We have posed this question before but it is always a good one to ask every so often as we are always adding new site members and some of us are just old and forget what we had for breakfast so here's the question that I asked- “What brought you into the Miami Dolphins family of fans?”

Below are some of your answers and thoughts on the question of the day-

budohly is another fan from Ohio with an interesting story of what brought his family into the fold!

I spent my very early years in Warren Ohio. Our home was across the street from Warren G Harding High School where Paul Warfield played. He worked for my dad at his store during high school. Met him when I was 5. Watched him play in high school, and saw him at OSU and Cleveland numerous times. When he went to Miami we jumped with him. Been a fan ever since. I’ve seen the great years being a Dolphin fan. My 27-year-old son hopes he gets to see some great things soon. My son and I attend a couple of games a year and are ready for greatness to return!

daytonadofan chose from what was there to choose from. Also, no one wants to hear about your “fin”.

The year, 1969. The boy, 11 years old looking for a team to follow. The team, the only one in Florida at the time. It’s like it was meant to be! Then the “perfect season” happened and I was hooked for life! When they bury me, my “Fin” will be up!

FlyerFinFan is a long-time fan from Winnipeg who chose Miami over Minneapolis. Who wouldn’t make that choice?

Some great stories here nice article. I grew up in Winnipeg and love my Bombers still but the NFL became king. NFC North was cold and boring. Being a smart kid why not pick a nice warm location for your team? Minneapolis or Miami? No decision is needed! I also liked the team's colors and logo still prefer the retro. I remember coloring as a kid and would use peacock blue and orange. Believe it or not, in Canada, we would see a lot of Miami games even more in the 80’s with Marino but they were always on the Canadian feeds. My Cuz is a fan as well. I’m a rabid fan Seeing my first game in Detroit Fins killed them with Zach I was able to go down to the first row and cheer the team on after Lions fans left. Going to the Giants game will be the first one in Miami been a long time coming. Go Fins!!!!!!!!!!!!!

dolphinfan1323 was brought into the fold like a lot of fans, seduced by the greatness of Dan Marino!

Well, the 1st football game I watched was the Super Bowl Bills vs Cowboys I didn’t want the Cowboys to win so I followed the Bills the next season we had 3 channels back then with football NBC and FOX, and then Monday night was on abc I’m from Wisconsin but just couldn’t stand the Packers. Miami and Buffalo games were on TV and Miami always seemed to have a few Monday night games didn’t take long to watch Dan Marino playing to jump off the Buffalo train thank God for that one to think I was almost a Bills fan I have Dan Marino to thank for saving me from that can’t even imagine being a bills fan

sdphinsfan doesn’t remember anything...

I honestly don’t know why. Asked myself numerous times and still got nothing...but it’s been that way since Christmas Day, 1971. And it's not about to change.

heatforlife moved from NY to S. FL and the rest is history!

Moved from NY in 1966 and watched them from a newborn till now. Looked at Shula as a father figure. The family had season tix in the good old days at the OB.

svd398 loves the animal and thus adopts the team with the mascot.

Grew up in the Chicago area, now living in Arizona. My parents weren’t huge football fans growing up, and my favorite animal growing up was a dolphin. I found out there was a team called the Dolphins and started to cheer for them and it stuck.

paddyjoe was lucky enough to attend two games in the team's first year and it stuck!

The family moved to Ft. Lauderdale in ‘64. Dad was from Boston, so I was a Boston Patriots fan. Babe Parilli & Nick Buoniconti. Was lucky enough to go to 2 games in the inaugural season & I switched to a Dolphin fan. George Wilson JR, what’s better than that? Go Fins

Danbeer is a long-time fan from Cali!

I’m a California native and became a fan at 9 years old in 1972. I haven’t missed watching a Dolphins game since 1994. I have yet to visit Miami, but have attended their games multiple times in California and Arizona. Phins Up!

Cooter_the_Genteel became a fan due to former RB Mark Higgs being from his hometown in Kentucky.

When I was a little kid growing up in Kentucky in the early ’90s, the Dolphins' current RB was from my hometown and attended my high school. His name was Mark Higgs (the Dolphins leading rusher from 91-93). After meeting him I became an immediate fan of the Dolphins and have been ever since, for better or worse. I still have that #21 Higgs jersey. In the last 33 years, there have been good times and there have been bad times. But one thing is for sure - I’m tired of hanging my hat on a ‘72 season that I wasn’t alive for. Let's get Johnathon Taylor and be a legitimate contender.

homphgomph got here with some help from his sister!

