One Sunday afternoon on Long Island, NY, my father and I was watching a Jets game on NBC. The year? 1970. The opponent? The Miami Dolphins, who I knew nothing about except they had players with funny names like Griese, Kiick, and Csonka. If I remember correctly, the Fins were winning, but since the Jets had Namath you couldn't take anything for granted. Suddenly, Griese threw a long pass, real pretty...to Paul Warfield.

"Paul Warfield is on the Dolphins?" I said to no one in particular. "I love Paul Warfield!" You see, my dad was a Giants fan and in NFL games before the merger I saw quite a bit of Warfield on TV. He was my favorite NFL player.

Shortly thereafter the TV guy showed the Miami coach and said, "Yadda yadds Don Shula yadda yadda."

"Don Shula coaches the Dolphins? I thought he coached the Colts?"

Well almost immediately I got my dad's copy of Sports Illustrated for their NFL preview, turned to the AFC East page and it said, after mentioning the Jets and Colts, "...and Don Shula has his Dolphins jumping through hoops." Nick Buoniconti, eh? I thought. I knew this guy was one of the AFL's best middle linebackers, from the Patriots, and had seen him play in a Pats-Jets game once.

The Dolphins beat the Jets, and I got real interested. I had rooted for the Vikings--I had never considered rooting for any AFL team, at least until the Jets won Super Bowl III--since 1968. They had Joe Kapp, who was a real screwball thrower with moxie, and the Purple People Eaters, and Bud Grant. At that time I was also interested in Viking myths. But then Kapp left the team on the heals of losing to the Chiefs in Supe IV. I was looking for a new team.

And in the Dolphins I found one. They won their last six games and made the playoffs in only their fifth year of existence.

After going through the Super Bowl years, the fall from grace, the rebuilding, retaking elite status but not winning the Super Bowl, slouching back toward mediocrity, the last years of Marino--which I didn't get to see since being married and living out in rural far west Texas we had no TV until we got satellite in 1998--Shula's retirement and then Marino's--missing a pretty good period with Jimmy Johnson and then early Wannstedt, and getting back into it after the Pats won the "9-11" Super Bowl, almost appropriately, and our son wanting now to watch football--he was early teens then--I finally started to get interested in the Fins again. Right when things started going wrong, 2004-2005.

But I lived through that and I lived through 2007, when things could not have been worse for a Fins fan who had seen the glory. Not only the 1-15, but bitter hated rival NE was undefeated! These guys could be seen as even better than the 1972 Fins if they go 19-0. but my late Dad's team took care of that one for me!

So joy of joys, the Dolphins accomplish the greatest single season turnaround in NFL history by going 11-5 and making the playoffs, because 1) they cleaned house (learn a lesson, Detroit!) 2) the Trifecta is rebuilding from the inside out 3) they finally had a damned good draft after four or five lousy ones 4) they got Chad Pennington (thank you, Jets!).

But some Fins fans are STILL whining! Chad P was fine, but he's got a noodle arm so lets bring in Henne, they say. And then there are the Ted Ginn haters. GET OVER IT! IT IS NOT HIS FAULT A BAD HC DRAFTED HIM NUMBER 9! And then there are those who say Akin Ayodele sucks and Crowder almost sucks. If Ayodele is so bad then why did he start on the Cowboys, who don't let sucky players start? If Crowder is so bad then why were we all wishing he'd come back in during that Chiefs game he missed due to injury? Further, it is not Penne's fault his shoulder got hurt a few times and now he can't throw like he did before. And some of you want Ronnie Brown traded? Are you folks nuts?

Some of you are beginning to sound like Jets fans. Jets fans will be perhaps eternally disappointed because the Jets have been trying to get the next Joe Namath for about 40 years and they haven't done that, so Jets fans everywhere are still hoping, and that Sanchez is the reincarnation of Namath. They'll be disappointed again I'm sure, even if Sanchez is a good QB:  they'll find something to complain about! And some Dol-fans are just as bad, wanting Henne to play because "he's the next Marino." Oh, really? How would you know? Because he's got better arm strength than Pennington?

