This Could Be The Year: My 30 Years as a Miami Dolphins Fan [Hardcover]

Rich Libero (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: January 1, 2010

Since 1974 Miami Dolphins fans have been seeking a third Super Bowl title. They've come close several times, but for the most part, the team has been a tease. Rich Libero, a former sportswriter and professional sports league executive, uses the 2002 NFL season as a means to look back on the tragic history of the Miami Dolphins. This, after all, is a team that's an annual Super Bowl contender. What they turn into is an annual flop. This could be the Year talks about hope, prayer and the fact that fans are ultimately at the mercy of the athletes and teams they so love.

Editorial Reviews

About the Author

Rich Libero became a Miami Dolphins fan in the backseat of his neighbor's Volvo. He was a sportswriter for seven years and has been published in USA Today. Despite working in professional sports for 20 years, Rich still can't figure out why the Miami Dolphins are the most successful NFL team to not win a Super Bowl in the last

Product Details

• Hardcover: 212 pages
• Publisher: The Writers' Collective (January 1, 2010)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 159411076X
• ISBN-13: 978-1594110764
• Product Dimensions: 9.2 x 6.4 x 0.8 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1 pounds (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.2 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (9 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #1,156,235 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

11 of 11 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Like my personal biographer..., May 17, 2006

By 

Christopher Barry (White Plains, NY) - See all my reviews
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This review is from: This Could Be The Year: My 30 Years as a Miami Dolphins Fan (Hardcover)

Somebody finally put in words how I have felt every football season since I was 7, as a (sometimes sickly twisted) Miami Dolphins fan.

This is a quick, light read that explains how fans of one of pro sports' winningest franchises can somehow feel miserable all the time. In a nutshell, we're like Charlie Brown, eternally believing that somehow, this time, Lucy won't pull the ball away just as he's about to kick it.

Now, coincidentally, the author grew up ten miles from me (I did not know this ahead of time), and he's almost my exact age. So, many of the childhood experiences Mr. Libero describes particularly struck a chord with me.

However, this is only a small reason that I enjoyed this book tremendously. It's cleverly laid out. The author moves back and forth between a game-by-game description of the Dolphins' heartbreaking 2002 season (from a diehard, wall-punching fan's perspective), and a sort of autobiographical slant on memorable moments in Dolphins history.

I found myself regularly identifying with particular memories of cruel games from the past (the king of these being 41-38 playoff loss to SD in overtime- "the Kellen Winslow game"). Of course, there are many, many others. Younger fans will recall the "Miracle at the Meadowlands" debacle on Monday Night Football versus the dispicable Jets.

If you're a Dolphins fan, especially of an age where you remember the 70's and 80's, you will LOVE this book. But, make no mistake, this is a book about being in love with a sports team, and the anguish that you sign up for. As such, any fan would enjoy this book.

7 of 7 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Passion Personified, November 17, 2005

By 

Barry Dorf - See all my reviews
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This review is from: This Could Be The Year: My 30 Years as a Miami Dolphins Fan (Hardcover)

As a diehard Raider fan I thought I would be able to read this book from an outsiders persepctive and laugh at another fans misery. Instead what it did was make me read each chapter from a true fans perspective and had me thinking about all the Raiders missed chances. This book was written from passion, a passion true sports fans have for their team. You can tell each chapter was written from an intense recoloection that we all have from that one season of great hope. I could relate to every crying fit, every broken piece of furniture and the hatred for the Patriots after the tuck rule game. I did not love the Raider chapter, but the fact that the Dolphins did not win the Super Bowl that year either, I got over it. Unlike the failed Raider seasons this book made me rethink and relive it all in my head. A book every true fan of any team should read.

6 of 6 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Very entertaining, informative read, February 2, 2006

By 

Frank V. Marrone Jr. - See all my reviews
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This review is from: This Could Be The Year: My 30 Years as a Miami Dolphins Fan (Hardcover)

Don't let the title fool you, you don't need to be a Dolphan to enjoy this book. As a non-Dolphins fan, I read this book in the hopes of learning something new. As a sports fan we all feel our teams have been slighted or have the worst luck in the league. But after reading Libero's accounts of the Fish's past, it just proves that winning a major sports title, especially with the one and done nature of the NFL, takes a huge amount of luck. Even more so than talent. This book is well written and a very good read. I highly recommend it, even as a Bears fan.