No longer am I looking to relive moments of the past, regardless of the joy it might have brought in the first iteration. We're moving forward here, and there's no room to just regurgitate experiences in order to simulate noteworthy occurrences. It's time to explore new frontiers without being chained to the past. There's no "I" in yesterday! But, there is an "I" in tomorrow. Er, wait, no, there's not. But there is a...me...in...tomorrow...future. Yes, tomorrow-future. It's a thing. It is. You probably don't know because there isn't a "u" in the future.
Wait.
Dammit.
Fine, it's fine! Regardless, I'm still not hoping to recapture my youth any time soon. And, so you understand why, I'm going to now show a small corner of my childhood. Indeed, I, nor anyone really, should ever strive to repeat any of the below.
As I've mentioned previously, my football fandom was huge as a young boy. Specifically, I was obsessed with one squad; the Miami Dolphins. Despite my living on the opposite coast, I still consumed every bit of info I could about that team, which would often be a challenge in the pre-internet days. But, I had clippings and posters on my walls, and even painted things in the abhorrent version of aqua and orange that adorned their jerseys.
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| Available at the Pro Shop |
This evening, the Dolphins are playing against Baltimore to fulfill their contractual responsibilities. With such excitement to look forward to, I feel it only right that we also look back. Ready for some football, 80's style?!? I knew you were.
- It all starts with a time before teams felt that logos should be intimidating. Now, everything is angry and all emo black and while. But, a scant generation or two ago, you could show up to play a fierce game of football with an easy going mammal on your head.
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| Hey, you wanna tackle me? That's cool, maybe I'll tackle you too, right on! |
- So, yeah, we didn't need to be show attitude on our helmets. There were other ways to show it. During that questionable decade, Miami had a couple of standout receivers. They played a similar style, and both had the first name of Mark. It was a glorious time to be a superstar. Um, did I use the word style yet?
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| You'll see the white guy with the perm a bit later |
- Obviously, I wanted to be just like a lot of the guys on the team. At about the same time, for reasons only a bizarre child could conjure, I really didn't like my first name. Nobody else had it, and I didn't believe it sounded cool enough. I felt that I needed a name that sounded forceful and suave and intriguing. My understanding of those words clearly lacking, I settled on the name I wish I had. No, I never made anyone call me this, but I really wanted to. Because, when you want to impress people, ESPECIALLY girls, you should only need to tell them your awesome name. That name; Lyle.
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| Yes, Lyle. |
- The sickness raging, I pushed onward anyway. It was a confusing time, obviously. You see, Mr Blackwood of Lyle-dom was a part of a very strong, very stout Miami defense. For a few years, they were a big part of the team's success. And, as luck(?) would have it, the majority of guys on that team had a last name that began with the letter "B". You see what's coming, don't you?
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| The policy of "no intimidation" was clearly enforced |
- Alas, among all the Lyles and non-Lyles, I always had one true favorite player. One of the best quarterbacks of all time, and he wore the most righteous number, 13. If you're going to root for one player, and needed someone to latch onto as you go through the rigors of youth, you need someone truly great. How could I not look up to Dan Marino?
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| Oh yeah, that's how. |
Zubaz and a corvette. Finally, things are starting to make sense.
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