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So long, and thanks for all the Phins

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If you know me, you know that I’ve been a lifelong Miami Dolphins fan. And I always get the question “How did a kid from Iowa become a fan of the Dolphins?” It’s partially my Dad, but a good chunk of my love for the Phins came from my uncle Jack.

Yesterday, on Thanksgiving, Jack passed away after a long battle with Alzheimers.

When I was little, Jack lived with my aunt Sharol in Miami. Being in the area, he was a fan, and through the years he also knew people in the Dolphins organization. Many Christmas and birthday gifts from Jack and Sharol were Dolphins related. Apparel, an actual kicking tee from a game, a real NFL football, a helmet. It helped fuel this love I have for the team, and why, win or lose, I never miss listening to or watching a game.

The pinnacle of this was when I was 11 years old. My parents, grandparents and I drove to Miami for a vacation over Christmas and New Years. The Dolphins were in the playoffs that year, and Jack not only got us tickets to the playoff game, but with his connections, got us into the closed-to-the-public practices leading up to the game.

I got to meet the great Don Shula, as well as Bob Griese (who was retired from playing but part of the organization) as well as many awesome players. I got pictures taken with them all and many signatures on the Dolphins newspaper, the Dolphin Digest. That newspaper sits proudly under glass on the wall of my man cave.

We then got to see the game, which was one of the classic playoff games of all time. Three overtimes and a tremendous back and forth game ended with the Dolphins sadly losing, but it was an experience I will never forget.

We went to the Orange Bowl parade, and the game itself, where undefeated Clemson went on to win. I had a sign in the stands with NBC (who was televising the game) that said Nobody Beats Clemson. I actually was shown on TV with the sign, another football thrill for a very excited 11 year old.

I didn’t get to see Jack and Sharol much because they lived so far away, but Jack had a huge impact on me. He was a fantastic gentleman, a super nice guy, and very kind. He reminded me so much of my grandfather in that way. I cherish the time we had, and the impact he made on my football fandom.

The last couple of years were rough on Sharol as she took care of Jack, who no longer said much, and had many issues. But she is one of nicest people I have ever met, and took such good care of him. She was even featured in a story in their local newspaper on the importance of caregivers.

I got a Facebook message from Sharol to call her yesterday, and I just knew. She had tried to call my Mom (Jack’s sister) but they were driving to our house for Thanksgiving. One of the hardest things I’ve had to do was tell my Mom that her big brother had died.

She’s the last one remaining from her immediate family, and I can’t imagine what that’s like.

She called Sharol and they talked and cried. Sharol will be okay, she’s tough, and kind, and resilient. My Mom will be okay too. She was able to enjoy Thanksgiving with our family and take solace in her grandkids. And despite starting the day with terrible news, we all had a lot to be Thankful for.

I’m sitting in my man cave typing this, surrounded by tons of Miami Dolphin memorabilia, and he will always be with me, no matter how bad this team is 🙂

So long Jack, and thanks for all the Phins.

Da Coach Mike Ditka’s Number Retired

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On Monday night, the Chicago Bears retired the number of legendary tight end and coach for the team, Mike Ditka.  I’ve always liked Ditka, even when I didn’t like the Bears, so it was awesome to see.

After seeing him honored at half time, it reminded me of a time when my good friend and co-worker, Declan Lynch, and I got to meet the coach at one of his Chicago restaurants.

It’s one of my favorite stories of all time: Declan Does Ditkas.  Check it out.

Why I support #suckforluck

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I’ve been a hard core Miami Dolphin fan all of my life.  Much of my youth was spent watching a consistently good Phins team make the playoffs year after year.  My man cave is adorned in aqua and orange, I have tons of signed Dolphin memorabilia, I listen to (or watch) every game every weekend.  If the Dolphins lost on Sunday it used to ruin the start of my week.

Not any longer.

You see, since the retirement of Dan Marino (where the organization basically forced him out) this team has been nothing but a middle of the road team year after year.  In fact, look at these links:

Miami Dolphin QB’s Since Dan Marino
Coaches Since Don Shula

So yes, SEVENTEEN QB’s and SIX coaches in 12 seasons.  How pathetic is that? Yeah, that’s a rhetorical question.

This organization has now pretty much sucked for a long long time.  And as of today, the team is now 0-7. We suck, plain and simple, and despite that, I still watch or listen to every game.  It just doesn’t bother me when we lose any more.

Part of it simply because I realized that I should “let go” of the fanaticism that comes with being a football fan.  The other is the prospect of landing Andrew Luck as our QB of the future in the upcoming draft.

Andrew Luck is regarded as the best QB to come out of college since Peyton Manning.  He’s the type of player you can build a team around.  It’s become increasingly clear that to win in this league, you need an elite QB.  Someone who can lead your team to victory.  Luck is that type of QB.

