Житель Неаполя написал книгу-гимн в честь непобедимой команды «Майами Долфинс» 1972 года

Naples’ biggest Dolphins’ fans By GLENN MILLER FLORIDA WEEKLY CORRESPONDENT A 9-year-old boy in Clarks Summit, Pennsylvania in 1972 fell in love with the Miami Dolphins. His name: Bob Gonzalez. Now, 54 years later and 1,297 miles away, Gonzalez is a Naples resident and still a Dolphins fan, one who reveres that legendary team, the only in NFL history to go undefeated and win a Super Bowl. How much does Gonzalez love the Dolphins? He’s a written an ode to the team titled “Pro Football’s Constitution.” The subtitle: “It’s not just good, it’s Perfect!” This is Gonzalez’s second book. The first was “A Flicker on the Water.” That is essentially an ode to fishing and the seas from a man who loves both – fishing and the water. And the Dolphins. Gonzalez is fond of pointing out that “neither fishermen nor fish go a full season undefeated unless you are the 1972 Miami Dolphins.” Although some football historians have belittled the achievement of the 1972 Dolphins, Gonzalez defends the team. Critics have claimed the team benefited from a “weak” schedule. Gonzalez, though, pointed out the 1972 Dolphins are the only team in NFL history that led the league in points scored and gave up the fewest points. Other teams in NFL history have benefited from “weak” schedules but no other team in the Super Bowl era has roared through undefeated. They did it with a 38-year-old back-up quarterback, Earl Morrall, after starter Bob Griese was injured in Week Five. Gonzalez is far from alone in Florida in his love of the Dolphins. Naples resident Allie Goodman, 36, clearly wasn’t alive in 1972. Heck, her dad was born in 1963, a year after Gonzalez. But as a kid her dad, Bob Conte, got hooked on the Dolphins in 1972. “That made him a fan,” Goodman said. “And naturally, that’s who made me a fan.” She became such a fan that Goodman served as president for a time of a Southwest Florida Dolphins fan club and in 2022 was named the team’s Fan of the Year. Stout-hearted team and fans Byron Stout, 78, now resides in Gainesville but he was born and grew up in Fort Myers as part of a family that has ties here going back to 1886. In 1972, he was in Michigan. “As a football fan from South Florida, before the Jags and even the Bucs, I was naturally, actually unavoidably, a Miami Dolphins guy,” Stout said. “But I went full diehard in 1972, when the Fins ran the table, recording the only undefeated, untied season ever seen in the NFL. Foes’ fans can say what they want about salary caps, league parity, longer seasons and all. But my ‘72 team was arguably the best ever, setting records for scoring, scoring defense, rushing, and overcoming unimaginable adversity.” In 1972, Stout was a Michigan State grad student on a full ride, far away from the Orange Bowl. He was too broke to bet on the games but still followed his team. “But by season’s end, I definitely could have won the Most Obnoxious Award from my football-fan classmates,” Stout said. The allegiance to that 1972 team runs deep even to fans yet-to-be-born that year. Ask Goodman for her favorite player from that team and she immediately mentions running back Larry Csonka. “By far,” said Goodman, who read Csonka’s 2022 book, “Head-On: A Memoir.” Her husband, Jared, is not a Dolphins fan. “He basically has to live the Dolphins lifestyle that I do because he’s married to me,” Goodman said. Her kids are named after the team. Daughter, Mia, 9, is named after the first three letters of Miami. Her son, Jace, 8, is named for legendary Dolphin defensive end Jason Taylor, who played for the team decades after the 1972 season. Gordon Monger, 65, grew up in Hollywood, Florida. He’s old enough to remember the 1972 season and has fond memories of his father driving him and one of his two brothers to a bus stop and they’d take a bus to the Orange Bowl. They didn’t have the best seats in the house. “All the way to the top,” Monger said “And there was no escalator at the old Orange Bowl.” Trips to the Orange Bowl were rare. Watching games on TV in those days before streaming and cable and the Internet was the only way. “Try to watch with rabbit ears,” said Monger, referring to the antenna on top of televisions in those days. The rabbit ears had to be fiddled with to get decent reception. “You could grab the ears, try to move them, then you have to stay there when you got reception and try to watch it,” Monger said. Looking back Although it sounds incongruous now, the Dolphins had to go on the road in the playoffs despite a perfect record. “That’s insane,” Monger said. After beating the Cleveland Browns 20-14 at home in the first round of the playoffs, the Dolphins hit the road. The AFC Championship Game was played Dec. 31 in Pittsburgh. Miami won 21-17. Then it was Super Bowl VII and a 14-7 victory over the Washington Redskins. Gonzalez has reveled in that perfection for more than half a century. On a recent Sunday morning, he sat outside EJ’s Meridian Cafe in Naples and talked about that team and his books. EJ’s Cafe owner Eric Becker allows Gonzalez to set up a display of books outside the front door. Even in late May, after