Nineteen seventy-two. No student who attends West Shore was born anywhere near that decade. Heck, some of our teachers weren’t even born that long ago. However, Dolphins fans are always quick to show off that their team is the only one to ever go undefeated. Yet they have made the playoffs only three times in the last 15 years, and their last appearance was in 2008. So why does this new generation of Dolphins fans stick around? Are they just loyal to a fault? Do they like rooting for a team that never has high expectations placed upon it? I asked a few loyal Dolphins fans what it’s like living in the past.

“At times it can be quite awful to be a Dolphins fan,” sophomore Ben Lack said. “Who can forget the Dante Culpepper/Drew Brees disaster? Or all of these terrible coaching hires we have gotten ourselves into? But really, all of that is nothing compared to dealing with all of these awful Patriot fans talking so much smack about how they worship [Tom] Brady (quarterback) and [Bill] Belichick (head coach) and how successful they’ve been.”

So these days, the only thing Dolphins fans have going for them is their hatred for the New England Cheaters (Patriots).

“Being a Dolphins fan is difficult,” junior Ethan Mooney said. “I’ve been a Dolphins fan ever since I was born and I’m going to be a Dolphins fan for the rest of my life. It’s just part of the loyalty that comes with being a fan of a team like this. It’s really disappointing every single year seeing us lose. You always have to have hope, the most hope came last year after we signed Ndamukong Suh but it was false hope, as usual.”

Maybe it’s a dad thing.

“My dad has been a Dolphins fan since he was little so I’ve basically liked them and have watched Dolphins games my whole life,” junior Mary Billhartz said. “When I was younger we would go to games and for one of my brother’s birthdays we went to watch one of their training camps over the summer.”

“If you really want to know why I am so faithful to my ‘Phins,” Lack said. “It’s because I was born into it. My dad is a Dolphins fan, my brother is a Dolphins fan, so it just seemed natural that I too would be a Dolphins fan.”

“I am a Dolphins fan because my dad is and many Sundays I’ve spent watching football with my dad watching the Dolphins lose,” Mooney said. “There’s just something about watching the Dolphins lose that makes you want to keep watching the Dolphins lose.”

I genuinely feel bad for this generation of Dolphins’ fans that were born into a family that cheers for such a pitiful team. Even this generation’s parents hardly have a reason to take pride in their team unless they were alive for the 1972 undefeated season. Most Dolphins fans that take most pride in is the ring-less Dan Marino who hasn’t played in 16 years.

“Dan Marino is the best quarterback there ever was and ever will be,” Mooney said. “He was the Dolphins’ lone superstar. He was amazing. He was one of the most clutch quarterbacks of all-time. He has the stats to prove it, but sadly never won a Super Bowl. He left that for Bob Griese, the other Dolphins famous quarterback who led them to a perfect season, which I will hold on to for the rest of my life.”

Sad. That’s about the only word I can use for Dolphins fans that hang their hat on Dan Marino’s “greatness”.  As you read above, a lot of Dolphin’s fans proclaim that Dan Marino is the best quarterback ever. While his natural throwing ability is some of the best ever, he fell short of winning a Super Bowl and because of that he shouldn’t be in the conversation of best quarterback of all-time.

The bottom-line is, I don’t blame Dolphins fans for cheering for their team because of family tradition and I even applaud their loyalty after years of disappointment. So to all of you Dolphins fans reading this, I’m sorry.