New Year and New Beginnings

Happy New Year Dolphins’ fans! I think some of you will agree with me when I say, thank goodness this season is over. Don’t get me wrong, I’m going to miss going to games and seeing all my many football friends. This team is a huge part of my life, but I got to the point I was almost embarrassed to even wear Dolphins’ gear out. I still did and do, obliviously, but our team was bad. Embarrassing. I’m going to miss watching our team, but thank goodness it’s over. We had a rough year fans and now we have a long off-season to see what will happen next for our team.

I’m a day late with my weekly article because I needed time to process everything. My emotions have been all over the place. I know I’m not alone with these feelings. We’ve all been frustrated. All you want, as a fan, is to watch your team succeed. We want to win games. We want to watch our team win a Super Bowl (I’m only 36 so I would like to witness one in my lifetime like my dad and others did) and we want to watch them win another one. Remember, we used to be good. We just want a winning franchise. I think we will one day, but we’re gonna have to go through a few rough years of rebuilding to get there. Buckle your seat belts, because it’s going to be a bumpy ride.

I was unsure about firing Adam Gase. I liked him. I think he will be successful with another team, but after processing everything, it was time to part ways. He was respected by the players, but if we really want to rebuild we need a new head coach. Ross said in his press conference he wants someone who wants to win. He wants a young team that we can build around.

I think with Chris Grier in charge we’ll get one. I hope. It’s all we can do, right? Just cross our fingers and hope for the best. It may take us a couple of years to get there, but it will be worth it when it happens fans. It’s going to be a rough few years, but you know, we’re Miami Dolphins’ fans. We’ll get through it. We’ve been through worse.

2018 Season

I posted this at the end of our humiliating game on Sunday.

Yes, I will always be that person that thinks, “Maybe next year”. Well, probably 2020-2021 but still. We had a losing season, but boy did I have some good times. I was part of NFL History with the longest NFL game. I spent 12 hours at Hard Rock stadium. It was worth every second. I drove to Cincinnati, with my dad, to witness our team fall apart. My friend made it on television with me that game. That alone made that trip worth it (even with the dreaded 7 hour drive home after the game). Not to mention the tailgating and new and old friends I got to see. I finally watched a home game with my best friend (who I met because of a Dolphins’ game 9 years ago) and we won in overtime against the Bears. We had the best time. Absolutely one of the best weekends I’ve ever had with my friends and Atlanta DolFans Club. I got to witness the Miami Miracle. Fine, let’s look at it one more time, because we’ll always have this.

I know many of you may be rolling your eyes thinking, “Whatever. We didn’t do anything with this season.” I get it. Believe me, I completely get it. I don’t spend probably half my salary traveling to games and not be pissed about how our team let’s us down. But, Kenyan Drake will always have the Miami Miracle. We’ll always have it as fans. I will always have the experience of watching Patriot fans frozen and unable to speak. That is why I travel to games. I want to have these moments. These memories. Worth every penny and frustrated feeling.

I got to see one of my best friends, who is Canadian and made a 9 hour drive, just to hang out with me in Minnesota. I made so many new friends because of that game. We lost, but it was a bucket list for me. Totally worth it.

I finished the year by driving all through Florida just to make it to our last home game for 2018. It was a bittersweet day, but I’m glad I made the trip. Our team looked like garbage, but I had one last time to hang out with some of my dearest friends. It was a long 10 day journey, but I don’t regret a second of it.

Here is a picture from all seven games I attended.

There were some bad times, like almost being kicked out because some fans need to learn what a true NFL game should be like, but those don’t compare to the good times. It’s an emotional week for me. It always is after our season ends.

This if funny. A guy tweeted this to me the other day.

He’s probably not wrong. I’m a very passionate person. When I love something, I give it my all. Some would say I’m a bit intense. And I’m ok with being that way.

What Happens Next

I think these next couple years, while our team rebuilds, will be trying for us fans. It’s going to be a long post-season and we have no idea what’s in store. Who else will be let go? Burke better be. Is Tannehill coming back? Will we draft a new quarterback in 2019 or wait till 2020? Are we going to pay Xavien Howard (Oh I hope so)? Is Cam Wake going to remain a Dolphin? SO MANY EMOTIONS!

It’s an emotional time for many of us fans. I know several people have reached out to me expressing the same feelings. What’s next? Who do we hire? I’ve read several different reports about particular coaches, but I’m just going to sit back and see what happens. I just hope whoever we get stays for longer than 3-4 years. If we’re truly going to rebuild I don’t want to go through this again. It’s going to be a crappy couple years during this process. Please, for all our sanity, make sure the Dolphins do it the right way.

Happy New Year DolFans! Cheers to finally ending this embarrassing season, and let’s toast to new beginnings.