Anticipation of excitement, relevance are the gifts Tagovailoa has given Miami Dolphins | Opinion
Tua Tagovailoa surprised his mom on Mother’s Day with a brand new black Cadillac Escalade, a giant red bow on its hood.
Now that we know the Miami Dolphins’ new quarterback is pretty good at gift-giving, we can only imagine what surprise he might have in store for the city that made him a first-round NFL draft pick.
The gift of relevance, perhaps? Of excitement, if we aren’t getting too greedy?
(Or how about the gift of younger brother/quarterback Taulia Tagovailoa, who reportedly might transfer to the Miami Hurricanes?)
Dolfans haven’t felt much of relevance or excitement from their team for 20 years, since Dan Marino retired and took the franchise’s stature with him. We have shrunk to become an off-radar, regional club. Few fan bases in all of sports long more for a rebirth, for new glory days.
Anticipation is about all that’s left of sports for now, thanks to the continuing coronavirus/COVID-19 pandemic that shut down live events and big crowds two months ago, with talk of a gradual resumption without fans but still no clear plan or timetable set.
(We are so desperate in the void of sports that anything resembling competition is seen as better than nothing. Hence the following actual headline seen this week: “American Cornhole League: Live on ESPN!” That’s the same network that recently listed the top 74 sneakers in NBA history. How I wish I were kidding).
As we wait for the return of actual sports, and eventually cheering crowds, anticipation at least — and at last — has become something long-beleaguered fans of the Dolphins can savor.
Maybe the death of iconic glory-days coach Don Shula at age 90 last week was a sign, if only symbolically.
Has a page turned? Is a franchise that relies way too much on its distant past for sustenance in the absence of more recent glory finally poised to win again? To matter again?
Tagovailoa delivers that chance, that hope.
So does a promising young coach in Brian Flores.
Shula gave Flores his approval when last I communicated with the Hall of Fame coach back in January, which, in Miami, is tantamount to a papal blessing. “I still follow the Dolphins closely, closely,” Shula said, and, of Flores: “I have heard only good things and I wish him the best. He seems to be doing the right things, and things can only get better.”
Flores and Tagovailoa have the potential to be Miami’s most potent coach/QB combo since the prime of Shula and Marino — and that notably coincides with a suddenly wide open AFC East.
Who would have believed Tom Brady would leave the New England Patriots not because of age or retirement but in free agency? Who would have imagined, outside of a pleasant dream, that Bill Belichick’s perennial juggernaut would turn suddenly from a nearly impenetrable dynasty to just another team?
The most common post-draft betting over/unders for AFC East win totals in 2020 are 9 for the Buffalo Bills, 9 for New England, 6 1/2 to 7 for the New York Jets, and 6 for the Dolphins — but with the “over” the most bet on Miami, meaning the Fins and Jets are about evenly regarded.
Brady leaving the Pats levels the division playing field. Can New England win with a raw quarterback replacing a legend? Is Buffalo really ready to take over after not having won a playoff game since 1995? Or are the Jets, who have had one winning season in the past decade? Might a healthy Tagovailoa give Miami the division’s best quarterback and portend a Dolphins’ rise?
Anything seems possible, for the first time in a long time.
Strangely, anything seems possible at a time when we wonder if the NFL season will start on time or if there will be a season at all. When we wonder if game-day stadiums will be empty or full or shades in between. The Dolphins already have revealed a coronavirus-era contingency plan that would limit spectators to 15,000, with social distancing, in a stadium that seats 65,000.
A quick historical tangient on Tagovailoa choosing to wear uniform No. 1 because Marino’s 13 is retired.:
Only 20 men in the combined 140-year history of the Dolphins, Heat, Marlins and Panthers have worn No. 1 — and only four of those have stood apart. Chronologically, the significant 1’s have been:
▪ Dolphins kicker Garo Yepremian (1970-78): The championship era, glory days placekicker still is second all-time in franchise points scored and third in field goals made.
▪ Marlins second baseman Luis Castillo (1996-2005): Club’s career leader in games played, base hits and stolen bases.
▪ Panthers goaltender Roberto Luongo (2000-06, 14-19): Second all time in NHL games played at the position, second in saves and third in wins.
▪ Heat forward Chris Bosh (2011-16): Fifth in franchise career scoring and a part of two NBA championships.
If Tua Tagovailoa can mean as much as the above four 1’s, the Dolphins and their fans will finally have the gift they have been waiting for.
