As long as I can remember I've always had my favorite teams gear. As a little kid I got pics with hats & jerseys of all sorts. They are the same teams I root for today. I remember getting my first jersey when I was about 10 , a Toledo Goaldiggers jersey with my name & number. They were the local hockey team back then and I still have it to this very day. It was around that time that I started playing hockey as well. Four years later I was playing travel hockey before went on to play form my high school. Oy boy did I get excited when I got matching socks, gloves, & helmet. As an added bonus figure in the varsity jacket and team sweats. I also raced BMX bikes for a few years during my high school years. Again, matching my gloves, helmet, & jerseys with the color scheme of my bike, I was taking a real shine to gear in general,....my sports stuff and Dolphins.

You see back then I held a part time job as a busboy at a local steakhouse. Which allowed me to save up for my 2nd jersey, an authentic #56 John Offerdahl when I was 16. There was no online instant gratification. It was call the NFL's 800 number, have a catalog sent, then fill out the order form, get a money order, mail it back to them, and finally wait 4-6 weeks for it to arrive. Talk about how far we've come.  

I could also find a fair amount of Fins gear here at the mall. Because of Toledo's location one could find plenty of stuff from the popular teams ( Cowboys, Raiders, Steelers, 49'ers, among others). So there is where I started in on hats and T-shirts, but the really cool stuff always came from the catalog. Fast forward to about ten years ago, whenever I made it to Florida I stocked up. It was Dolphins and cool,....I wanted it. The amount of gear threw,....tremendously. Another thing to consider, my Mom has a fair amount of stuff too, and now my Wifey does also. Back in the day Mom had a schoolgirl crush on Dan the Man, hence 4 of her 6 t-shirts are Marino themed. 

Now bring it forward another 5 years and now I'm living in Florida for over half of the football season,......

SHOP TIL YA DROP,.......BITCHES !!!

Man,.....I remember the 1st time I hit places like the training facilities pro-shop, the pro-shop at the stadium, Sawgrass Mills. It was,...and is, heavenly. Then there is the deals and oddities I've uncovered at fleamarkets, TJMaxx, Bealls, and the such. For years now, on game days, I usually wear something different each time. That's why last year was kinda weird in that I wore the same T-shirt 3 times. I think it was the whole Deep End thing. Through the years I've even customized a few articles of clothing, most notably the beige sport coat I sprayed painted aqua.

It all comes down to this,.....

IF YOU LOOK GOOD, YOU FEEL GOOD !

And do I ever feel good when I'm sporting the latest Dolphins fashions.

So currently in my possession is 110 pieces of Dolphins gear ( 14 pieces are Mom's and 19 pieces are Wifey's). I got 29 baseball hats, 8 jerseys, 26 T-shirts, 4 coats, and a bunch of other stuff too. 

So what do I do to get ready for MNF ? Why,....get it all out and take a picture. 

On a side note, I purposely left my Ted Ginn jersey out of the picture ( as to not offend anyone). 

I begs to ask, what should I wear this Monday ? Got it,.....my white Henne jersey !

Now a little side story. While putting this together I looked where I had my jerseys hanging and what do I see ? a couple more jerseys. 

4554 ! An Archie Griffin jersey next to the jersey I played against the Detroit Red Wings Alumni team in. I wore Zac Thomas's number and got him to sign it as well at one of the times I met him. So what does this coincidence mean ? $4554 goal for the DCC ??? Kind of lofty, but I'm still in need of sponsors and anything helps. If you can only afford $5,...it helps. If you're a big spender and your life has been affected by cancer, hitch your wagon to this horse, cause I'm training my ass off and am going to ride those miles strong. In case you missed it my rider page is Griffin Van Nest @ RideDCC.com

Anyways, hope you enjoyed my story and who knows maybe I'll breakdown and auction some of it off for charity....

OFF4L