As many of you already know, I am moving to South Florida in a few weeks. It was a bittersweet decision because while we are thrilled to be moving closer to my family (and the Dolphins!) we are also sad to leave the city, our relatives here and of course, DolfansNYC.

We are working on a new About Us section for our website, so I won’t go into the whole history of the club, even though I really want to. It’s honestly one of the things I am most proud of in my life. What this club has turned into is so incredibly awesome and I still look around on game days in disbelief at what it’s become.

The fact that we have donated over $20,000 to charity in 7 years is nothing short of amazing.

The fact that the Miami Dolphins organization has taken notice and are actively in support of what we do is incredible.

The fact that Jets fans can’t walk within a 5 mile radius of Slattery’s without hearing us singing the Dolphins fight song warms my heart. 🙂

The fact that we have turned MetLifeTakeover into a huge annual event that gives our team home field advantage in another city makes me so happy.

All of this is thanks to you guys.

For showing up.
For bringing your friends.
For buying raffle tickets.
For tailgating with us.
For sitting with us in the cold in the 300 level section.
For posting, tweeting, sharing, tagging and blogging about DolfansNYC.
And much, much more.

You guys have made this club what it is today and I couldn’t be more proud to be a part of such a remarkable group of fans. The rest of the league should be jealous.

I will miss everyone so much and will forever look back on all of my wonderful memories of spending game days with my DolfansNYC family.

Love,
Michelle

PS…This isn’t officially goodbye. I will continue working on MetLifeTakeover and will contribute in any way I can to the club. I’m also planning lots of visits! 🙂

Last Sunday the Dolphins lost a close game due to terrible offensive line play and some of the worst refereeing I have ever seen in an NFL game. It was amazingly frustrating and upsetting BUT despite this I still had a good time and I think most people watching at Slattery’s Midtown Pub did too. We have really built something special there and it makes the wins so much better and the losses almost manageable and I look forward to seeing everyone as much as I look forward to the actual football. Dolfans NYC is a really amazing thing and it looks like the word is getting out.

PhinPhinatic’s Paul Picken Jr. heard about our bar and took a several hour trip to our bar with his father in tow. He reached out to us before the game and said he wanted to do a story on us. It was great to meet him and he had a blast and wrote up a great review of our fan club and our bar. Check out the article here and enjoy a few highlights below.

Until recently, I mistakenly believed that outside of heading to Florida, finding an amazing Dolphins get together would be next to impossible. This past Sunday, despite a heartbreaking last minute loss by the Dolphins, I was proven drastically mistaken. I was shocked to see the sheer magnitude of their gatherings, and then noted that their Facebook group is approaching 1500 members and growing.  This appeared to be a gathering that I had to see for myself to believe.

On football Sundays, the traditional Irish pub menu is tossed out in favor of a Dolfan specific menu with some great selections and catchy names relating to the Dolphins, featuring such items as the “Sun Life Nachos,” “Chicken A.B.L.Tannehill,” “Marino Mozzarella Sticks,” and more.  After a quick talk with our waitress, Audrey, my father and I settled on a “Still Perfect Burger” and a “Brian Cox Buffalo Chicken Sandwich” with “First Down Fries,”  all of which were amazingly delicious and were all very large portions.

Close to game time the place was nearly full of Dolfans, with more strolling in every minute.  Every Dolfan that strolled in was warm and friendly, and gave the place a “Cheers-like” vibe where everybody knows your name.  I found out from Michelle that they have virtually taken over at least one section for the Dolphins at NY Jets game December 1st, with a list of 500 people that is still growing having purchased tickets and planning to attend.

The passion that Igor, Michelle and the other founding members of DolFans NYC have for the team is obvious to anyone that comes into contact with them.  Within minutes of entering an event at Slattery’s, even the most casual of fans will immediately notice their love of the Dolphins and fellow fans from all walks of life. If you’re ever in the NYC area, and are looking for a home to watch a Dolphins game, there is no better place than Slattery’s with this group to watch a game and I encourage you to do so.  From the high fives after good plays, the sighs to the cheers, through the chants and heartache – in this area, you will have an unmatched experience for watching the game.

And a bonus quote just because I am self absorbed and I like reading about myself…

Right before kickoff, the ringleader arrived.  Clad in Zubaz Dolphins pants, a DolFans NYC denim motorcycle cut adorned with patches, pins and Dolphins swag over his DolFans NYC shirt, Igor entered.  Throughout the game, he led the entire bar in their fully interactive participation in the day’s events.  From leading the bar in every “De-FENSE… De-FENSE,” chant, to every “That is good for another Dolphins FIRST DOWN” cry, everyone looked to him to lead the way.  The greatest and most entertaining audience participation moment comes with every Dolphins touchdown, as Igor climbs atop a bar stool, standing head and shoulders above the crowd, and the Miami fight song comes over the PA system in the bar.  There is nothing quite like hundreds of Dolfans singing that as one.  Immediately following each DolFan rendition of the Dolphins fight song, deep in the heart of Jets territory, comes the following chant which can be heard loud and clear from the entire block – “J-E-T-S, SUCKS SUCKS SUCKS!”

It’s been a wild week for NYC Dolphins fans. Last Sunday we were as high as we could be, wiping the Jets out and dancing in their home stadium. Then 24 hours later our city had been so badly damaged that it’s going to be years before we can fully recover. And then of course there was the Colts loss as icing on the cake. But we are New Yorkers and we are not going to let this mess us up! So many of our members and friends have had their places damaged or destroyed, people are without work and power.

Dolfans NYC has been committed to raising money for charity from day one and I can’t think of a better time than now to give. Last night I set up a fundraiser to try to raise money for the Greater New York Red Cross. I put a $1000 target goal, but hoped to eventually raise even more. In less than 24 hours we have already raised more than half of that and donations keep coming in. It just shows you how awesome this community, and the larger Dolphins community is.

So check out this video I recorded at Third & Long during the Colts game on Sunday. We talk to some of the members of our club that have been impacted by the storm. These guys are the lucky ones but still have had some terrible stuff happen since the storm hit. And after you watch the movie check out our fundraiser page and make a donation. You can get some cool prizes including Dolfans NYC shirts which we are making available for the first time outside of Third & Long.

So keep the donations coming. You guys are inspiring. I hope you are all safe out there. Go Dolphins!