Ricky Williams' return to the Dolphins -- and it begins to appear maybe a quarter-of-an-inch short of inevitable -- threatens to work on team chemistry and locker-room vibe about like a struck match works on a piece of paper.
So what's your point?
This being the real world, we must admit that the rosy, feel-good concepts of team chemistry and happy harmony are antiques. They are the effect of winning, not the cause. And so it is a good time for a righteous Dolfan to get beyond the hurt, past the indignation and over the grudge.
You don't need to forget or forgive that Williams abandoned the Dolphins less than a year ago to follow his own eccentric muse, the shocker that surely tipped the first domino on Miami's awful 4-12 season.
But you probably do need to admit, if only into a mirror or in a confessional at church, that the 2005 Dolphins would be a better team with a presumably reenergized Ricky than without him.
Here's a compromise for the torn fan. Boo No. 34 during pregame introductions on opening day if you must. Slap him on the wrist. Make your statement. Hold up a ''Traitor!'' sign, even. Let him know that we know he was selfish and that we don't tolerate that type of behavior around these parts.
And then cheer wildly the first time he turns the corner and shoulders past some flyweight cornerback for 21 yards.
Chant ''Rick-y! Rick-y!'' -- but maybe softly, to let him know you're not over it yet -- as he torpedoes into the end zone.
Please, though, don't make this out to be a morality play.
Williams took his season off to clear his head, to live in a tent in the Australian outback, to study holistic healing, to (so it is said) rid himself of the marijuana bug, to study yoga in India.
There are worse ways to spend a year.
Was Ricky's timing atrocious? Oh yeah. Ask the former Dave Wannstedt.
Was Ricky being selfish? Even he has admitted as much.
