Marino should pass the No. 13 torch to Tua
The Miami Dolphins absolutely, positively should not un-retire Dan Marino’s No.13 jersey and give it to their latest quarterback of the future — Tua Tagovailoa. The Dolphins shouldn’t have to.
Marino, the greatest quarterback in franchise history, should insist that the Dolphins bring his number out of retirement so Tua can wear the cherished No.13 he’s been wearing since his youth football days.
Of course, Tua would never ask to wear No.13 because he’s much too classy and humble for that. After the Dolphins took him with the fifth pick overall in the recently concluded NFL draft, Tua was asked about the No.13 and he said, “I’m not too worried about what number I have. I understand No.13 is retired, and it should be. Dan Marino, he’s the GOAT. He’s like the mayor out there and I have much respect for him.”
Marino is indeed the Dolphins’ GOAT (“Greatest Of All Time”), but wouldn’t it be amazing if he also became the franchise’s GOAT — the most “Gracious Of All Time.” Think about it: He would become a South Florida hero all over again if he held a big news conference and generously presented the No.13 to Tua. (Would I be a good PR guy or what?)
Besides, it’s not like un-retiring the No. 13 and giving it to Tua is going to diminish Marino’s greatness. In fact, it would actually be honoring Marino’s legacy to give his number to a special prospect like Tua.
I can almost hear you avid ’Phins fans cursing me right now, yelling and screaming that it would be “organizational blasphemy!!!” to give Marino’s retired number to an unproven rookie. I get it, but such a reaction is exactly why I think Marino’s number should have never been retired in the first place. In fact, it’s why I am strongly against retiring numbers — period! — unless an athlete does something that transcends sports and contributes to the greater good (see Jackie Robinson and Pat Tillman).
These days, every team has a Ring of Honor to pay homage to its legendary players. Retiring numbers is redundant; it’s a tradition that is no longer necessary. Not only that, but the longer we play sports, the more and more retired numbers there will be, which means eventually we’re going to run out of decent numbers for active players to wear.
I prefer the way the Dallas Cowboys do it. They don’t have any officially retired numbers, although they do periodically take numbers out of circulation until exceptional prospects come along and ask to wear those numbers.
It’s why Emmitt Smith was granted the No. 22 previously worn by another Cowboys Hall-of-Famer — Bullet Bob Hayes. It’s why Cowboys great Drew Pearson and Michael Irvin both wore No. 88 and why Chuck Howley and Randy White both wore No. 54.
It’s the same with the Dolphins. It’s not like Marino was the first great No.13 in the franchise’s history. A case could be made that the Dolphins could have retired No.13 long before Marino ever had a chance to wear it. Former Dolphins safety Jake Scott wore No.13, went to five Pro Bowls and was the Super Bowl MVP during the perfect 17-0 season of1972. A half-century later, Scott is still the Dolphins’ career leader in interceptions and punt-return yardage.
I think it would be tremendous if Marino pulled a Steve Spurrier and took his own number out of retirement. Many long-time Florida Gators fans will remember that one of the first things Spurrier did when he became the head coach of Florida back in1990 was to un-retire the No.11he wore when he became the state’s first Heisman Trophy winner in1966. Gators quarterback Kyle Trask wore that No.11last season and did it proud.
I believe Tua would do the same thing with Marino’s No.13. It’s no secret the Dolphins have been looking for their next great quarterback ever since Marino retired two decades ago. The list of Dolphins QBs since then reads like a Who’s Who of NFL grunts and peons. We’ve had two Chads (Henne and Pennington), two
Ryans (Tannehill and Fitzpatrick), two
Jays (Fiedler and Cutler) and, yes, one A.J. (Feeley). Let’s face it, ever since Marino retired, the Dolphins have had a bunch of QB lemons and even one real Lemon (Cleo).
If the Dolphins truly want to change 20 years of bad luck, then they should start with a symbolic gesture:
Un-retire No.13.
If they truly want to end the desperate, decades-long search to find the next Marino, it starts with giving Marino’s number to Tua.
Players retire, but it’s a mathematical fact that numbers march on into infinity.