Patriots are OK in my Book

I believe I can stand toe to toe with any other true Dolphin fan and declare my love for this franchise is just as great. But I think what may separate me from many fans of the Dolphins, Jets or Bills, is I have no problem with the Patriots current run at an undefeated season or the fact that they were caught spying earlier this season against the Jets in week one.

The fact that many outraged fans declare that the Patriots deserve a Barry Bonds asterisk beside their three Superbowl trophies because they cheated and had an unfair advantage in games to me is simply ludicrous. There is no question that the Pats were found breaking the rules and that this was not the first time this franchise was caught engaging in similar activities. I think the NFL punishment was swift and hard and sent a loud message to the rest of the league, but to think that the Pats are the only team to break the rules by spying on its opponent in such a way is hard for me to accept.

I also believe Nixon was not the only President of the USA to break the rules while serving our nation, he simply was caught.

I am of the opinion that over the last 100 years, every NFL franchise has engaged in similar tactics at some point to greater or lesser degrees than the Pats at some point in time and it would be impossible to discern between which franchises broke the rules when and what kind of degree of advantage such broken rules gave teams in regular and postseason games over the history of the NFL.

I would not be surprised in the least if there are current NFL, MLB, NBA, NHL teams that are still pushing the envelope of bending and breaking league rules to gain a competitive advantage during games, and will continue to do so until they are caught doing it. The Patriots are not the first team and certainly will not be the last. I hope I am wrong and I think cheating is bad for any sport, but I can not deny that it happens.

As time rolls on in my 35th year of a Dolfan, I find my love for this franchise still going strong, but less isolated with greater perspective and appreciation for great NFL teams and players in the NFL. I thank my involvement of fantasy football over the last decade for my maturity as it has forced me to spend more time watching other players and teams other than the Dolphins. I love the game of football, and my understanding and appreciation and desire for quality football games, players and teams has caused me to seek a better product on the field when it comes time to watch football Thursday thru Monday. With the Dolphins being perhaps the worst team this season and zero playoff appearances in the last several years, one can hardly blame me. Indeed I used to hate the Pats, Jets, and Bills and several other NFL teams, but I have learned to respect and appreciate these teams when they are having a good year.

I would love nothing more than to see the Patriots lose a game this year in order to see the Dolphins maintain their status as the only team to go undefeated. The odds the Patriots of running the table are stacked against them more than people realize. The Pats are 9-0, and still have 10 more games to play before they do it, and with frequent injuries and greater parity in the league today compared to 1972, the Pats could lose to anyone.

I do not care much for Belichicks media personality, but I think Tom Brady is one of the ten greatest quarterbacks of all time and is a class act on and off the field. Whats is not to like about him other than the fact that he is not a Dolphin? Wes Welker is probably one of my favorite Dolphins of all time and it sickened me when I found out he was becoming a Patriot. I hated to see Sammy Morris depart as well as special teams ace Larry Izzo years ago. Maybe I feel the way I do is because these were former Dolphins and if the Fins can’t win the Superbowl then at least some of their former great players have a chance.

If the Pats go undefeated I will not be disgruntled, rather I will respect the fact that what I have witnessed this year is one of the greatest accomplishments in the history of professional sports. The bottom line is the Dolphins will always be the FIRST team to accomplish the undefeated season, and the Patriots going undefeated will never change this fact nor the fact that the undefeated Dolphins was one of the greatest teams in all of professional sports.
It is hard being a Dolfan these days and the lesson I have learned over the last few seasons is my love for college and pro football is greater than my love for Dolphins, and if the Fins are having a bad year, it will not stop me from extracting every ounce of joy from the game I can muster. I will watch every game Miami plays but I will also watch and enjoy watching the other great teams during the season.