Miami Dolphins fans turn grief into faith as we all mourn Eric Carmona
By Brian Miller
The passing of Miami Dolphins super-fan Eric Carmona continues to rock the Dolphins fanbase and it has trickled into the media as well.
It has been a week since Eric Carmona left his California home to head to work and sadly, he did not return. An accident claimed his life and left Dolphins fans in complete shock and desperate to help the wife and four kids he left behind.
Eric was the man behind the Tuanon phenemonen. He created the entire persona and if you had something negative to say, he or his 27K followers would let you know. He was personable, fun loving, and while he took his jabs at others, he was always doing so in gest.
A part of the Fins or Die group, Carmona through his Twitter handle FinsVicous, generated a strong following for Tua Tagovailoa and now, he is gone.
I have been out of town this past week and didn't have access to my computer. I wanted to write something sooner. But I'm glad this time has passed. I knew of Eric's continued contributions to social media and Miami Dolphins fans but had I wrote this a week ago, I would not have realized just how much Eric meant to the Dolphins community.
Since his passing, a GoFundMe account was set up, more on that in a minute. The goal was to raise $50,000 for his family. So far, that number is well over the goal and now sits less than $70.00 away from $100K. That is the reach that Eric had in the Dolphins community.
From average fans to members of the media, donations have been pouring in. Tua Tagovailoa donated $10,000 while Tyreek Hill donated $7,000. Tom Garfinkel, the Dolphins CEO, Andrew Van Ginkel's wife, Darrius Rucker, and Emmanuel Acho have all donated, so has Mike Florio of ProFootballTalk.
It is never easy to say goodbye and it is so much harder when you don't get that chance to do so. Eric's last Tweet was cryptic in and of itself but stands as a reminder of what world we all live in.
Give people their flowers while they can still smell them.
— Eric 🐀 (@FinsVicious) May 31, 2023
It has been a rough week for Miami fans but like always the community has come together once more. There is still the option to help Eric's family. Please visit his GoFundMe page if you can or simply leave a message of prayer on his Twitter account.
I didn't know Eric all that well but I can see the positive impact he had on others with his selfish generosity and good-spirited fun. May the lord hold you in his arms Eric and may he carry your family through these trying times.