A “Perfect” 1972 celebration to celebrate 50th anniversary

On Saturday night, the Miami Dolphins honored the 1972 team with a spectacular gala at the Hard Rock Hotel and Casino. It was a fiitting tribute.

Outside the double doors of the grand ballroom, tall tropical potted plants were lit with aqua and orange lighting, forming a pathway to the coctail tables where media mingled with Hall of Fame players and living members of the 1972 team and their families.

When Larry Csonka entered, film crews surrounded him. All around the pre-party were cameramen bobbing and weaving through the crowds. Boom mics dropped from above and at times you had to duck to avoid them.

Members of the team hugged each other, lifelong friends that were seeing each other in some cases for the first time in years, if not decades. Laughter and even a few tears, easily flowed throughout.

Amongst the crowd was Dan Marino, Jason Taylor, Mel Blount, and even Mean Joe Green. Gold Jackets mixed with the teal colored alumni jacket of former Miami Dolphins from every era. All of them brought together to honor the one NFL season of perfection.

As Stephen Ross walked by, several people approached him. Team President Tom Garfinkel shook hands and caught up with people he too had not seen in years. Then, the lights began to flash and the doors to the ballroom opened.

Three exceptionally large displays showed images of the Dolphins 72 team. A rolling 50th Anniversay logo lit the stage from the displays. Attendees made their way in to their assigned tables where at least one member of the 72 team and at least one alumni player was seated at each table.

As dinner was being served, broadcaster and event emcee Mike Tirico took to the stage to begin the celebration of the team. As soon as he said, “The only NFL team to go undefeated” the crowd went crazy. Former players cheered and their wives cheered, everyone cheered. It would become a normal throughout the evening.

Tirico would introduce a panel of players, first from the defense. Safety Charlie Babb, defensive end Vern Den Herder, and defensive lineman Manny Fernandez took to the stage. The crowd went nuts as they regaled the group with stories from that season. All three hailing then DC Bill Arsnparger for his defensive mind and the development of the No-Name Defense and the 5-3.

Following was the offenses turn where Larry Csonka, Larry Little, and Larry Seiple took the stage. Csonka credited Don Shula and his running mates, Jim Kiick and Mercury Morris. He talked about how their personal competition to start was fueled by Shula behind the scenes. He said it made them better.

Csonka said the offense would not have been able to achieve what it did without the offensive line. Little talked about the communication between the lineman, ticking off player after player and how they all worked together as a singular unit. Seiple laughed and said no one cared that he was the team’s punter until his fake punt against the Steelers, everyone laughed and cheered.

The next group were not Miami Dolphins players but were fantastic. Joe Green, Mel Blount, and Bobby Bell. Three Hall of Fame players who talked about what it was like facing the 72 Dolphins.

Green continued to mention the three Larry’s and specifically Larry Little. He said the Steelers loss to Miami would be a catalyst to the team’s future the next decade. Mel Blount said that what happened in 72 would never again happen in the NFL. “This team was just special”.

For his part, Bell talked about how hard the Dolphins hit and how he hated seeing Csonka baring down on him. He even joked that when he saw Csonka at the coctail party his first thought was to move out of the way.

The even would end with an incredible tribute to the team as each member of the 72 roster had their names show on the middle screen and their pictures both past and present on the two side boards. Each name was applauded, very few louder than others. Above some names, “In Memorium” appeared above.

The last names to appear were the coaches. Don Shula’s appearance was met with a loud eruption of applause and cheering as expected. The final name was team founder Joe Robbie.

The event would break with a live band performance and the front area was cleared to make a dance floor. I said my good-byes to some of the players I had met throughout the day and stood aside and took in the surreal event that I was attending. A once in a lifetime opportunity.

One player off to the side commented to another that this was likely the last time they would all be together. Scattered around the United States, it had been years since they had seen each other and some knew this could be the last time.

There won’t be a 75th Anniversary celebration, at least not like this and there probably won’t be a 60th either. Another player had said earlier that they try and meet every five years but that has become difficult as well, but there are phone calls.

I didn’t cover this event as a member of the media, I was a guest of someone who was involved in getting the event together. It is an honor to have attended it. A simple gesture of a well-loved, respected, and developed friendship of over a decade.

Last night, I got to witness something I could only dream of and the digital colors and voices of grizzled veterans still ring through my head.

Tonight, those players or in the case of those no longe with us, their families, will be honored at halftime on Sunday night. It will be a fitting conclusion to a weekend long event and it is one that is well deserved.

The Miami Dolphins do not pop champagne and raise toasts. To a man, each said they had never done that but they do take a lot of pride when the last team falls and they are reminded that they are still the only ones.

I will leave this article with what I can recall Larry Csonka saying to the crowd Saturday night before he left the stage.

“As the years go by, we sink, we get covered with layers of dirt and dust. We are buried. Then, as the new season begins and a team starts to make a run, the dirt begins to shift and move and we claw our ways out, those of living and dead, and we say, ‘We are still here’, and “We are still undefeated!…and the crowd….went….wild!