The Miami Dolphins are a professional American football team based in the Miami metropolitan area. The Dolphins compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member club of the league’s American Football Conference (AFC) East division. The team plays its home games at Hard Rock Stadium. Of the four AFC East teams, the Dolphins are the only team in the division that was not a charter member of the American Football League (AFL). The Dolphins were also one of the first professional football teams in the southeast, along with the Atlanta Falcons. The Dolphins began play in the AFL in 1966. Miami joined the NFL as a result of the 1970 AFL–NFL merger. The team played in its first Super Bowl in Super Bowl VI, losing to the Dallas Cowboys. The following year, the Miami Dolphins completed the NFL’s only perfect season, culminating in a Super Bowl win, winning all 14 of their regular-season games, and all three of their playoff games, including Super Bowl VII. The next year, the Dolphins won Super Bowl VIII, becoming the first team to appear in three consecutive Super Bowls, and the second team to win back-to-back championships. Miami also appeared in Super Bowl XVII and Super Bowl XIX, losing both games. During the period spanning 1983 to the end of 1999, the Miami Dolphins achieved five division titles, 10 playoff appearances, and an appearance in Super Bowl XIX. After 1999, they have experienced mediocre levels of success and have just five playoff appearances and two division titles (2000 and 2008).