So now, there are many Dolphin fans that are all on board the Suck for Luck train.  They want us to suck so bad that we get the first pick in the draft and we can draft Andrew.  It goes against everything a fan should want, but at 0-7 I’m firmly ensconced on that train.

I don’t want another semi-shitty middle-of-the-road season that allows us to draft some kid with a “good motor,” I want a leader.  A killer of a QB. I want Andrew Luck.

Wouldn’t it be a fitting if we could draft Luck in the 13th draft after we forced out Dan Marino?  I think so.  Let the misery end, let us rebuild.  All hail #suck4luck.


Learning (to hate the Jets)

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Actually, the playoffs started yesterday, with the damn Jets blowing out Indianapolis. ARRRRGGGGHHHH! I don’t care who wins as long as it’s not the hated Jets. Oh well, I should just stop watching football this season altogether as my Phins are gone.

Well, I start back to work in the morning and I’m actually looking forward to it. Was getting a little cabin fever and for me that is very surprising. Seems I’ve been fully re-charged. The good thing is that I work for a couple more weeks and then it’s off to Disney for Lotusphere. Now that I’m REALLY looking forward to. With ND6 just released a few months ago, I’m sure there will be a ton of cool stuff to learn.

I guess that’s a big thing with me. Learning. I guess if I go too long without learning something new (whether it be new software, or new programming techniques) I get bored. That’s why I guess I always liked school. Oh well, I’ll keep it up and be a happy man.

Lastly, I’m planning on hitting the gym in the morning. Going to get up early and go BEFORE work. Yeah, yeah, I know. At least wish me luck! 🙂

Dolphin implosion, the first of many to come

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Fuck. That’s pretty much what I have to say. The Miami Dolphins snatched defeat from the jaws of victory once again today. And with the Jets win, neither us, nor the Patriots got into the playoffs. Winning by 11 with 5 minutes remaining and we still blew it. Unreal. Part of it was a TOTALLY screwed up penalty that allowed the Pats to get to the one yard line. A pass interference call that SHOULD have clearly gone against the offense but went against us instead. Then a blown punt and a blown kickoff totally sealed it. I still cannot believe it happened. I think Zach Thomas summed it up nicely “You can say all you want about how we should have won, but I’m sick and tired of hearing how good we are. We can’t win a big game.” As it goes. This is the first time in 7 years the Dolphins haven’t been in the playoffs. SEVEN years. But, looking back to those seven years, we never got to the Super Bowl. So I guess Zach is right. The only thing that really sucks about all this is that the freakin’ Jets had to make it. [sigh]

Well, I go back to work tomorrow for a day, then I have the rest of the week off. It’ll be nice. Still have a lot of work to do around the house, so it will be more labor intensive than just hanging out. But it should be worth it. It’s just going to take awhile and involve moving lots of crap. I HATE moving crap… Man, I need to get to bed… Take Care

Hey, wanna see my 73 inches?

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Wow, it’s been two weeks since I last wrote. Time sure does fly during the Holidays. For the most part things have been good. We visited my parents and got to see my extended family on the Roling side as well. I have a ton of cousins, and it’s always fun to get us all together. During that same trip I also drove to Minnesota with my friend Tim and went to the Dolphins – Vikings game. Needless to say, an 11 hour round trip gained me the ability to watch my Dolphins lose to the Vikes. A win would have them winning the division, but instead this week we have to go to the home of the defending Super Bowl champions. If we beat them, we are in the playoffs. We lose, and we might not even make it. That just doesn’t happen in the Dolphin’s world… I guess we’ll find out tomorrow.

As for the weight, I went off any dieting completely. The main reason was an upcoming bet with my boss Denis. We are both weighing ourselves on the morning of January 2nd, 2003. We will then weight ourselves again on June 13th, 2003 (Denis’ birthday.) Whoever loses the most weight wins and the other guy has to pay a dollar a pound of the difference. It’ll be nice to have additional motivation. Anyway, because of the bet, I figured I could then indulge in all the holiday foods. Nice excuse, but come January 2nd. Operation new man rides again.

The only bad thing this season was the influx of the flu that hit my family hard a couple of days ago. Completely destroyed my wife, myself, my mother-in-law, our best friends, and even Kali wasn’t herself. It was nasty alright, and another reminder that I should get a damn flu shot every year.

As for loot, we got lots of cool stuff, but the major coup de grace is the 73″ big-screen TV my wife bought for me. VERY COOL. Although this means we’re moving the old TV to the basement and making it into a family room/office. For the most part that would be cool, but I HATE moving stuff, and the thought of hauling all of this computer equipment downstairs does not appeal to me. We’ll see how it goes.

Anyway, I’m back, and I’ll talk to you again soon!