I grew up/still live around Chicago, when I was young we’d go to a family friend's house who had Tecmo Bowl, me and my sister would play it and she’d always pick Miami because of the correlation to the Dolphins because she liked the animal (that game didn’t actually have the NFL license, had the players though) and because of Dan Marino. Then through some osmosis of her being my big sister I started to pick them every time I played, got to know the players that way, then I started watching them when they were on and that’s basically it. Would always watch NFL Primetime with my Dad and get excited to see how the Dolphins did because they typically weren’t on up here outside of Monday night or if I got lucky they were the other game on when the Bears weren’t on.

herbert pollack got here like I did, via a little help from a grandparent.

My Grandparents moved to Miami in 1977 (I was 7) and they kept sending me Dolphin stuff, and then Dan showed up. I still have the stuffed animal dolphin wearing a jersey and helmet. It sits on my son’s shelf

WaitT liked Shula’s Style and that sealed the deal!

In 1970, I saw a TV interview with Coach Don Shula in which he was asked what he did to get his players to do things they normally didn’t do very well. He replied something like this: “I don’t ask my players to do what they can’t do. Instead, I ask them to do what they can do and to do it very, very well.” I became an instant fan.

krammm chose from what there was to choose from.

Born in Naples Florida and aint never been no whear. Only game in town.

Lone_Star88 is another person that was sucked in by the greatness of Marino!

Living in the panhandle, it was slim pickings when it came to NFL teams. TB sucked and had the ugliest uniforms in the league. Atlanta was nothing to brag about. And then one day this guy got drafted, and that was all she wrote.

Alpha6 was once 11 years old!

I grew up in Miami. In ‘69 I was 11 going on 12. Any time my friends talked football it was the Dolphins or the Cowboys. I was (am) a Dolphins fan. They went to the Super Bowl ‘71, ‘72, ‘73. In ‘72 (the Perfect Season) that evening was pandemonium. In downtown Miami, especially around the Orange Bowl. Every (and I mean every!) car was honking their horns and waving to each other. Surreal. I was there. Those years cemented my fandom...

Yarganaught was converted from the evil Dallas Cowboys via a bar mitzvah!

IDK when I became a Fins fan, to be honest. I am a 4th generation Floridian who grew up in South FL, but I was a Dallas Cowboys fan as a kid. That started when I saw an episode of BJ and the Bear (I think that’s the show) and one show had someone trying to kidnap the Dallas Cheerleaders. I knew at a very young age that I liked girls. I can recall cheering for players like Tony Dorsett, and Randy White, and I even met Ed “Too Tall” Jones one night at Wilt Chamberland’s sports bar (in the 90s). I think the first time I remember cheering for Miami to win was an AFC Championship game when Marino was a rookie. I was at my friend’s bar mitzvah and we all were standing in the men’s bathroom at some country club watching the game. I’d have to say that started it.

Dolfanjoe is still older than me and that’s really all that matters in this story of his!

Moved to Palm Bay Fl. in 1968. 10 years old, Months younger than that old guy daytonadolfan! And yes there was a new team to root for! New place, new start, new team. Back-to-back Super Bowls, knowing there would be one every few years! How could you not be a fan for life? And I think I'm way younger than that Alpha6 guy too!

dedstrk316 is a native!

SWFLA boy and my dad absolutely loved them. They were always on and as my teenage years were happening Danny boy came along and I followed him into adulthood. That’s all she wrote.

Molly Polly II grew up in S. Florida before moving a ways north to be closer to Joe!

Lived in Miami until age 7 then we moved to Daytona. Always enjoyed watching Miami Dolphin football as a child but once the GOAT Dan Marino took over behind center, Sunday football quickly became much more exciting!

tpl is another Floridian!

I grew up in Florida. So it was natural I cheered for Miami. I started about 1980 cheering for Miami. I got to see Dan Marino, Don Strock, David Woodley, and Don Shula.

glen55 was drawn to the team via their many past Bama players.

