South Florida Sun-Sentinel (Sunday)
THEMOMENT HASARRIVED
FORDOLPHINSFANS, MARINO’SDEBUT NEARLY40YEARSAGOISTHEONLYTHING THATCOMPARESTOTUADAY
There’s no need to sell this moment. No need to hype itwith superlative-laced sentences. Sunday’s debut ofTuaTagovailoa is simply the biggest on-field moment for aDolphins player in nearly 40 years. That’s right. I’ll pause here and let you consider that. And, again, that’s written with the understanding there’s absolutely no need to inflate this moment— and it is the moment rather than the game. The Dolphins can lose the game. The game, by itself, has no more consequence than nextweek or theweek after.
The moment has a rare spotlight, though. Sometimes such moments arrive in sports without any advancewarning or involved history. This does with both ladled in such deep proportions it’s tough to cover them all.
Start here: The Dolphins sacrificed a full season for thismoment. They hope they’ve found the quarterback they’ve searched for over the past 20 years covering 21 quarterbacks, seven coaching staffs, two owners— and one forlorn playoffwin.
Whenwas the last time a day involved such extended pain and forever planning? Never iswhen.