Well, when Henne can win 11 games when he was on another team less than a month before a new season starts, let me know. I appreciate that Henne got the Fins a late TD vs. the Cards, but please, guys, you ain't convincing me.

So, Henne is "the next Marino," in some minds. Well, if we are going to play that game, let me answer by saying this: Chad Pennington is no where's near the next Marino. But you know something? In so many ways (again, with not quite the arm strength), Pennington IS THE NEXT GRIESE!

And which QB, Marino or Griese, won a Super Bowl? So don't tell me you want the "next Marino"!

Now, Ted Ginn will never be the next Warfield. But neither is Randy Moss, TO, Roddy White, Larry Fitzgerald, Anquan Boldin, Andre Johnson or Donald Driver. Warfield was perhaps the most gifted reciever to ever play this game, who could play it great regardless of who was throwing it. (Who was Cleveland's QB in his time there, anyway?) But those of you who diss Teddy also say that when Henne gets to be the QB Ginn will do great. You all just don't understand that Ginn Jr.'s best thing is that he can run like hell after the catch and did some really cool things last year (remember how he faked out two Jets defenders by staying back to catch that 30 some-odd yard pass, and the defenders got ahead of him? Never mind that 176 yard Bills game!) And I agree that Miami does not have an elite reciever corp. In 2008. who know what will happen in 2009? I say Teddy had a damned good year.

Crowder will be fine. Don't you know his bit with Rex Ryan was a motivator for himself? Ayodele? Guys, we could do worse! I saw nothing wrong with his play last year. Why is it some folks think the Dolphins have to have the best team on paper? Guy, they don't play on paper! As for the secondary, some of the folks who say "we" got one helluva safety duo in Wilson and Bell also complain "we" don't have a similar CB duo. Boo hoo! Jason Allen is a bust. Who's fault is that? (I'd say the Dolphins, who keep on switching this guy. does anyone really wonder why Allen is not the world's greatest CB? Safety?) Boo hoo Eric Green is a waste. So what? No player is a waste until he proves he is! Boo hoo they'll have to start a rookie. So what? Miami started two rookie linemen last year. Long and Langford played great and made the All-Rookie team. And Merling starts this year. Are you folks saying either Vontae Davis or Sean Smith just won't be good enough? How do you know? And, oh yeah, boo hoo, Jason Ferguson is old and we have no replacement. Maybe he isn't as old as we think he is, and maybe they will have a replacement this year, and if not then next year. Boo hoo Randy Starks is going to jail. Let's wait and see on that one. I bet he won't, and maybe there really is some justice left in this country.

And let me finish up here. I don't want to see any more complaints about Grove and Smiley and Thomas and their injuries. Guys, this ain't last year. Some say Cam Wake is a bust already because CFL guys can't play in the NFL. Tell that one to Joe Theissmann (or the survivors of David Overstreet). Trade Fasano, because "we" got Haynos, Martin, and now Nalbone. You're joking, right? Fasano is already being compared to one of the great TEs, Mark Bavaro. So Fasano (and Bavaro) aren't Tony Gonzales (or Kellen Winslow, Sr. of the Chargers). He (they) don't need to be Gonzales, or Witten, or Dallas Clark or any of those guys.

I'm not saying the Fins will win the Super Bowl this year (but they WILL win the Super Bowl within the next few years), and I'm not saying even that they will win the division this year, or that their won't be perhaps a setback or two. Anything can happen.

All I'm saying is this: until there is something to complain about, stop complaining. Until you have seen a dynasty-on-the-make fall flat in Oakland or anywhere else, and been through the heart ache of losing three fine players to a rival league, and been through a rebuilding project that might not have had to be, then you really don't know what a heart ache is for your beloved team. Compared to that, 2007 was a day at the beach.