the other sports stepping up will be great for the Dolphins.
If Miami can turn into a major sports hub like Boston, New York and L.A we will get national attention and players will be dying to come to Miami. We already have great weather and no state income tax you add fame and it’s a dream spot for players.
I think the ultimate answer would have to be winning big games consistantly
and I don’t mean the 4 of the last 5 weeks. I mean being a consistant franchse for several years. Stephen Ross needs to start sooner rather than later to make this happen. By that I don’t even mean get a new coach anymore, I mean do what it takes to build a franchise. I say don’t get a coach just because the fans want it, but getting a 1st round QB and/or Peyton Manning would make the fans happy as well as potentially making this franchise become successful once again. It really is depressing that in all of these home games where we’ve put together a little streak here, the vast majority of the background is a bunch of orange empty seats. I live in Rhode Island so I can’t really gauge the popularity of the Dolphins down there, but it should be much better than what it is.
The Dolphins should be embracing the growth of the other franchises
They are not in danger of losing Miami and having fans convert. It’s hard for fans to convert sports and then suddenly pick up on a team. You think a young Dolphin fan will stop cheering for the Miami Dolphins and support the Florida Panthers because the Fins finished 7-9 and the Panthers are suddenly relevant again? Sure, the Panthers may game some extra attention during that time, but the moment the Dolphins start winning again, that fan and many others will be back in full force. The fans won’t disappear, they’ll always be there, but they may talk about the other franchises more.
Either way, the Dolphins will still be the #1 love for sports teams in Miami and will still be the talk of the town. The other franchises succeeding just puts Miami more in the national spotlight as a sports town. If the Dolphins win games, the fans will always be there. It’s that simple.
- Attempting to debate with a person who has abandoned reason is like giving medicine to the dead.
- Defeat isn't bitter if you don't swallow it.
Contributing Writer to the The Phinsider
Give us one RG3 and a big name coach and watch how fast the media attention turns!
"Theyas no fawking qwatahback!"-Anonymous Patriots fan at seeing the Wildcat formation for the first time.
I also support Occupy Joe Robbie
by texascowpunk on Dec 8, 2011 11:50 AM EST reply actions 1 recs
This is purely a media created story.
Baseball in transition.
Christmas day basketball.
24/7 media has to create or die.
I never got a prize for doing what was expected of me.
We just had basketball FA and baseball FA...
why wouldn’t they be in the news?
The Dolphins are all over the news on Sunday and Monday when they whollop opponents. Turn on ESPN or Fox radio right now… are they talking about other NFL teams? NO! They are talking baseball.
This is really a non-issue.
More of Moore in 2012!
'Phins phor Liphe!
If you build it, they wil....errr
If Miami signs a QB in the off season they’ll get some local chatter. If Ross opts for a bigger name head coach, they’ll be talked about more. But more importantly, late in the season if they’re playing for something…playoffs, the division, seeding…they’ll be talked about.
People always discuss Marino and how Miami seemingly has never fully recovered from him. How about Shula? The guy only endured 2 losing seasons in a storied career. He almost always delivered a good season, and therefore, commanded attention. If you ask me, Miami has never recovered from Shula. He spoiled us Dolfans. Success speaks volumes.
I love how the Towel Throwers and Henne haters are quickly silenced by the smallest modicum of success. Here's a thought: You'll never appreciate the successes unless you believe and support them when they're supposed to be down. I don't care how entitled you feel that you are to your negativity, a person that boos their own team is simply a jerk.
If we make a splash, it will have to be on the defensive side of the ball
Sadly, I dont think there is a good enough QB out there to thoroughly quench the thirst of Miami fans.
Even Peyton there will be some fence riders unless he wins us a Super Bowl. The expectations are just that high, where as we might be willing to give a young QB time before designating him the excuse and not the answer.
On offense, we have Marshall, and now Bush, who is working his way into being a great pickup, whereas in the beginning of the season, there were valid concerns.
On defense, we seem to have the 1 plus 1 equals 1 mindset. Karlos Dansby and Kevin Burnett seem to feed well off of each other, but individually, neither seem to be great solid gamechangers. Again, were talking about the fans perspective. Meaning, no ones really coming out and saying "holy shit we got “this name here” were going to the super bowl baby."
Attendance might have soared if we aqquired a name like Nnamdi, thats just the way it is, because there was more talk about the franchise tag of Soliai than there was about any of our aqquisitions aside from our RT wet noodle, and all that was negative.
The more I keep thinking about this coming draft, the more I think outside of QB, if one isnt there, then we need a Corner to move Sean Smith to Nickel, not another WR, and a RT can be found in the second round, unless you want a mutiny on your hands.
by dolphinfan4lyfe on Dec 8, 2011 3:18 PM EST via mobile reply actions
someone correct me if Im wrong but
The Marlins were paying rent at the Land Shark Stadium.It used to be owned by Huizenga,but I dont know now after he sold the Dolphins.I think that is a huge factor in Loria’s decision to raise the payroll.
