Miami Dolphins fans think this is finally the year…again

Miami Dolphins fans can be a fickle bunch and when it comes to the excitement surrounding the team in the off-season, nothing is better or more unrealistic.

This is the year, finally, that is what Dolphins fans are believing. Many of them anyways. On social media, the hype is real and we have talked about it at considerable length over the last month but is the hype truly justified or is this another case of off-season victory that leads to in-season defeat?

Every year it seems that the Dolphins have done what it takes to make a move and turn the tides of the franchise back towards winning. Aside from the gutted 2019 season, fans believed that Miami was ready for the next big step, that they would take it and succeed. A dynasty in the making when in reality, fans would be thrilled with a deep playoff run and a Super Bowl victory and then quietly disappear for a few more years.

For some reason, whatever that reason is, it hasn’t happened. Brian Flores came close with back-to-back winning seasons but the seven-game losing streak last year could not be overcome by a seven-game winning streak. For all the hype that arrived with Adam Gase, he couldn’t produce a return to the post-season after his first season.

Now, we are here once again. A fresh face with new ideas and a new approach to coaching. High-profile off-season moves coupled with big internal extensions. There is a new focus, a new determination, but like every other year, this is the end of May and pads have not been put on, contact has not been made, and Mike McDaniel has yet to call a single play.

That doesn’t stop fans from believing that this is the year. In a way, it shouldn’t. In reality, most of those cheering fans with the rose glasses also know deep down this is a road that has been traveled quite often, even by themselves.

If there is good news, it is that the off-season truly is almost here. May will close out to June and June will see a couple of more sessions before giving way to the real off-season. The days when there will be no mini-camps, no OTAs, nothing until the end of July when players report back for training camp.

Will camp change their minds or solidify their beliefs? Hopefully, the latter and we can all jump aboard the freight train of hype and believe that indeed, this could be the year, until it isn’t and you know what, there is nothing wrong with having those positive beliefs!