This is it, the final article in my Super Bowl series, and it is about what a Super Bowl championship would mean to the true diehard fans of this team, including myself. In fact, when I say Deep End dive to start out my articles, I am referring to a particular section of Hard Rock Stadium, kind of in the corner of one of the end zones, to the right of the Dolphins logo, if you are looking at it from the proper side of the Dolphins logo. It is filled with some of the most diehard fans of this team, who dress up in these outfits every gameday at Hard Rock Stadium and live and die by the Dolphins, just like me. Trust me, I know some people in that section and am friends with one of them. Shout out to them!
They are all great people on top of being the most diehard fans of this team. I have three reasons why it would mean so much and why it would not mean so much.
Speaking of The Deep End, without further ado, let us take a Deep End dive into the water of why a Super Bowl championship would mean so much to the Dolphins fans.
The Atmosphere at Hard Rock Stadium Would be Electrifying
The Dolphins have not won a playoff game since 2000 and have not won their division, the AFC East, since 2008. That was the year Tom Brady tore his ACL in the first game of the season against the Kansas City Chiefs. It is also the last time the Miami Dolphins had a home playoff game at what was then known as just Dolphin Stadium. Let me just tell you if you did not watch the Monday Night Football game against the Tennessee Titans in 2023 the atmosphere of that game felt like a playoff game especially when they kept cutting to shots of the fans getting hyped and that game had all the emotions of a playoff game even though it was just a regular season game.
If the Dolphins could either win their division for the first time since 2008 or secure the one seed for the first time since they last appeared in the Super Bowl in 1984.
That 1984 season was one Dan Marino, who I believe every Dolphins fan, young and old, has heard of, led them to the Super Bowl against the 49ers in Super Bowl XIX. Just the thought of a home playoff game at Hard Rock Stadium gives me the goosies, as Brendan Tobin from WQAM would say. I bet it would be a deafening atmosphere inside Hard Rock. If the Dolphins want that atmosphere from us fans, they have to earn it by doing well on the field.
It Has Been Too Long
Let me just fill you in on the statistics on the droughts the Dolphins are in in terms of postseason success. First, like I mentioned before, they have not won their division since 2008. Second, the Dolphins have not won a playoff game since 2000, a game that was a home game as well for them, where they beat the Indianapolis Colts in overtime 23-17 after they trailed by fourteen points. They eventually lost 27-0 to the Raiders in the divisional round. Third, they have not been to the AFC championship game since 1992, where they lost 29-10 to the Buffalo Bills.
Fourth, they, as I mentioned before, have not been to the Super Bowl since 1984, a game where they lost 38-16 to the 49ers. Lastly, they have not won the Super Bowl since Super Bowl VIII in 1973, even though the game was played in January of 1974. There are many Dolphins fans today who were not even alive the last time they won the Super Bowl, including me, and I have been a Dolphins fan since 2014. So, I hope that this current iteration of the Dolphins can give us fans what we want, which is a championship parade in Dade County.
Just think of what fans of the Florida Panthers, including myself, have been through and the emotions they experienced when the Panthers won the Stanley Cup in 2024 and could easily do it again, pending the results of game four tonight against the Tampa Bay Lightning in their first round series of the 2025 Stanley Cup Playoffs.
I bet some Florida Panthers fans cried tears of joy when they won the Stanley Cup. Now, picture Dolphins fans winning the Super Bowl. It would likely be the same feeling, but more so.
The Effort These Fans Put Into It
When I say the effort that the fans put into it, I am referring to the amount of love and dedication they have for their team. I fall into this category as I, too, bleed aqua and orange. But it is the time and effort that these fans put into every game, especially the loyal Dolphins season ticket holders, that are in The Deep End every game. Imagine how much effort and thought they put into every outfit that they wear to the games and trust me I know this very well because like I said before I know some people in The Deep End.
For me, at least, all I have to do is rep the DWA shorts with my Dolphins jersey or name and number t-shirt of choice, and then pair that with a Dolphins snapback or fitted hat that fits the theme of the season. That alone takes me about two minutes, but some of these fans I know take up to half an hour or longer to get ready for games at Hard Rock Stadium or something similar. Taking a while to get ready shows their dedication to their team, even if it takes a little bit longer than I personally.
Why Not? Because We Have Seen It Too Many Times Before
We have seen it time and time again with this team: Dolphins fans have seen the team excel in the 1980s and 1990s, but then the millennium arrived, and the Dolphins have been nothing but mediocre at best, especially during the 1-15 season in 2007. They have been barely over 500 most of the 2010s and 2020s; they have improved, but they still haven’t won a playoff game since 2000.
Mainly, we get our hopes up every season, kind of like the Dallas Cowboys fans, but not to that degree, and then get let down. That alone tells you how much pain and suffering this fanbase has been through over the years, and I think it is a matter of time if they start to put the pieces together, they could bring this city of Miami Gardens a championship.
The Dolphins Fans In Summary
The Dolphins fans have been through too much over the last fifty-plus years since their last Super Bowl win in 1973. We established that a home playoff game at Hard Rock Stadium would be an electrifying atmosphere for the fans. The fact that it has been far too long since their last Super Bowl win in Super Bowl VIII. The amount of effort that the diehards of this team put into it, each and every game, in terms of what outfits they wear. Lastly, the fast that we have seen too many times before with this team over the years. Miami Dolphins fans as a whole have been through so much heartbreak and sacrifice over the years, and should be rewarded for their patience with a Super Bowl championship.
