I Hope.
“Turning and turning in the widening gyre
The falcon cannot hear the falconer;
Things fall apart; the center cannot hold.”
- Robert Yeats
It’s strange, looking back over the comedy of the past two years that has been the Miami Dolphins, how quickly things came apart. I’m as guilty as can be for wearing rose-colored glasses in 2006, before Saban burned us, and then again in 2007 when Cam Cameron took over the reins.
I wanted to believe, and ignored the warning signs (and people on this site of sounder mind) that there were serious flaws on this team. I was completely unprepared for the Dolphins becoming the whipping boys of the NFL.
It was week four, watching the Dolphins get flat-out mauled by the Raiders, that I stopped looking through the rose-colored glasses. I was watching Sunday Ticket with a couple friends…and they weren’t saying anything when we flipped to the Dolphins. They’re Seahawk and Panther fans, and we usually rib each other during games. They hadn’t said anything all season – there was no need.
“Geez....they’re just…AWFUL”, I said. And they were. They were one of the worst teams in the history of the NFL, and an unfortunate end to the “Post-Marino” era. When it was mercifully over in December, and Bill Parcells had been hired as executive VP, everyone who knew anything about football knew what needed to be done.
It was time to tear the sucker down and start from scratch.
___________________________________________________________
“Hope is a good thing; maybe the best of things. And no good thing ever dies.”
Andy Dufresne – The Shawshank Redemption
Hope arrived quickly. It arrived just as a hated rival was about to pour salt in the gaping wound that was the 2008 Dolphins season. The Patriots were about to duplicate the only thing that was uniquely ours: perfection.
It arrived in the form of the New York Giants, who decided that the best way to respond to the foregone conclusion that they were merely a stepping stone in the Patriots ascension to glory was to punch the Patriots directly in the mouth. And it worked…and as I watched Wes Welker and Junior Seau stalk off the field in a sea of Giant blue and white confetti, it seemed…well…just. It seemed like there was a little hope left for Dolphins fans after all.
_________________________________________________________________
“Hope springs eternal in the human breast”
- Alexander Pope
Then there was the draft. While it’s still early to judge, this draft looks to be spectacular thus far. Here’s the best part: We didn’t really reach for anyone. Our 1st round pick was a man/child/beast of an offensive lineman who has drawn raves from anyone and everyone who has seen him. And, of course, we stole a QB at the end of round two who may just be the future of this franchise…someone who can finally answer the question to: “Who will be the next Dan Marino for the Dolphins?”
And the answer will be…no one.
There will never, ever, ever be another Dan Marino. The sooner we accept that, the sooner we’ll be ready to embrace the NEW Miami Dolphins. We were blessed to have the greatest pure passer this game has ever seen, the way Lions fans were blessed to have the greatest pure runner the game has ever seen…but that’s the past.
The future lies ahead. Hope lies ahead. Whether you’re a Beck fan or a Henne fan, or just a fan of Chad Pennington taking the helm of this fledgling team and helping steer it down a winning path, hope is coming in from all directions.
It’s coming in the form of everyone from Dan Reeves to John Clayton to Brian Billick to Snappy the Wonder Clam saying that the Dolphins look a heck of a lot better than they did last year. It’s coming in a no-nonsense management team and coaching staff. It’s coming in the form of Ricky and Ronnie and a wonderful underdog story named Davone Bess.
It came in the preseason, where our offensive and defensive lines looked flat-out AWESOME at times.
Most importantly, it’s coming.
I hope for those days ahead, where we won’t hope for the offense to not screw up, but instead expect the big play.
I hope for the days to return where the rest of our division fears us, rather than looks forward to us.
I hope to show my 2 year-old son the video of where he and I celebrated a Super Bowl Victory.
I hope for the return of the glory days of the Miami Dolphins.
I hope.
“Turning and turning in the widening gyre
The falcon cannot hear the falconer;
Things fall apart; the center cannot hold.”
- Robert Yeats
It’s strange, looking back over the comedy of the past two years that has been the Miami Dolphins, how quickly things came apart. I’m as guilty as can be for wearing rose-colored glasses in 2006, before Saban burned us, and then again in 2007 when Cam Cameron took over the reins.
I wanted to believe, and ignored the warning signs (and people on this site of sounder mind) that there were serious flaws on this team. I was completely unprepared for the Dolphins becoming the whipping boys of the NFL.
It was week four, watching the Dolphins get flat-out mauled by the Raiders, that I stopped looking through the rose-colored glasses. I was watching Sunday Ticket with a couple friends…and they weren’t saying anything when we flipped to the Dolphins. They’re Seahawk and Panther fans, and we usually rib each other during games. They hadn’t said anything all season – there was no need.
“Geez....they’re just…AWFUL”, I said. And they were. They were one of the worst teams in the history of the NFL, and an unfortunate end to the “Post-Marino” era. When it was mercifully over in December, and Bill Parcells had been hired as executive VP, everyone who knew anything about football knew what needed to be done.
It was time to tear the sucker down and start from scratch.
___________________________________________________________
“Hope is a good thing; maybe the best of things. And no good thing ever dies.”
Andy Dufresne – The Shawshank Redemption
Hope arrived quickly. It arrived just as a hated rival was about to pour salt in the gaping wound that was the 2008 Dolphins season. The Patriots were about to duplicate the only thing that was uniquely ours: perfection.
It arrived in the form of the New York Giants, who decided that the best way to respond to the foregone conclusion that they were merely a stepping stone in the Patriots ascension to glory was to punch the Patriots directly in the mouth. And it worked…and as I watched Wes Welker and Junior Seau stalk off the field in a sea of Giant blue and white confetti, it seemed…well…just. It seemed like there was a little hope left for Dolphins fans after all.
_________________________________________________________________
“Hope springs eternal in the human breast”
- Alexander Pope
Then there was the draft. While it’s still early to judge, this draft looks to be spectacular thus far. Here’s the best part: We didn’t really reach for anyone. Our 1st round pick was a man/child/beast of an offensive lineman who has drawn raves from anyone and everyone who has seen him. And, of course, we stole a QB at the end of round two who may just be the future of this franchise…someone who can finally answer the question to: “Who will be the next Dan Marino for the Dolphins?”
And the answer will be…no one.
There will never, ever, ever be another Dan Marino. The sooner we accept that, the sooner we’ll be ready to embrace the NEW Miami Dolphins. We were blessed to have the greatest pure passer this game has ever seen, the way Lions fans were blessed to have the greatest pure runner the game has ever seen…but that’s the past.
The future lies ahead. Hope lies ahead. Whether you’re a Beck fan or a Henne fan, or just a fan of Chad Pennington taking the helm of this fledgling team and helping steer it down a winning path, hope is coming in from all directions.
It’s coming in the form of everyone from Dan Reeves to John Clayton to Brian Billick to Snappy the Wonder Clam saying that the Dolphins look a heck of a lot better than they did last year. It’s coming in a no-nonsense management team and coaching staff. It’s coming in the form of Ricky and Ronnie and a wonderful underdog story named Davone Bess.
It came in the preseason, where our offensive and defensive lines looked flat-out AWESOME at times.
Most importantly, it’s coming.
I hope for those days ahead, where we won’t hope for the offense to not screw up, but instead expect the big play.
I hope for the days to return where the rest of our division fears us, rather than looks forward to us.
I hope to show my 2 year-old son the video of where he and I celebrated a Super Bowl Victory.
I hope for the return of the glory days of the Miami Dolphins.
I hope.