2.3 mil a year is nothing given that the team will keep all parking and concessions on top of ticket sales.
"Theyas no fawking qwatahback!"-Anonymous Patriots fan at seeing the Wildcat formation for the first time.
I also support Occupy Joe Robbie
by texascowpunk on Dec 9, 2011 10:36 AM EST up reply actions
i am a mets fan
i will tell u this, reyes is gonna give the marlins 2 years of full health at the most. He always aggravates his hamstring somehow and anytime he does, he is out at least a couple of weeks. Marlins won’t win the division next year. Pitching wins you divisions, sure marlins may score 7 runs a game, but with the very weak bullpen, they are gonna turn into the mets; blowing leads in the late innings and lose. Josh Johnson is the only pitcher Marlins can count on to produce, but how much will he produce after coming off Tommy John surgery, I believe? And same with Buehrle, how will he fare in switching leagues? Will Hanley actually give his full effort after the team acquired Reyes? Alot of questions are still within the Marlins team and organization.
The Marlins bullpen was actually pretty good
The bullpen was ranked 7th and was not their weakness. The offense was the biggest problem as was depth in the starting rotation. Johnson had the surgery in 2010 and played last year after coming back. His injury problems were to the shoulder, not elbow. In case you missed, the Marlins also signed Buehrle, providing them another solid starting pitcher. The Marlins pitching staff could be good if they add another strong starter. They could also rely on Nolasco or Sanchez since both have shown very good stuff in the past, but consistency has evaded them. Oh, the Marlins also added Bell to help solidify the bullpen and he’s a major upgrade over Nunez. I don’t think the Mets and Marlins are anything alike.
- Attempting to debate with a person who has abandoned reason is like giving medicine to the dead.
- Defeat isn't bitter if you don't swallow it.
Contributing Writer to the The Phinsider
Win and they will come
also wasn’t t his game actually sold out awhile ago? That’s good news at least….
It's a historic time to be a miami fan
The dolphins are turning it around, the heat are the class of the NBA, the Marlins are finally spending money, the panthers are leading the division, and the U is the U.
Welll....
Going to be a bad few years for the U… but the rest, hopefully fans jump on the bandwagon and decide its nice enough to stay.
(Long time reader, finally decided to post)
Life moves pretty fast. If you don't stop and look around once in a while, you could miss it.
I think the U is a lot closer then many outside observers realize desipite their recent struggles.
"Theyas no fawking qwatahback!"-Anonymous Patriots fan at seeing the Wildcat formation for the first time.
I also support Occupy Joe Robbie
by texascowpunk on Dec 9, 2011 10:37 AM EST up reply actions
*despite
"Theyas no fawking qwatahback!"-Anonymous Patriots fan at seeing the Wildcat formation for the first time.
I also support Occupy Joe Robbie
by texascowpunk on Dec 9, 2011 10:38 AM EST up reply actions
Well said Mosul, couldn't agree more
As I said in my post earlier, you took the words right out of my mouth. I just hope that Boss Ross doesn’t do something stupid just to make a splash. I want to see the Dolphins be aggressive this offseason, but I also don’t want them to be foolish. Winning will go a long way toward restoring the Dolphins in the Miami sports landscape.
According to a recent poll posted here
The Miami Dolphins are still one of the top 15 most popular teams in the NFL. Before the losing of the past decade or so, we were always top 10, despite Miami not being a huge city and Florida having two other football teams.
The issue is winning, and just as importantly, the perception of the ability to win.
We didn’t make it back to the Super Bowl during the Marino era after the 1984 season, but were there attendance problems when Marino was playing and Shula was coaching? No. Because with that duo, the Dolphins always had a chance to win.
The Dolphins need to re-establish themselves as a credible team. I was hoping they would do it this year based on an elite defense and improved run game. Sadly, those two factors only showed up in the past 6 weeks or so.
I’m hopeful for next year, but ultimately attention has to be earned. If the Dolphins players had entered the season in shape, especially on the defensive side of the ball, think of how many of those 3-points-or-less losses we would have won.
Braves fan
And I will be the first to admit I got scared when seeing the Marlins signed Reyes, Buehrle, and Bell. But I took a step back and thought about it. Reyes is hurt alot. It created a problem with Hanley. Buehrle is a great 2 or 3 guy in the rotation, but not an ace. Bell will not be the same without PETCO Park to help his numbers. I see the Marlins finishing 3rd at best in 2012, behind the Phillies and Braves. Maybe with the new wild card rules, they could still get in the playoffs. Because there aren’t many great teams in the NL, and I could definitely see three playoff teams coming out of the NL East this year. If that wild card rule even takes effect this year. I don’t know if it does or not.
And thats why we need to draft a top QB
2010 The Jim Mandich NewsFlash Award Winner.
Miss the misery.
Need a reason for a change.
Need a reason to explain.
So turn it on again.
Don't change your mind.
You're wasting light.
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