The Miami Dolphins have various celebrity fans, but few are as well-known as Hootie and the Blowfish lead singer Darius Rucker. The smash hit “Only Wanna Be With You” had Rucker’s famous line “I’m such a baby 'cause the Dolphins make me cry” that still resonates among South Florida sports fans.
Indeed, there has been a lot of crying among Dolphins supporters like Rucker in recent seasons. Miami hasn’t made the playoffs since 2008 and hasn’t posted a winning season in six years.
However, according to Rucker, that all will change and those tears will dry in 2015.
“I think 10-6; if we get lucky, 11-5,” Rucker said in a recent interview with Billboard.com. “We gotta start off strong, maybe win a couple games we shouldn't win. I'm looking forward to this season. I haven't been this excited for a Dolphins season in a while, since maybe the Jay Fiedler years, when Ricky [Williams] was there. I thought we had a chance!”
The Dolphins are a popular sleeper pick to do damage in the AFC. Earlier this week, ESPN NFL analyst and former Super Bowl-winning coach Jon Gruden picked Miami over the defending Super Bowl champion New England Patriots to win the AFC East division.
Like many, Rucker also is on the bandwagon of Dolphins fourth-year quarterback Ryan Tannehill, who got a $96 million contract extension in the offseason.
“I like him and I've always thought he was the real thing,” Rucker said. “This year's big for him. Everybody's talking about how much he's improved. ... I want to see Tannehill win some games in the fourth quarter that we shouldn't win. When he starts doing that, I'll know we're doing something right.”
Rucker said “it wouldn’t surprise me” if the Dolphins made the Super Bowl this season. But he is picking the Patriots to face the Green Bay Packers in February.
Here is Rucker’s full interview with Billboard.com discussing various topics on the Dolphins.