Dolfan Denny was the name given to Denny Sym by Miami Dolphins football fans. He was known for cheering on the NFL team for 33 years as a one-man sideline show, often leading Miami crowds in cheers and chants from each corner of the field. He usually wore glittering orange and aqua hats, and did so since the Dolphins' first game in 1966 until 2000. In 1976, the Dolphins began paying him $50 per game to cheer from the sideline after being impressed by his spirit and passion. [1] He then retired his act in 2000, at the age of 65, after suffering chronic health problems. At one point, he had to cheer while seated due to knee problems. [2]
Denny Sym died on March 18, 2007, of kidney disease and cancer at the age of 72. [1]
The Miami Dolphins are a professional American football team based in the Miami metropolitan area. The Dolphins compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member of the American Football Conference (AFC) East division. The team plays its home games at Hard Rock Stadium in Miami Gardens, Florida, a northern suburb of Miami. The team is owned by Stephen M. Ross. The Dolphins are the oldest professional sports team in Florida. Of the four AFC East teams, the Dolphins are the only team in the division that was not a charter member of the American Football League (AFL). The Dolphins were also one of the first professional football teams in the southeast, along with the Atlanta Falcons.
Hard Rock Stadium is a multi-purpose stadium in Miami Gardens, Florida, United States. The stadium is the home field for the Miami Dolphins of the National Football League (NFL) and the Miami Hurricanes, the University of Miami's NCAA Division I college football team.
Errick Miron is an American former professional football running back who played for 11 seasons in the National Football League (NFL) and one season in the Canadian Football League (CFL).
The Miami Orange Bowl was an outdoor athletic stadium in Miami, Florida, from 1937 until 2008. The stadium was located in the Little Havana neighborhood west of downtown Miami. The venue was considered a landmark and served as the home stadium for the Miami Hurricanes college football team from 1937 through 2007 and for the Miami Dolphins for the Dolphins' first 21 seasons, until Joe Robbie Stadium opened in nearby Miami Gardens in 1987. The stadium also was the temporary home for the FIU Golden Panthers for one year, in 2007, while its on-campus FIU Stadium underwent expansion.
Brian David Griese is an American professional football coach and former player who is the quarterbacks coach for the San Francisco 49ers of the National Football League (NFL). A former quarterback in the NFL, he played college football for the Michigan Wolverines and was selected by the Denver Broncos in the third round of the 1998 NFL draft.
Zachary Michael Thomas, nicknamed "Baby Elephant", is an American former professional football player who was a linebacker in the National Football League (NFL) for 13 seasons. He played college football for the Texas Tech Red Raiders, and was recognized as a unanimous All-American. He was selected in the fifth round, 22nd pick, in the 1996 NFL draft by the Miami Dolphins, and played for the Dolphins in his first 12 seasons in the NFL, before playing his 13th and final season with the Dallas Cowboys.
Mike Shula is an American football coach who is the Offensive Analyst for the South Carolina Gamecocks of the Southeastern Conference (SEC). He played college football as a quarterback for the Alabama Crimson Tide and was the school's head coach from 2003 to 2006. He was the offensive coordinator for the Tampa Bay Buccaneers from 1996 to 1999, the Carolina Panthers from 2013 to 2017, and the New York Giants from 2018 to 2019.
Will D. Allen is an American former professional football player who was a cornerback in the National Football League (NFL). Allen played college football for the Syracuse Orange. He was selected in the first round of the 2001 NFL draft by the New York Giants.
Jason Paul Taylor is an American former professional football player who was a defensive end and linebacker in the National Football League (NFL), spending the majority of his career with the Miami Dolphins. He is currently the defensive ends coach for the Miami Hurricanes. Over the course of his 15-year NFL career, Taylor played for the Dolphins for 13 years in three separate stints, and also played a season each for the Washington Redskins (2008) and the New York Jets (2010).
Adam Joshua Feeley is an American former professional football player who was a quarterback in the National Football League (NFL). He played college football for the Oregon Ducks and was selected by the Philadelphia Eagles in the fifth round of the 2001 NFL draft. He played in the NFL for the Miami Dolphins and St. Louis Rams, as well as his two stints with the Eagles.
