BY BARRY JACKSONbjackson@miamiherald.com
NEW YORK -- Marc Anthony has sold more than 10 million albums, performed in front of hundreds of thousands of fans and ranks as the biggest selling salsa singer of all-time.
But even the smooth celebrity singer seemed a bit overwhelmed Tuesday when, as expected, he announced he is now a minority owner in the Miami Dolphins.
"I could quite possibly be staring at the first day of the rest of my life,'' the Grammy-winning singer/songwriter said in a news conference in New York. ``That's quite exciting at this stage of the game. I'm a little nervous. I'd rather sing. That's much easier to me.
"It's a storied franchise, a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity. I'm going to try to make it to my seat because my knees are a little weak.''
Anthony becomes the latest celebrity to partner with Dolphins owner Stephen Ross, joining Jimmy Buffett (whose beer is now part of Land Shark Stadium's name) and minority owners Gloria and Emilio Estefan.
Anthony did not disclose his percentage in the team, which isn't believed to be large. ``This is a money transaction. Mark is writing a check to be an owner,'' Ross said. ``This isn't any barter where he is being paid to perform.''
Anthony, who lives in New York City but is looking for a residence in Miami, said he was
``raised in a sports family'' -- his godfather is former Giants coach Jim Fassel. He began considering investing in a sports team three years ago and approached the Dolphins a few months ago after learning Ross was receptive to adding partners.
``We had a meeting, and what I walked away with was his passion and enthusiasm was just unmatched,'' Anthony said. ``I had never seen anything like it. We had the same vision for what the Miami Dolphins could and should be. To have this opportunity at this stage of my life, I couldn't be more excited, more proud. I'm looking forward to being part of this storied franchise and rolling up my sleeves and going to work. It's a no-brainer.''
Anthony, 40, will sing the national anthem at the Oct. 12 Jets-at-Dolphins Monday night game, which was designated as the signature event of the NFL's celebration of Hispanic Heritage month. The Dolphins were noncommittal about whether Anthony will perform at any other games or what else he would do as a limited partner.
``We're in the middle of figuring that out,'' Anthony said. ``The most important thing is Steve is open. I want to fly to Miami right now and sit at my desk. There's a lot to do, especially carving out where and how I can be most effective in the organization. One of the first calls I'm going to make is to Emilio and Gloria.''
Anthony and his wife, actress Jennifer Lopez, donned Dolphins jerseys at Tuesday's news conference. Lopez was not announced as a minority owner, but Anthony joked, ``By default, she owns everything I do. Of my share, she owns a majority.'' He also said the couple ``will be spending a lot of time [in Miami], which Jennifer is ecstatic about.''
Ross said adding Anthony was appealing because ``I want this team to be representative of the community. Having Marc, Emilio and Gloria is part of that.
``They're great representatives of the Latin community, and there will be a few more people that will join them. We recognize the importance the team has in the community, and them all having ownership in that is an important way of showing that.''
Ross, a real estate developer, said, ``While we're going through troubled times, fortunately, I don't need to bring in partners. It had no impact. Who my partners were was more important than the money aspect because of what they can help contribute to building this franchise and really being the leading professional sports team in the state of Florida if not the country.''
Anthony said he's ``looking forward to meeting'' Bill Parcells and coach Tony Sparano.
NFL Commissioner Roger Goodell and ESPN president George Bodenheimer, who both attended the Anthony news conference, also announced that the league and the Dolphins will host a flag-football regional tournament Oct. 10 and that Suzy Kolber and Michele Tafoya will host an MNF Chalk Talk luncheon Oct. 12 at LandShark Stadium for 300 invited guests.
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