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New England Patriots quarterback Drake Maye talks to the media during a news conference on Thursday in Santa Clara, Calif., ahead of Sunday’s Super Bowl 60 . (AP Photo\/Charlie Riedel)<\/p>\nNat Moore spoke at a luncheon last week with some other aging Miami Dolphins receivers and their quarterback, Dan Marino, translating what it was like back in their grand days that are relevant again this Super Bowl Sunday.<\/p>\n
When the veteran Moore was understanding Marino\u2019s talent, the veteran receiver made a request before playing New England in 1983.<\/p>\n
\u201cLook, I\u2019m tired of catching the ball for short, first downs,\u2019\u2019 he told Marino. \u201cI want the touchdown. I\u2019m going to run five steps, hit (the cornerback) with an elbow to get space, and I need you to throw it over his head so I can catch it running in the end zone.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cNat,\u201d Marino said, \u201cI\u2019ll throw it right by his ear. He turns around, he\u2019ll get it in the face.\u201d<\/p>\n
The cornerback didn\u2019t turn. The ball buzzed his ear. Moore caught the touchdown.<\/p>\n
\u201cJust like I told you,\u2019\u2019 Marino said four decades later at a weekly sports luncheon hosted by Kim Bokamper, their former teammate at his Fort Lauderdale restaurant, Cut & Catch.<\/p>\n
Those were the days \u2014 and they still are in the retelling. By his second season in 1984, Marino became the youngest quarterback to start a Super Bowl. He\u2019s still the youngest, too, 35 days younger than New England\u2019s Drake Maye for this this Super Sunday.<\/p>\n
Ah, youth. There\u2019s a lesson in all this for Maye. It\u2019s one Marino learned across his grand career and always comes up in retirement. But no one imagined it stepping off the plane in San Francisco back in January 1985, wearing wraparound sunglasses like Arnold Schwarzenegger in his hit movie of the time.<\/p>\n
\u201cThe Terminator is here,\u2019\u2019 Marino said.<\/p>\n
This was the last season like it for the Dolphins: 11 straight wins to start, the AFC East title, two double-digit playoff wins to reach the Super Bowl. But it wasn\u2019t just the wins. It was the new show in town \u2014 just like it is for Maye in New England this season.<\/p>\n
\u201cI think I\u2019ll throw five today,\u2019\u2019 the legend has Marino saying before the opener against Washington.<\/p>\n
He threw five touchdowns that day. He threw a NFL record 48 touchdowns and for a record 5,084 yards. He often wore No. 14 in practices, because his trademark No. 13 had a tendency to disappear.<\/p>\n
He wasn\u2019t yet to the point in his career, as he said that luncheon, when \u201cSometimes Coach Shula would send in running plays, and I\u2019d change them to passes.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cNever changed passes to runs,\u2019\u2019 former receiver Jimmy Cefalo said.<\/p>\n
San Francisco surprised the Dolphins by playing nickel defense \u2014 five defensive backs \u2014 on first down. This was a time when teams only played nickel on third down. That threw off the Dolphins offense to the point, even now, offensive coordinator Dave Shula remembers not adjusting quickly enough.<\/p>\n
San Francisco won 38-16. It was 49ers quarterback Joe Montana\u2019s day, not Marino\u2019s. The opportunity wasn\u2019t lost on Shula, the rock-solid legend who sat afterward at his locker, openly crying, in a manner that stunned Dolphins personnel.<\/p>\n
Marino, however, looked at from the lens of a 23-year-old. They didn\u2019t play well that day. But no matter. A Pepsi commercial recreated how Marino felt when it had him meeting Montana at a vending machine after the game. Montana bought Marino a soda.<\/p>\n
\u201cSee ya, Dan,\u2019\u2019 Montana said, leaving.<\/p>\n
\u201cJoe, next year, I\u2019m buying,\u2019\u2019 Marino said.<\/p>\n
It\u2019s Maye\u2019s stage now. His time. His chance.<\/p>\n
\u201cI know what this opportunity is about and what\u2019s at stake in this game,\u2019\u2019 he said this Super Bowl Week.<\/p>\n
But does he? Can he really in his second season? Years later, Marino went to Super Bowl Week in New Orleans for a corporate deal. He stayed for the game but felt nauseous watching what he missed out on and left. He retired with passing records, a Hall of Fame jacket and the kind of career few have.<\/p>\n
He knows what is missing, though\u00a0It\u2019s been 41 years since that loss to San Francisco. He\u2019s 64 and still waiting for a second trip to the Super Bowl.<\/p>\n
There\u2019s the lesson for Maye, if he can grasp it. As Marino once told me: \u201cSometimes, I think it came too easy, getting there in my second year.\u201d<\/p>\n
New England Patriots quarterback Drake Maye talks to the media during a news conference on Thursday in Santa Clara, Calif., ahead of Sunday’s Super Bowl 60 . (AP Photo\/Charlie Riedel)<\/p>\n
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