Daniel Allen Campbell is an American professional football coach and former tight end who is the head coach of the Detroit Lions of the National Football League (NFL). He served as the assistant head coach and tight ends coach for the New Orleans Saints from 2016 to 2020 and also served as an assistant coach for the Miami Dolphins from 2010 to 2015, again as the tight ends coach and then as the interim head coach for most of the 2015 season. In the 2023 season, Campbell led the Lions to their first division title since 1993, their first playoff win since 1991, and their second ever NFC championship appearance.
The 2007 season was the Miami Dolphins' 38th season in the National Football League, their 42nd overall, their the third and final under general manager Randy Mueller and first and only under head coach Cam Cameron.
Melvin Torrence Bratton is an American former professional football player who was a running back in the National Football League (NFL). He played college football for the Miami Hurricanes, blowing out his knee in the national championship game at the 1988 Orange Bowl against Oklahoma.
Daniel Constantine Marino Jr. is an American former professional football player who was a quarterback in the National Football League (NFL) for 17 seasons with the Miami Dolphins and has worked with them since 2014 as a special advisor. He played college football for the Pittsburgh Panthers, earning first-team All-American honors in 1981. Marino was the last quarterback taken in the first round of the famed quarterback class of 1983. He held or currently holds dozens of NFL records associated with the quarterback position, and despite never being on a Super Bowl-winning team, he is recognized among the greatest quarterbacks in American football history.
Derek Cameron Wake is an American former professional football player who was a defensive end and linebacker in the National Football League (NFL) and Canadian Football League (CFL). He played college football for Penn State Nittany Lions, and was signed by the New York Giants as an undrafted free agent in 2005.
Vontae Ottis Davis was an American professional football player who played as a cornerback for the Miami Dolphins, Indianapolis Colts and Buffalo Bills of the National Football League (NFL). He played college football for the Illinois Fighting Illini and was selected by the Dolphins in the first round of the 2009 NFL draft. He made two Pro Bowls in his career.
Daniel Roy Carpenter is an American former professional football player who was a placekicker in the National Football League (NFL). He was signed by the Miami Dolphins as an undrafted free agent in 2008 after playing college football for the University of Montana. He also played for the Buffalo Bills.
The Miami Dolphins Cheerleaders is the professional cheerleading squad of the Miami Dolphins of the National Football League. The squad performs a variety of dance moves at the Hard Rock Stadium, the home stadium of the Dolphins. The Dolphins Cheerleaders released an annual swimsuit calendar every year. The squad hosts auditions every May. Like most other squads in the league, the MDC also has a youth cheer squad and help mentor young girls in the Miami area. The squad also makes USO trips. Every year, the MDC sends a cheerleader to the Pro Bowl. The MDC also sends a number of alumni to the Indian Premier League every year.
The Buccaneers–Dolphins rivalry is between the Tampa Bay Buccaneers and Miami Dolphins of the National Football League (NFL). It is an in-state, interconference matchup between the two oldest NFL teams in the state of Florida. It has been active in most years since the Buccaneers joined the league as an expansion team in 1976. The rivalry is mostly a mainstay of the preseason, as the teams have been in different conferences since 1977, with the Dolphins are part of the AFC East while the Buccaneers are currently part of the NFC South. According to the current NFL scheduling format, the two teams play each other once every four years during the regular season and once every eight seasons at each team's home stadium. However, with a new 17-game schedule being introduced in 2021, it is now possible for the two teams to meet as early as every other year, depending on division placement and from the inter-conference match-ups made two years earlier. In addition, the two clubs play each other during the preseason nearly every year, with the site rotating on a mostly regular basis. The two teams have never met in the playoffs. Currently, the only circumstance in which the two teams could meet during the postseason would be in the Super Bowl.
Tuanigamanuolepola Donny Tagovailoa is an American professional football quarterback for the Miami Dolphins of the National Football League (NFL). He played college football for the Alabama Crimson Tide and was named the Offensive MVP of the 2018 College Football Playoff National Championship during his freshman season. As a sophomore, Tagovailoa won the Maxwell and Walter Camp awards en route to an appearance in the 2019 National Championship.