NFL72 Update

The Miami News’ Football 1972 pullout--included in the Tuesday, Aug. 29, edition--is a marvel. 

Its cover features a drawing of Larry Csonka barreling through a bunch of Chicago Bears, against the backdrop of a huge picture of Larry Little. Inside, the Miami News explains its artistic choices: “Larry Little and Larry Csonka are the guts of the Dolphins’ football team. They are a team, a big bear of a guard and a bruiser of a running back in the tradition of Jerry Kramer and Jim Taylor, of Gene Hickerson and Jimmy Brown. They are the symbol of football.”

Man, that gets me so fired up!

In his main story on the Dolphins in the section, Al Levine notes a number of good fortunes that befell the Dolphins along their Super Bowl journey a season ago: only one starter missing more than two games with injury, Jan Stenerud’s unlikely missed 31-yard field goal in the playoff game, New England’s upset of Baltimore to help Miami win the division, the league’s easiest regular-season schedule per NFL71’s final standings, etc. But there's really not an earnest attempt to temper or dispute optimism about the Dolphins. The newspaper unabashedly declares that Miami will not be threatened in the AFC East, and the headline of Levine’s lead story is, “The thinking’s Super.” 

His story includes this quote from Don Shula about the difficulty of getting a team in position to challenge in the postseason: “The thing that I’ve found you have to do is get a hot streak. You need a streak in there where you win four, five or six in a row. Last year we had an eight-game streak. The year before we had a six-game streak that got us in there.” 

Also, Levine quotes Shula, while you can have the defense pick up a flat offense or the offense pick up a flat defense, “the kicking game has to be constant. You have to be always ready to get some type of edge in the kicking game.” I thought that was interesting.

The whole section is a gem. I even love the ads. McDaniel Travel of 1845 Hollywood Boulevard got clever with its copy:

Get a “KIICK” out of life. Let us “TACKLE” your travel probems. We can “GRIESE” the way to where the “MERCURY” is always pleasant—far from the “WAR-FIELD.”

Our “TEAM” is “ALL PRO”, and ready to “HOLD THAT LINE” against “CLIPPING”. Call us now for reservations & tickets to anywhere in the world.

But the absolute best is an ad for a new Holiday Inn that had just opened next to the Orange Bowl, at Northwest 11th Street and Northwest 12th Avenue. This ad features a little drawing of a quarterback in a Uniform No. 12 (like Bob Griese's), dropping back to throw and apparently talking to a running back in a Uniform No. 39 (like Csonka's) as he heads out for the pass. “Go straight to Holiday Inn and I’ll hit you there,” the quarterback says.

The Holiday Inn offers “The Dol’Fan Package” at $34 double or $24 single for the night before any Dolphins game:

1. Dinner and a drink in the “Conquistador Room” on the night before any Dolphin game

2. Breakfast the morning of the game

3. A short walk to the game

4. Free cocktail in the “Explorer’s Lounge” after the game

Same special package applies to out-of-town games—Color television in every room.

FOR FREE RESERVATIONS

CALL YOUR LOCAL

HOLIDAY INN AND

ASK FOR THE DOL’FAN PACKAGE

I have been lost in a cloud for most of this afternoon, imagining how great it would've been to call my local Holiday Inn, order the Dol'Fan package, fly to Miami, visit the "Conquistador Room" and walk over to the Orange Bowl for Win X of 17.