Miami herald
posted on Fri, Oct. 24, 2003
West Coast Dolfan airs gripes in full-page ad
By CHARLES RABIN
[email protected]
Mike Price has always lived in Southern California, but his home team plays 2,700 miles away.
He is a longtime Miami Dolphins fan who ``lives, dies and has his breath taken away several times each and every game.''
And this week, upset with the direction of the 4-2 team, Price let everyone know about it -- especially Dolphins coach Dave Wannstedt and team owner H. Wayne Huizenga.
Price, 34, spent $16,758 on a full-page ad in Friday's Herald sports section calling for Wannstedt's ouster and the removal of quarterback Jay Fiedler.
Price also wrote that he would be willing to coach the team and pay the owner $2 million a year to boot.
''I think I could coach in terms of leadership skills. But I wouldn't know too much about the X's and O's of the game,'' said Price, who said he's a high school dropout who hit it big with Internet marketing companies and now runs Canyon Palms Realty, a company that builds customized homes.
Canyon, Price said, has 18 employees. He estimates his wealth at over $10 million.
Still, Huizenga wasn't biting on Price's offer.
''Wayne saw the ad,'' said Ron Castell, senior vice president of Huizenga Holdings. ``He wondered why this guy paid for an ad when he could have gone on talk radio and said the same thing.''
Wannstedt said Price may not have spent his money prudently.
''I wish he would have called me because I know the money could have gone to a useful cause,'' said the Dolphins coach. ``I got a lot of charities I could have recommended.''
Price's main gripes are that Wannstedt doesn't take enough chances and is afraid of change, and that quarterback Jay Fiedler's arm is too weak.
Though fans are constantly making similar complaints on local talk radio shows and in newspaper opinion pieces, the ad caused only a minor buzz in South Florida on Friday.
''I thought it was very informative and correct,'' one reader told the Herald in an e-mail.
Price inherited his Dolfanaticism from his father, who never lived here, either, but was a follower of the team during the Csonka and Griese (the father) years. Price said that as a child, he would watch the team play on one of those old, giant satellite dishes that took up about half of his backyard.
Now he has a more modern satellite hookup, tapes the games and analyzes them afterward.
Price doesn't show up for work on Friday painted in Dolphins colors, but his office is decorated with teal and green knickknacks and paraphernalia, said Jason Falk, one of his employees. At home, he has old-style Dan Marino jerseys. And when the Dolphins lose, Falk said, sometimes Mondays aren't too much fun.
''He just wants to see his team win,'' said Falk. ``I mean, he's not coming in to fire someone, but it bugs him.''
The team lacks offense and heart, Price said in his ad. ''I'm very frustrated,'' Price said by phone Friday from his Riverside, Calif., home. ``I've never been a fan of Dave's, even when he was in Chicago.''
Each year, Price said he tries to get to as many Dolphins games at Pro Player Stadium as possible. He catches the team when it visits the West Coast, he said.
Price said Monday night in San Diego will be rollicking. He'll be there with a bunch of friends when the Dolphins play the Chargers.
His son Jayden, 2, is staying home. But soon, he'll be big enough to go to games, Dad said.
''Jayden's real big for for his age,'' said Price. ``He's a future Dolphins player. I can tell.''
http://www.miami.com/mld/miamiherald...ll/7097869.htm