I’ve been an Alabama Crimson Tide fan since 1963 and my relationship with the Dolphins, as with all NFL teams, has mostly related to their Alabama players. They’ve had some good ones like Baumhauer, Nathan, and Stephenson. Marino was one of my favorite non-Alabama players ever, and I liked Don Shula even before his son quarterbacked the Tide in the mid-80s, so I’ve always smiled on the franchise. In 2017, after wandering in the quarterback desert for half a century, another great one finally arrived in Tuscaloosa: a young Samoan Hawaiian with a winning smile and some near-unworldly quarterback skills in terms of vision, release, and accuracy. After “2nd and 26” he became my favorite Bama player ever, and it was a no-brainer to follow him to the Fins. I had gotten so college-football-first that, after watching the first 30 or so Super Bowls, I really started not caring and flat-out missed a few. That gradually gave way once Saban started pumping guys into the NFL, but last year was the first time in my whole life that I was as interested in an NFL team as I was in Bama. Maybe even more so. I’m not going to lie, if Tua moves on I move on, too. I will be sorry if that happens and will maintain an interest in this team and its players and a very interesting and unique head coach no matter what. But for now, I am solid Fins and out there heroically fighting the Twitter wars.

JoeE1980 is from Switzerland but found his way to fandom via Madden and by attending a live game in S. Florida.

I was born in 1980. I’m from Switzerland. When I was planning a trip to Florida in November 2005, I really wanted to see a football game. That’s why I got to know the game through playing Madden on my PS 2. I decided, fortunately, for Miami. Because for me it was the most sympathetic team in Florida. The game against the Bills was won by the Dolphins by believing 3TD in the 4th quarter. I’ve been a Dolphin fan since that game.

Jsutton15 was just bored!

I had nothing better to do so I became a fan

AussieFin in an effort to avoid the pack that were all rolling with the Niners and Raider chose the team with the best QB!

When I started watching the NFL in the early 80’s everyone was either a 49er or Raiders fan. I didn’t want to follow the herd, and I saw a young QB who looked cool and had a bullet arm that no one else had (Marino) and I became a fin fan Also liked the #13 number……hoping that success is coming soon for all of us

Louie the lobster became a fan due to the beatdowns given to the Patriots by Marino!

Living in New England and watching Marino tear apart the Pat’s in the 80’s.

FFFL66IBA&O grew up in S. Florida and had a lot of interesting ties to the team in a variety of ways.

Being a Miami Dolphins Fan was a “No Brainer” for me. I was born and raised in North Miami and was 10 years old when the Miami Dolphins came into existence in 1966. Our next-door neighbor “Mrs. Cates” who worked in some capacity within the Miami Dolphins organization, would occasionally give my Dad tickets, so he, my two older brothers, and I could go to the Orange Bowl and root for the Dolphins. Norm Evans regularly attended our family church at North Shore Baptist Church. One day, while playing softball at Thomas Jefferson Junior Highschool, a mountain of a man came walking up onto the playground toward our PE teacher Mr. Marronni sp? and shook his hand. Coach, motioned for all of us to come meet somebody (I think they were high school classmates?) who was none other than Mr. Larry Little!!! None of us had ever seen a man in person the size of this guy! We all shook hands with him in awe. Then Coach told us to take the field because Larry Little was going to take a couple of swings at the softball. Coach pitched him the ball and “WHAMMOO” he not only hit the ball out of the fenced field but all the way over to the other side of I-95!!! A few of us started to run over the catwalk and fetch the ball but Coach wouldn’t let us. Some guys tried to find the ball after school let out but I never heard of anyone finding it...Did anyone know that Larry Csonka was instrumental in the hiring of Larry Little? Miami GM Joe Thomas asked Larry Csonka why would vouch for this guy. Csonka responded “If nothing else, I can hide behind him” via ProFootballHOF.com. Low Point: Dolphins losing to the 49’s in Super Bowl XIX in 1984 (Lost $100.00 to a workmate in a bet. SSMH High Point: Of course, going to the SB 3 consecutive years (71, 72 & 73) losing the first but winning the next two! 1972 Dolphin’s still the only team to go undefeated and win the Super Bowl!!! It’s been 50 years now and I want to win AT LEAST one more Super Bowl before I die!!! Is that too much to ask? Finger’s Crossed: Could this be the year? Sorry so long my beloved PhinPhan’s.....

USMCFinzFreak is from my favorite state and also chose the Phins over the Broncos and the Cowboys.

