My adoration of Football was a birthright that I was compelled to respect.

In 1964, my father, the most honorable man anyone will ever meet, decided to escape the blossoming tyranny of Fidel Castros regime. Walter, my father, on a sultry July 3rd night decided to embark on a makeshift raft with a lawn mower engine as a propeller, and risk his life to escape tyranny! The courage he displayed will forever be a beacon of my thoughts.

My father landed on US soil on the fourth of July, and one year later in 1965 he was drafted into the Army to serve in Vietnam! blah blah blah, certain aspects of the story must be redacted. Ultimately my father Walter Suarez was honorably discharged in 1966. 

Walter Suarez was a war veteran before he even knew what it was to be American. Luckily his good friend from Cuba Bisente took it upon himself to introduce my father to the Miami Dolphins, who’s inaugural season coincided with my fathers discharge. My father experienced the kinship of American unity while cheering for the Dolphins. Imagine an immigrant/veteran, experiencing the agnostic bliss of a unified interest. My father once told me a story that in 1971 his friend Bisente and him where acting like insufferable fools towards two black men in attendance who rooted for the Jets. Ultimately the Jets won, and the two black men where respectful but stoically vindicated. My Father learned how to be an American by attending Miami Dolphin games. 

One can only imagine how that experience in relationship to what eventually became one of the greatest teams in the history of sports, galvanized my father as the most emotionally invested fan EVER! My fathers love for football was more than just being a fan, it was the vehicle that convinced him that he was a part of this new community and new country.

P.S. I was born October 1st 1978, while my father was cheering the Dolphins at the Orange Bowl. Miami won 24 to 10 against the St. Louis Cardinals. 

Look it up.