Fish Out Of Water: Dolphins' Mike Dee Says Leaked Logo Not Team's New Mark

Dolphins CEO Mike Dee Thursday said the new Dolphins logo that will be unveiled later this year is "not the one" that was published online and picked up by several South Florida newspapers. Speaking on WQAM-AM's "The Joe Rose Morning Show," Dee said, "The change, in some people’s eyes, is going to be slight and in some other people’s eyes probably more significant. ... I can tell you the basic fundamentals of the logo won’t change.” There will be a “look back at history in terms of some of the elements of it and a look ahead at the future in terms of others." Dee: "We’ve had three logos in the history of this franchise ... and we’ve been working on this for two years, did a lot of testing, talked to a lot of fans, a lot of focus groups.” Dee said the team has “done some extensive consumer research” and “partnered with Nike and the NFL” on the new mark, but the team will not allow season-ticket holders to vote on the logo. Dee added, “It’s very difficult with the timeframe and the process that we have to have a democratic approach to that.” He said, "Before we rush to judgment on what we may have and what uniforms are going to look like, I would just ask you to have an open mind and maybe these new uniforms and this new logo could have a similar impact for us that the Patriots logo change had for them back in 2001” ("The Joe Rose Morning Show," WQAM-AM, 1/17). The South Florida Sun-Sentinel's Dave Hyde wrote on his Twitter feed, "I've never seen a franchise spend more time talking about, or a fan base more engaged over something trivial, as this new Dolphins logo."  

LET ME UPGRADE YA: Dee said the “pledge” the Dolphins made toward the renovations of Sun Life Stadium was that the team would "pay for at least half and that there will be no new or increase in local taxes for those Miami-Dade residents.” Dee said after the bad feelings between the city of Miami and Marlins Owner Jeffrey Loria over the building of Marlins Park, it is "low-hanging fruit for those who oppose us to just easily sit there and say, ‘Look at these guys. This is another Marlins deal.’” Dee: “I’m not going to Monday morning quarterback what the Marlins did or didn’t do. I wouldn’t want them doing that to us, but I will say we’re obviously cognizant of the environment. ... We’ve come forward with some ideas off the bat (which) differentiates us from some of the other situations that have taken place in recent history” (“The Joe Rose Morning Show,” 1/17).