I think all football fans will agree with me when I say there is no better day than game day, and the one thing that makes any game day better is having the chance to experience the game right in the stadium surrounded by fans. During those Sundays (or sometimes Mondays or even Thursdays) it is more than just the game that we look forward to, it’s the whole experience. You get up early in the morning, put on your Dolphins’ gear and drive down to the stadium ready for some action. The action is not limited to what goes down on the field though, there is the tailgating, trying to catch a glimpse of the players as they arrive at the stadium and getting to meet some amazing fans; all that before you have even had a chance to walk through the stadium gates. Once inside, you quickly become acquainted with all the people sitting near you and join the crowd in the chants all in an effort to get your team going, to let them know you are behind them and doing everything you can to help them earn that win.

Writing that just made me realize that if I could be anywhere right now there is nowhere else I’d rather be. If you have had the opportunity to go to a game, I’m sure you will agree, and any Dolphins’ fan who hasn’t had a chance to go definitely should. For those that don’t live in South Florida, making the trip down south is probably difficult, yet I am sure they would love to get a chance to get that Dolphins’ game day experience. Bringing that experience to fans in different cities is what Bill has been doing with his Phinvaders Project.

The idea for Phinvaders came about when after moving to Chattanooga in October 2008, Bill noticed just how many Dolphins’ fans there were, so he decided to start a club. By the end of the 2008 season, they had their own location and were 40 strong. Club members started asking about getting a group together for the Falcons’ game, he was expecting to get a group of 25-30 club members to go, yet wound up with only 20… plus another 85 thanks to some internet promoting. After that, what started out as the ‘Chattanooga Dolfans Club’ became the ‘Phinvaders’.

Getting the Phinvaders name out there and being able to promote the events has definitely been easier now that it would’ve been a few years ago thanks to the internet, mainly Facebook. Being able to reach out to so many fans is what made that first Phinvader event in Atlanta “legendary” as Bill puts it. And this season, although he is looking forward to both planned Phinvaders’ events, he is especially looking forward to the one in Cincinnati where they have planned a Halloween party for the night before the game, in which they’ll even have a costume contest, which is sure to add to all the excitement.

Getting these Phinvasions organized is not easy; it can be very stressful and takes a lot of time to plan but getting the opportunity to meet other Dolfans and to share that Dolphins game day experience make it not only worth organizing but also worth attending. What started out as a plan to get 25-30 Dolfans to go to an away game together has turned into a dream of filling out an entire section in an away game, with the ultimate dream being to be able to do so in a Jets game; and although that particular Phinvasion is not on the books for this upcoming season, there are two others planned. Tickets are on sale for the Raiders and Bengals Phinvasions and they can be found, along with additional information under the upcoming events tab at http://www.phinvaders.com. So if you’re a Dolfan who lives anywhere near Oakland or Cincinnati get your tickets soon, as I expect to see you make your presence known in those stands. And like Bill I am especially looking forward to that Cincinnati game, but in my case it is for selfish reasons, I want to get a super special Dolphins’ win for my birthday, and I’m sure your presence will help get the team there.