The line snaked around the charcoal Hugo Boss mannequins, extended past the neatly-arranged display of striped Lacoste polo shirts and tucked between the Calvin Klein and Michael Kors autumn apparel collections.

As cardboard posters bearing Dan Marino’s likeness and career accomplishments padded a makeshift stage on the second floor of Macy’s in the Dadeland Mall, one night before Halloween, hundreds of shoppers dressed in their favorite Miami Dolphins throwbacks and dug out beloved No. 13 memorabilia in hopes of snagging a priceless memory with the greatest player in team history.

Nearly an hour before the meet-and-greet was scheduled to start, a DJ began blasting remixed versions of familiar ‘Jock Jams’ through the department store speakers – Montell Jordan’s “This Is How We Do It” was a particular crowd-pleaser – while a fellow employee in an eggplant suit jacket tried to hype anxious fans by rattling off Marino’s impressive highlights.

None of the excitement appeared to faze our 20-month-old toddler, Charlie, who – with his bedtime on the horizon – began acting like a cranky, restless 20-month-old toddler, sprinting in the opposite direction, intentionally grounding crackers and spiking cubes of cheese in protest rather than celebration.

Considering we’d already waited in one line to make a qualifying purchase, followed by another to secure a color-coded wristband that corresponded with our place in the autograph queue, it was hard to blame him. Luckily, with most Macy’s clerks focused on instructing customers and curious onlookers, an unmanned cash register served as a welcome distraction, as Charlie pushed buttons, giggled at the cacophonous beeps and error messages, and quickly discovered how to print blank paper receipts.

Although Marino arrived a half-hour late, to his credit, the Hall of Famer – decked in a slim-fitting black suit and matching tie – made sure to shake each fan’s hand and personalize autographs, listening intently to variations of similar anecdotes he’d undoubtedly heard for decades.

Charlie could barely keep his head up and eyes open by the time it was our turn to meet his our Dolphins hero, gazing silently as an event staffer handed us a trio of black, Hugo Boss embossed footballs and borrowed my iPhone to snap nearly two dozen photos.

After we shared a few kind words with the former NFL MVP – informing him of DolfansNYC’s growth and proud commitment to charitable endeavors – a smiling, nodding Marino high-fived Charlie and gently patted him on the head, penning ‘Go Deep’ above his signature with a silver sharpie.

Charlie may be too young to realize the significance of that moment, but one day, he’ll understand not only the meaning of the inscription, but the sentimental value of joining his parents and grandfather in a snapshot of three generations of Dolphins fans alongside their football idol.

And Dan, when that time comes, he’ll be sure to take you up on your offer.

With cut day in full swing we know one football player who is not going to be cut by the Dolphins. Mike Wallace should change this team dramatically this year even when he’s not catching the ball. Our biggest free agent move should be pulling in touchdowns and freeing up space for our other receivers and running backs.

DolfansNYC has partnered up with Mike Wallace’s exclusive memorabilia dealer to give you a chance to preorder signed Wallace memorabilia in advance of his first autograph signing as a Dolphin. You can preorder stuff that will be shipped to you after he signs everything on September 21st. This is a great way to get some signed Dolphins gear that you know is going to be 100% authentic.

On top of that DolfansNYC gets a cut of every sale and that money will go directly to the DolfansNYC war chest which helps us do fun stuff at our bar and any money left over at the end of the year goes to charity. Last year we donated nearly $5000 to charity and we are hoping we can beat that last year so this Mike Wallace deal seems like a win-win.

So check out the site and get your signed Mike Wallace gear now!