Dan Marino Jokingly Takes Credit For Jim Carrey's Success Thanks To Ace Ventura Role

Pat McAfee welcomed Dan Marino to his show on Wednesday to talk about the upcoming Super Bowl. But, the conversation veered to a topic near and dear to my heart. That would be the blockbuster 1994 film Ace Ventura: Pet Detective starring Jim Carrey. 

And yes, that is a film not a movie. A truly masterful piece of cinema.

I'm going to issue an early warning to readers: this "article" is going to be extremely self-indulgent. I acknowledge that upfront so that readers not into that sort of thing can tune out right now. However, if you'd like to learn more about this OutKick writer, you've come to the right place. 

McAfee asked Marino about a rumor that Marino had the option of taking an upfront paycheck for his role in Ace Ventura, or he could have accepted a percentage of the movie's gross revenue. Marino fully admits that he took the upfront money and missed out on millions of dollars. 

He also joked that without him, no one would know who Jim Carrey is.

I saw this clip on social media and immediately thought, "Oh my God, my time has come. I can finally write about a now 30-year-old movie that helped shape my life. THANK YOU DAN MARINO!" 

Why in the world was I looking for an opportunity to write about Ace Ventura: Pet Detective? I assume that's what the 14 people still reading at this point are thinking. 

Well, I will tell you! Ace Ventura is my favorite movie of all-time. My dad bestowed almost all of his favorites sports teams on me: the New York Rangers, Cincinnati Reds, North Carolina Tar Heels (basketball), Penn State Nittany Lions (football) and Milwaukee Bucks. But, the one he wanted the most got away. You see, my dad is a huge Cincinnati Bengals fan. 

However, my Uncle Todd is a lifelong Miami Dolphins fan. The two competed to draw the allegiance of a 5-year-old Daniel. Unfortunately for my father, my Uncle had a very unfair advantage: Dan Marino. 

Dan Marino and I share a first name, obviously. But, we also share a birthday (shout out to my September 15th brethren). You try convincing a 5-year-old to be a Bengals fan when the Dolphins' quarterback has the same name, same birthday, and stars in an incredible film. It just wasn't meant to be for my poor father. 

Ace Ventura became a staple in my life. Most kids that age watch movies over and over again. Although, most kids lean towards things like Disney movies, Sesame Street, that sort of thing. Not this kid, though. 

No, I watched Ace Ventura probably no less than 100 times from age 5 to age 15. In fact, it became an incredible bonding experience for me and my cousin, Emily. I didn't have any siblings at the time, so she was the closest thing I had to a sister. There was a point that the two of us would divvy up the parts in the movie and literally quote it word-for-word from beginning to end. 

I'm sure the adults in our lives really enjoyed that. Speaking of things adults in our lives probably enjoyed, I specifically remember asking another one of my uncles, Rob, "what is gonorrhea?" 

Probably not the question he was expecting from a 10-year-old, but the famous scene from Ace Ventura made it a necessary discussion. 

I still remember his exact answer: "It's a disease on your wee-wee." 

To which I replied, "Gross." I stand by that, by the way. 

If you made it this far, I appreciate you reading. Ace Ventura truly did help shape my life positively, and I won't let the "trans activists" try to retroactively take that away from me either. Yes, they are trying to cancel a 30-year-old movie. Can you guess why? Probably because of one of my favorite movie scenes of all-time. 

I don't care if it offends people, I proudly wear this shirt that my wife got me as a birthday present. 

To thank those of you who participated in this massive exercise of self-indulgence, I offer you something in return. 

Here is my e-mail: dan.zaksheske@outkick.com. If there is a movie that helped shape your life, and you want to tell me about it, shoot me a note. As a "thank you" for reading mine, I promise to read yours. If I get enough good ones, maybe I'll write a story about it. 

It's the least I can do.