A Dolphins Fan in Toronto

I am a diehard, lifelong Miami Dolphins fan, I presently live in Toronto (but grew up not that far from the city anyways), and I will not be attending the game this Sunday by choice.

You'd likely be surprised by just how many Miami Dolphins fans there are in the Southern Ontario area. The numbers are likely buoyed by the airtime Miami received on National Television down south by being a top team for such a long period of time. It's likely also assisted by Dan Marino, the most prolific pivot upon his retirement and arguably one of the all time greatest QB's (definitely tops among the QB who never won a ring crowd). And I'm sure the heated rivalry with Buffalo helped win over a few anti-Bills supporters in the area too.

Whenever I would head down on a bus trip to Buffalo for the Bills-Dolphins game with my fellow Miami supporters, to have everything that can be bought at a concession stand thrown in my general direction every time I stood to cheer a score or a big play by Miami, I always had a great time! Whether Rich or Ralph Wilson, those cross-border trips will always remain great memories. But now that it's here in Toronto....well, honestly part of me wanted to see them fall short but I am glad it sold out just before blackout deadline so I could at least watch the game this weekend.

I don't want to see the NFL come into town, first off (although I'm sure the lack of a franchise in L.A. will ensure that should the Bills move anywhere it won't be north). So luckily the way the event was presented it made certain that my team allegiances did not get the best of me - I certainly don't want to pay an arm and a leg for ridiculously overpriced tickets, which the corporate sector has reluctantly picked up the tab for. And while some may see this as too idealistic, possibly a betrayal to my team (how many times will Miami play a meaningful game in Toronto - realistically, this may be my only shot!), when push comes to shove I'm not just going to cave in to what amounts to a cash grab in hopes of snagging a much larger cash grab, which will in turn eliminate something I really care about in the end.

Of the people I know who are going they either got a good deal presale, won the tickets via contest or (which is what is happening more often than not), got them handed out to them from work. I know many more people not interested in supporting this, and if they're not hoping to see the game fail to succeed, they would at least suffer a little in the stands.

I do hope my team does well and wins the game, continues along this incredible bounce back season and keeps their slight playoff hopes alive, but I will be doing so from home...or possibly a sports bar. But to make it known a devout Dolphins fan from Toronto will not be participating in this event. And it should also be known, I'm not alone...