Will the Dolphins Ever Be Good Again
Across the United States Sunday night, tens of millions of us will take in the spectacle, Super Bowl LVI. Shortly after 6 p.m., the Cincinnati Bengals and Los Angeles Rams will square off in America's most watched sporting event.
Gathering for the big game has become a cultural tradition. Another tradition? Watching teams not named the Miami Dolphins play football on Super Bowl Sunday.
Once again, I, along with fans of 30 other National Football League teams, will have no rooting interest. This will be the 37th Super Bowl I'll watch since the Dolphins last played in it. It'll be the 48th since they last won it.
Like many of us, I'm just glad the game won't include Tom Brady or the New England Patriots.
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The Super Bowl
Everyone who knows me knows a couple things about me:
- I'm much larger than the head shot that runs next to my columns in the newspaper.
- I love fishing, but I have a reputation for shutting down the bite.
- I like beer.
- I'm a giant fan of football and a Super Bowl geek.
I'd like to see the Bengals pull off the win, the team's first in the big game. Having said that, I think the Rams will win for reasons I'll explain later.
My first memory of any sporting event was sitting cross-legged on my living room floor watching Super Bowl VII. At age 6, I was captivated by the Dolphins beating Washington's football team 14-7. Jake Scott, who wore No. 13 before Hall of Fame quarterback Dan Marino arrived more than a decade later, had two interceptions and was named the Most Valuable Player. I still have his football card on my desk.
I've watched every one of the big games since then. Some have been great, others, not so much.
Will the Dolphins ever make it back?
The sad thing is, I have no idea if I'll ever again see my favorite football team play in the Super Bowl. I and a lot of Dolphins fans my age aren't getting any younger.
Since the season ended, it's been a rough couple of weeks for Dolphins fans:
- Jan. 10 — Dolphins fired third-year head coach Brian Flores
- Feb. 1 — Flores filed a lawsuit against Dolphins, Giants and NFL alleging racism in hiring practices
- Feb. 2 — Flores alleged Dolphins owner Stephen Ross offered him $100,000 per loss to lose games in 2019
- Feb. 6 — Dolphins hired 49ers offensive coordinator Mike McDaniel as the team's 14th head coach in franchise history.
Is McDaniel, 38, the next Don Shula — 257 wins over 26 years — or the next Cam Cameron (1-16)? The team does have some good, young talent, so there is hope. Hopefully, McDaniel's creative schemes will energize an anemic Dolphins offense.
Yet the disorganization at the top makes loyal aqua and orange fans wonder if they can return to the playoffs every year without a change in team ownership.
Who dey?
The Bengals are easy to love. They're young, brash and second-year quarterback Joe Burrow exudes cool confidence while throwing shade in post-game interviews.
Burrow is the new Joe Namath. He's already achieved legend status in the Queen City. Win or lose, he'll never have to pay for dinner there as long as he lives.
I don't know how the "Who Dey?" chant originated. Yes, it's about as annoying as 1988's "The Ickey Shuffle," the last time they played in the game. Still, it's way better than the tomahawk chant you hear at Chiefs games or the insufferable "Fly, Eagles, Fly" song you hear at Philadelphia games.
Why do I want to see the Bengals win? Because I can't imagine what it's like for the team's fans to have suffered so long — the franchise was founded in 1968 — without seeing a championship victory.
Also, if they win, the city will go bananas. I've only been there once, but I'm sure there will be a half-dozen cars set afire in the streets in celebration.
Can the Rams win?
My logical football mind says the Rams will win — as long as quarterback Matthew Stafford doesn't throw too many interceptions. And he will throw an interception; you can bet on it, and thousands of people will.
The game should be an exciting one with two big-armed quarterbacks slinging the ball deep downfield to speedy receivers. To me, the two most fascinating statistics heading into this game are:
- 17 — Interceptions thrown by Stafford, which were the most in the NFL this season
- 51 — Times Burrow has been sacked, which were the most in the NFL this season.
- 11 — Number of completed passes longer than 35 yards by Stafford, which were most in the NFL this season.
If the Rams defense can force more turnovers than Stafford produces, then they'll probably win the franchise's second Super Bowl, the first while playing in Los Angeles. The Rams were playing in St. Louis when Hall of Fame quarterback Kurt Warner led them to victory in Super Bowl XXXIV.
A Rams victory also means they join the Los Angeles Lakers and Los Angeles Dodgers in bringing a third pro sports championship to the City of Angels since 2020.
I'm sure the underdogs will be cheered by fans of teams that never have won a Super Bowl: Detroit Lions, Jacksonville Jaguars, Houston Texans, Buffalo Bills, Minnesota Vikings, Arizona Cardinals, Los Angeles Chargers, Tennessee Titans, Atlanta Falcons, Carolina Panthers, and yes, even the woeful Cleveland Browns.
As a Dolphins fan, I hope the Bengals can pull it off. Why? The Bengals managed only six wins the last two years combined. That gives hope to fans of every team in the NFL.
My pick: Rams 27, Bengals 24.
Ed Killer is TCPalm's outdoors writer. Sign up for his and other weekly newsletters at profile.tcpalm.com/newsletters/manage. Friend Ed on Facebook at Ed Killer, follow him on Twitter @tcpalmekiller or email him at ed.killer@tcpalm.com.
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Source: https://www.tcpalm.com/story/sports/nfl/2022/02/10/super-bowl-observations-will-dolphins-fans-ever-see-them-return/6690938001/