For Patrick Dwyer Miami has always been home, he may not have been born here but many of his family were and he has lived here for the largest part of his life. Through his career as a financial advisor Patrick has helped to shape Miami and its inhabitants, working with businesses, communities and important individuals. What is it that Patrick loves most about Miami then, the beach? The ladies? The food? The Influence? No, it is his beloved Miami Dolphins, a team who he has supported since he was a boy and a franchise who have found their way into his heart. I love hearing about how someone came to support a particular sports team, and here is how Patrick landed on the Dolphins.
Family
Most of Patrick’s family were actually New York Jets fans but his grandfather was a hardcore Dolphins fan when Patrick was growing up. Patrick idolized his grandfather and he used to take a young Patrick to games. It was for this reason why Patrick shunned the rest of his family and decided that he would follow in his grandfather’s footsteps and support the Dolphins.
Success
From an early age Patrick looked up to high achievers and he loved the idea of success, this went a stage further when he witnessed the Dolphins win the Super Bowl back to back in the early 70s, including that sensational unbeaten season in 71/72. Patrick was already a supporter of the team back then but when he witnessed this incredible feat he knew that this would be his team for life. Patrick couldn’t have known then that the Dolphins would spend the next 40 years in relative obscurity, save except for the Dan Marino era, and I asked him if he would’ve changed if he knew. Patrick replied by telling me that you can only appreciate the success after the failure, unfortunately for him it went the other way around. Nonetheless he is very hopeful of a turnaround in fortunes.
Exciting
Over the years it may have been easy for someone like Patrick to lose his passion a little for the Dolphins, after all he is a serial winner in life and the Dolphins sadly aren’t. Despite this however there is something incredibly sacred for Patrick when he goes to watch the Dolphins, and the excitement has never faded for him since he was a young boy. For Patrick heading out for game-day is the same as when most people go to church, the build-up, the fanfare, the routine and of course the game itself, have been ingrained into Patrick’s routine since he was a young boy. As long as the Dolphins continue to fight and make things exciting, Patrick will still be turning up week after week, just waiting for that next train of success to pull into the station.
It isn’t always about the glory, sometimes it is just the pure passion for the game.