the height of tourist and snowbird season, a brisk traffic of customers filed in and out on this sunny morning. Gonzalez exchanged greetings with many and told them about his books.He knows about the restaurant business. For many years, at the Santa Rosa Mall, which is located in the small city of Mary Esther in the Florida panhandle, and at the Coastland Center in Naples, he operated Pretzel Twisters. It was a family business he operated for nearly 30 years with his parents, who also reside in Naples. His mom, Dolly, is 83. His dad, Bob, is 85. It was his mom more than his dad who kindled the boy’s love of sports. “He was more into hunting and fishing and stuff,” Gonzalez said. “He’s the one who got me into the outdoors stuff.” That led to his first book, “A Flicker on the Water.” Although the kid in Pennsylvania threw his allegiance to a Florida football team, he remained true to his home state for baseball. “I was a Pirates fan in baseball,” Gonzalez said. “I loved the Pirates.” But it was those magical Dolphins that became his football team. He recalls the powerhouse running Csonka, who, by the way, will turn 80 on Christmas Day. “I remember Larry Csonka being such a battering ram,” Gonzalez said. But it was a team that won by more than brute power. “That team won with brains as much as it did brawn,” Gonzalez said. It was a different world in 1972. The NFL season was only 14 games. It is now 17. Miami’s two quarterbacks passed for only 2,076 yards in those 14 games. In 2025, in three more games, every team except the New York Jets (2,784) passed for more than 3,000 yards. Eleven teams passed for more than 4,000 yards. In 1972, the Dolphins were the only big-time pro sports team in Florida. The Tampa Bay Bucs played their inaugural season in 1976. The Jacksonville Jaguars began play in 1995 There weren’t any MLB, NBA or NHL franchises in Florida. It was so long ago that most fans don’t remember the 1972 Dolphins. He hears one question often when the topic comes up. “Was Dan Marino on that team?” Gonzalez said. Marino is the greatest quarterback in franchise history, but he didn’t play for the Dolphins until 1983. Marino turned 11 on Sept. 15, 1972. That was two days before Miami opened the season with a 20-10 victory over the Kansas City Chiefs. But… “He played a vital role later when they played the Bears,” Gonzalez said. Gonzalez referred to a legendary game in 1985 when the 12-0 Chicago Bears came to the Orange Bowl. Could they run the table and join the 1972 Dolphins with a perfect season? It was a Monday night game with the nation watching, Marino was 14-for-27 for 270 yards and three touchdowns in a 38-24 victory that was Chicago’s only loss of the season. The Dolphins of the 1970s are a dim memory or pages from history for most fans. They remained a juggernaut the following year. The 1973 Dolphins won that season’s Super Bowl and returned to two Super Bowls in the 1980s but lost both. The team’s last playoff victory was in the 2000 season. Since then, they’ve lost six consecutive play-off games. “I still root for them,” Gonzalez said “I’d like to see them get it right. I’m sure it’s coming one of these years.” Maybe one of these years. “It’s been tough,” Gonzalez said. “They made the playoffs a couple of years ago and they went to Buffalo and lost. There was a little glimmer of hope. That glimmer didn’t last long.” The era of Dolphins Coach Don Shula in the 1970s is long gone. Shula won two Super Bowls, and he ranks first all-time in NFL history with 328 regular-season victories. “There was no one better in the ‘70s,” Gonzalez said. The 70’s are long gone. But Shula’s and Dolphins fans in Naples can witness a different kind of exceptional team among the culinary spot’s staff while enjoying excellent cuisine near the Naples Hilton. Still, all most Dolphins fans know about is the 21st century playoff drought. “I keep saying it’s my fault because once I became a fan…” Goodman said in jest. Nobody is blaming a Naples pharmacist for the playoff drought. Goodman joked about her jinx and its impact on her favorite team and her Fan of the Year Award. “I don’t want them to revoke my title,” Goodman said. Mature fans keep it in perspective. “You absolutely cannot lose if you embrace fandom as a blissful diversion from the stuff that’s really, truly important,” Stout said. “Although that’s sometimes so hard, when you’re watching bumbling idiots.” The 1972 Dolphins were not bumbling idiots. Gonzalez sees that 1972 team as something that transcends football. “People look at it as a sports thing,” Gonzalez said. “I don’t see it that way. I see it as an American thing, It’s what America stands for. You’re striving for excellence. You’re striving for a more perfect union. And then in this case they did it.” IN THE KNOW - Preseason continues with the Dolphins playing the Commanders, 7 p.m., Friday, Aug. 14; Giants, 4 p.m., Saturday, Aug. 22 and Falcons, 7 p.m., Friday, Aug. 28. - First game of the season is 4:25 p.m., Sunday, Sept. 13 against the Raiders. - Shula’s: Fans may also visit Shula’s Steak House, 5111 Tamiami Trail N, Naples, 11 a.m. to 10 p.m.; happy hour 3 p.m. to 6 p.m. daily. Shulassteakhouse.com