12. Tampa Bay Buccaneers vs. 5. Miami Dolphins
Who doesn't love Florida? The beach? The sun? The food? It makes perfect sense that the two of the three Sunshine State residents have hung around for the playoffs. Unfortunately, as fate would have it, only one can advance to Round 2 as the state champ.
Tampa Bay Buccaneers
Pros -
• Great uniforms and colors. You can't go wrong with pewter.
• Who doesn’t love a city with a Busch Gardens?
• A quick Southwest flight (or 8 hour drive) away...
• Plenty of room on the bandwagon
Cons -
• Pirates are so 2008…• Outside of late Dungy/early Gruden years, a pretty rough history
• Not exactly a modern day powerhouse, either
• The Glazers' purse-strings seemed to have tightened since buying Manchester U. Are they still committed to building a winner?
Miami Dolphins
Pros-
• South Beach…
• "Snowflake" stole the show in Ace Ventura
• Coach Sporano. I just like the guy. The mustache. Refusing to take ever take off his sunglasses. How his name is almost Tony Soprano.
• Bob Baumhower, not because he also played for the Tide, but more-so because of the Honey BBQ Wings at his restaurants.
Cons-
• Aqua and Coral. I think I've worn bad Easter outfits with these colors in my younger days.• Mercury Morris and the Champagne Sippers. They're just obnoxious…
• It's debatable if the Dolphins are the most popular football team in their own city (see The U).
• They will never have another year better than 1972. Kind of makes it awkward to jump on board 27 years later.
The Verdict
For two teams from the same state, these two couldn't be much more different, from their histories down to their uniform colors, one's strength is typically the other's weakness. Tampa Bay is a team that reversed its fortune somewhat from switching from one of the worst uniforms in the league to one of the best, following up a few years later with its first Super Bowl title. Since then, things have been a little rocky, however. Miami is a team with a big personality, flaunting it's Perfectville residency card to the edge of obnoxiousness, but with a coaching staff and roster with a new look, feel and personality of their own.Everyone knows that if you're looking for the upset in March, look at the 12 vs. 5 matchups. The same holds true in January. The 1972 Dolphins were a great team, possibly the greatest ever. The problem is if I cheer for the Dolphins now, the best I'll ever see will probably be the 2nd best team in franchise history. There's just something to be said for getting to the very top of the pyramid for the first time. I'll pass on sipping champagne with Mercury and the boys…
Tampa Bay's Turn to Pop the Bottles...
This pick, especially, reminds me of when I play Madden football. When I do franchise mode and draft my whole team anew, I always like to pick young players who aren't stars yet so I can mold them and share in their success, rather than picking already established superstars.
ReplyDeletePicking TB is exactly that. They're fairly young and you can share in their success since they haven't really had any yet, as opposed to the Dolphins who are established and have already been amazing. Good choice.
You realize Tampa Bay has some orange in their unis, right? (But you were going to get at least some orange in this pick, either way)
ReplyDeleteSorry to see you already made your pick.
I think a huge "pro" you left out for the Fins is the affiliation with Jimmy Buffett, now it's LandShark stadium and Jimmy owns it, or at least partly. Has to be a fun environment to see a game.
It seems weird to me that team history was a positive factor in the preliminary round, but it is now a bad thing to have a good history.
ReplyDeleteGood point anonymous. It's not so much just that the Dolphins have had a good history, it is that their one crowning achievement is one season of perfection that may not be duplicated again. It won't so much be a continuation of their successful history but moreso like having a more successful older brother who you never live up to.
ReplyDeleteOK fine, the real reason is I can't wear coral or aqua.
Actually, PtheIMP, as of the Super Bowl it will no longer be LandShark Stadium.
ReplyDeleteAlso, Buffett sucks.
Wooh, looks like any team other than the Cards actually has a chance!
ReplyDeleteChiefs are now my pick to win it all.