I have discussed this topic in the past, but it’s one of those things that never seems to fade in the minds of Miami Dolphins fans as a whole. As long as websites have been available on the internet, where people have been free to share any opinion they wish for the whole world to see, there has been a long-running complaint from many in our fan base that the media just flat-out disrespects or hates our Dolphins.
Many theories about why this happens center on the fact that most of the national media
is based in the northeastern US. Many of the talking heads in this industry also come from places like New York, where, if they grew up as fans of one of the local teams, they probably grew up to hate the Dolphins, especially if they grew up in the 70’s or 80’s when the team was somewhere between great and at least good nearly every single season.
I, for one, have never really cared. First off, like many of you, I also grew up a diehard fan of the Miami Hurricanes football program. As such, I long ago learned to embrace the hate as I suspect it will always be there, even if most of their “reasoning” about the team being this way or another behavior-wise is tied to teams that are 30-40 years in the past. Ironically, many of those same players who were labeled as bad guys, thugs, etc., were then cheered and loved by the very same people once they joined their favorite NFL team. Funny how that works…
I can also remember a time, mostly because I am old, when this team was always good and, most years at least, a threat to get to the playoffs and do damage. In those days, and mind you, the media landscape was much different without the internet; the media was not so negative towards the team. In fact, I still have several old magazines, like Sports Illustrated, that had the Dolphins or Dan Marino on the front cover or in a positive featured story. Mind you, this was all during a time when the team was somewhat feared by other teams, not just the poster child for ineptitude.
So with that in mind, this evening’s Phinsider Question Of The Day is:
If you ever did in the first place, do you believe that the national media still shows utter disrespect for the Miami Dolphins, and if so, do you believe that this is deserved, earned, or just regional bias against a team that resides in a place that most of them wish they could actually live?
Please share your thoughts and answers in the comments section below-