Born in 1960 and living on the rez in New Mexico, the people who were interested in football were either Denver or Dallas fans (mainly Dallas). I began taking interest in the Dolphins when I was 9. By the time I was 12 (1972), I was sold!!!

Call_for_the_Priest’77 is our second Canadian, who was drawn to the team via his older brother's fandom!

Growing up in Vancouver BC, Canada, about 4500 miles away from Miami seems like an odd place to discover Dolphins' roots. From my beginnings to this day I have no ties to anyone or anything in Florida (not even a wintering relative) apart from my football team... My oldest brother became a Dolphins fan sometime in the mid to late 70s, and by the time I was eight (1980) I was starting to watch the weekly network games every Sunday. I was constantly curious as to what had happened on the field and why, always asking a trying number of questions each game. Patience has never been the strongest suit of my brother’s character yet never do I recall him ignoring or getting mad at me or even just telling me to shut up for a while! I’m very grateful to this day for his letting me watch with him and all the knowledge he passed on to me. Those are great memories to have of one’s childhood. I guess then it was natural that I followed the Dolphins like he did. My brother told me they used to have a large pool with a dolphin swimming around at their home games. I think this was a big attraction for him to the team. I think I was too late to see ‘Flipper’ live but I thought the idea was pretty cool (and in a brief digression, a pretty cool feature to bring back IMO!). If I had any inkling about other teams (very little if any) they were dissolved by the majesty of the grand stage that was the Orange Bowl. I have never seen a finer stadium on TV or the several I have been to in person for any sport than old Orange. I wished I could go back in time and see Marino live in person, ripping it up there in ‘84... By the time I hit my teen years (1985), I was whisked off 3000 miles east to the province of Ontario with my parents just outside of Toronto where their family roots lay. I’m a bit west of the city nowadays but still under three hours' driving distance to Buffalo of all places. Ugh! I’m proud to say not once have I ever jumped ship to another team. Aqua blood forever! (Now if we could just win at least one SB that I can remember...)

DOMKING is a bullet-point kind of person. Check, check, and check!

Dan Marino. Great uniforms. The only team to go undefeated

Blaze453 chose his favorite team from the first game he ever watched!

My father was a professional and my mom Blair was a huge baseball fan and a Minneapolis/Los Angeles Lakers fan but not a big football fan. 1968 the very first football game I ever saw was Miami versus Kansas City and my father told me to choose a team for life. I liked the colors of the uniform and the logo and the dolphins became my team. …………… for life

TheMiamiUte started out in Miami and then became a fan as an adult.

From Miami and lived there until graduating from college...was there for the Super Bowl victories but didn’t really start following the Dolphins until the 1974 season which ended with the “Sea of Hands” game versus the Raiders. What a gut-punch that was. After that, I diligently watched the end of the Griese era and the transition to Marino. Feeling really good about the team’s chances this season but it all depends on Tua’s health.

SuperG! is another that Marino brought into the fold here!

I wasn’t a fan of football in childhood and decided to follow the NFL when I was 18. It just happened to be Dan Marino’s SB year and they seemed to be on TV every week in NY where I lived. Like many others, “because of Marino”, I became a Dolphins fan. 2 years later when the Giants went to the SB, I followed the Giants too, so they became my NFC team, but honestly, I don’t really follow them that much these days as I did in the late 80s.

Spok507 is singlehandedly building her own Miami Dolphins fan club in Iowa!

When I was a little girl, I was the ‘tomboy’, the middle one of three girls and the only one good at or interested in sports. I grew up watching football with my Dad, who was a big Washington fan but I didn't like their colors. And everyone else I knew was a Viking, Packers, or Bears fan. They all sounded mean. So I picked the only team with a nice mascot and pretty colors. Hey, I was 6. But it stuck. My husband has also been a Fins fan since childhood, so he completely understands. It was hard being a Dolfan in Iowa, but we persevered. Now there’s a lot more!! We’ve recruited nephews and in-laws. We have our own cheering section here!

This is always one of my favorite questions to ask because we get so many interesting stories from people as well as people commenting that are not usually that active on the site and hopefully posts like this change that for some of them. Thank you to each of you who took the time to tell your story of finding your way into the family!

If you would like to join in on the conversations where we highlight some of our favorite comments (and even some that I disagree with) be sure to sign up for a Phinsider account. The questions post will be posted during the week with the follow-up post coming every Saturday evening as well as other random evenings.