South Florida Sun-Sentinel Palm Beach (Sunday)
Watch Dolphins at Hard Rock Stadium theater
You’ll be able to watch the Miami Dolphins play the New England Patriots today on a massive outdoor video board at Hard Rock Stadium while sprawled on a sofa in a private cabana, staffed by a waiter serving cans of the Fins’ “official” wine, a fizzy drink called Babe promoted by a reality-TV star.
Welcome to the 2020 season of NFL football. Somewhere, the ghost of Ray Nitschke wants to break something.
But in the age of COVID-19 — when Hard Rock Stadium attendance is reduced to 13,000, tailgates are banned and sports-bar capacity is limited — the Dolphins’ Gameday Theater is perfect for fans who like to watch with a facepainted crowd.
The venue, which has been screening movies, concerts and other features since June, opens its season-long run as a football watch-party hangout with today’s 1 p.m. game at New England. The space, open for both home and away games, seats 386 people in a variety of socially distanced configurations.
“It’s a fundamental human need to enjoy life’s experiences to
gether with other people,” said Miami Dolphins CEO Tom Garfinkel in a press statement. “The Gameday Theater will allow 386 fans to enjoy games in a safe environment where they can be socially distant and socially present at the same time.”
Seating options include bean-bag loungers and private cabana shells for up to four guests, as well as a “living room” box for up to eight guests, with a sofa, two loungers and two armchairs under a canopy. Tickets cost $30-$60 at HardRockStadium.com.
There also is a south-lawn sports bar with lounge pods and the Gameday Café dining area. Food and beverage also can be ordered with your phone for seat-side delivery.
Theater guests will have a separate parking-lot entrance that opens two hours before kickoff, with dedicated parking for both early and late arrival.
If Hard Rock Stadium’s theater is news to you, clearly you are not one of the millions of people who keep track of the Instagram bromance between reality-TV stars Tyler Cameron and Matt James, who recently caught a movie together there.
Former FAU football player and model Cameron competed on Season 15 of the hit ABC reality show “The Bachelorette” in 2019, and James is about to begin filming the 2021 season of “The Bachelor.” James, also a former college football player who had a brief stint in the NFL, is the first Black man to star on “The Bachelor.”
Their Aug. 27 visit to Hard Rock Stadium (the film was “Field of Dreams”) was part of a promotion for Babe wine, a bubbly concoction in a can that has become the official wine sponsor of the Miami Dolphins. Because they needed one! (Through Dec. 31 you can get 20% off your order at DrinkBabe.net with code FINSUP.)
Babe wine is owned by Anheuser-Busch InBev, but the original idea poured from the brain of online comedian-influencer Josh Ostrovsky, who goes by The Fat Jewish. So it’s hard to figure out how seriously to take this relationship.
For instance, as part of its NFL promotion, Babe partnered with sassy designer Ryan Porter on a collection of footballinspired c a n d l e s . Av a i l a b l e at DrinkBabe.net, the candle, called $18 Nachos, smells like a concession stand; Hashtag Field Goals is reminiscent of fresh-cut grass; and Jockstrap, yes, transports you to “the center of a musky locker room.”
Each candle costs $29, with a bundle of all three for $69. Perfect for your next watch party — or anytime, really.
Perhaps even more suspicious, Cameron and James wore Dolphins jerseys for their night out at Hard Rock Stadium. Cameron wore a Josh Rosen jersey. The Dolphins’ QB was cut a week later.