I used to say there are only three things in life which I take seriously; my faith in God, the love of my family and friends, and Miami Dolphins football. Following a 0 – 4 start by my Fins to the 2007 season, not to mention their recent history of mediocrity, the key to my opening sentence is ‘used to say’. I’m still a fan and I am sure I will still subject myself to the weekly torture of watching them be one of the worst teams in the NFL, but I am also sure it will be done with abject reservation of real emotion.

Following a loss, I am usually grumpy and crabby and looking to replace some piece of furniture I keep telling my girlfriend I ‘accidentally’ broke, but not today. Today’s loss to the historically hated Raiders - Stabler’s knee was down - is somewhat bittersweet. Prior to the game, I sat down in front of my computer to get caught up on the season premier of ‘My Name is Earl’ which I forgot to record. So it’s only appropriate then that Karma made an appearance in this game between Oakland and Miami.

Let me take you back to the beginning of LAST season, when the Dolphins had acquired Daunte Culpepper from the Vikings following his recovery from a devastating knee injury. There was a buzz about Daunte’s ability to throw the ball downfield, to use his size to power through linebackers, and assuming his knee was recovered, bring Miami back into the ranks of a winning franchise. He was rushed into the starting position and ended up having a miserable 4 games to start the season. The organization blamed Culpepper’s knee, labeled him a has-been, placed him on injured-reserved, and Culpepper never played another game for the Dolphins.

Then came the fiasco with Nick Saban bolting to Alabama, Cam Cameron being named the new head coach of the Fins, Trent Green being picked up in a trade with the Chiefs and Daunte Culpepper being unceremoniously and disgracefully escorted from the Dolphins training facility by security. Just like that, the player who was supposed to be the savior of the franchise, the next great Miami quarterback after Griese and Marino, was just dropped like a bad habit. For a kid who grew up in Ocala a Dol-fan, dreaming of playing in aqua and coral, it was a slap in the face.

So as the clock ticked down on a 35-17 loss, there was a wry smile to my face. It wasn’t just because my Marlins were beating the Mets and crushing their hopes for the post-season, but also because the Raiders owed their win to a kid from Ocala who was supposed to be a has-been quarterback. The fact Daunte Culpepper was even playing for the Raiders to begin with is a cosmic event in and of itself.

In a nutshell, the Raiders drafted quarterback Jamarcus Russell in April with the first overall pick. Russell held out until September for a better contract deal, and signed only after the Raiders acquired Culpepper as a free agent. Josh McCown was named the starter for the Raiders but suffered an injury in week three. So there was Culpepper ready to start at quarterback against the team that treated him with absolutely no class just two months ago.

Duante completed only five passes on Sunday, but two of those were for touchdowns. More importantly, the has-been kid ran – yes RAN – for three scores against the Dolphins. Following his second rushing touchdown, Daunte pointed to his surgically reconstructed knee and then gave the Dolphins Stadium crowd an ‘OK’ symbol. OK as in “Who’s a has-been now?” OK as in “Where’s your security escort now?” OK as in “Oh Karma!”

I guess I will still take Dolphins losses to heart, but this particular loss is OK with me.

If you’re a fan of NFL football, you’re well aware of the many little things that just ‘fit’.  A typical game lasts three hours and starts at 1:00 on Sundays.  This means they start at 1:00 on the East and the West coast.   How convenient!  A game is four quarters long, as is a complete regular season.  And at the end of the first quarter of this season, it’s time to sit back and see how things are going.

The last four Super Bowl winners have started their seasons a combined 12-4.  That’s a 75% winning percentage.  So as I look at my beloved Dolphins sitting alone in the cellar of the AFC East at 1-3, it doesn’t look good.  Neither does the offensive line.  Neither does the secondary.  Neither does the running game.  When the top team-MVP candidates after the first four games are the #3 Wide Receiver and the Punter, things have to get better.

Miami is known for its tropical atmosphere and hot scenery.  The art deco is nice to look at, too.  Miami’s weather this time of year varies from mild to hot, but for the most part it’s fair.  So it’s only appropriate that Miami is home to the a-typical fair-weather fan.  In Miami, sell-out is a concept and not a recurring reality.  The expectation to win is as unreasonably high as the mercury in September, and the attention span of the average sports fan is as frivolous as the spending on South Beach.

So it doesn’t surprise me to hear the nay-sayers bash Duante Culpepper.  It doesn’t astonish me to hear negative comments about Nick Saban.  I find it common place to hear about ALL the things that are wrong with this team, and how they should fold up their tents and mail it in for the rest of the season.  There’s no hope whatsoever.  The only reason to watch is to see who will have a worse season. The Dolphins or the Hurricanes?

The last four Super Bowl champions found success in their first four games.  The champion previous to that, however, did not.  The champion previous to that lost its starting quarterback in week 2, lost its fourth game of the season 30-10 to my beloved Dolphins, and saw itself staring at a 1-3 record at the end of the first quarter of their season.  That team was the 2001 New England Patriots, and we all know how that turned out for them.

No, neither Daunte Culpepper nor Joey Harrington is Tom Brady.  But then again, neither was Tom Brady until he was given the chance.  No, Nick Saban is not Bill Belichick, but he is a disciple of Belichick.  For what it’s worth, Saban is in his 2nd year as a head coach.  Belichick was in his second year in 2001.  It’s just another of those NFL tidbits that just ‘fit’. So it shouldn’t surprise you the Dolphins play the Patriots this Sunday.  The football gods know what they are doing.

Only time will tell if the Fins can salvage this season, and this Sunday needs to be a statement game for the Dolphins.  I still believe Daunte will come around and the offense will gel as the season progresses.  The O-Line needs a lot of work, but they will come together as a unit.  Despite what the locals of my hometown say, all is not lost.  However, if come halftime of Sunday’s game a win is already out of reach, at least I can smile knowing the Miami Heat open up the pre-season in a week.

There are three things in life which I take seriously.  My faith in God, the love of my family and friends, and Miami Dolphins football.   Tonight, I thank God for those special people I love, and blaspheme for the professional athletes I sometimes love to hate.

Tonight was the opening game of the 2006 NFL season.  My beloved Fins were taking on the Pittsburgh Steelers in Pittsburgh.  With the additions of Daunte Culpepper and Joey Harrington, two significant upgrades at the quarterback position, expectations coming into this season are high.  There was a lot of talk about how Culpepper was the best arm to slide through a Dolphins jersey since Dan Marino.  Sports Illustrated even has the Dolphins playing a home game in SuperBowl XLI. 

So you can understand the smiles on my face as the Dolphins were nursing a three point lead with 7 minutes left in the fourth quarter.  Could this be happening?  Could the Dolphins really be managing and manufacturing a win against the defending SuperBowl champions?  And just as I settled into a cautiously optimistic comfort zone, Daunte unleashed what can only be described as an inferno of a performance. 

I preface my next statement by pointing out there is no bigger Marino fan than me.  That being said, Culpepper did show shades of Dapper Dan but for all the wrong reasons.  Two consecutive interceptions, one of them returned for a touchdown.  A primetime game against a tough conference opponent and Culpepper throws a touchdown pass to the opposing player.  I remember many Monday Night games where Dan Marino left me screaming obscenities to my TV, and I love my TV.

Yes I know it’s only one game.  Yes I know it’s early in the season.  Yes I know Miami was not expected to win this game, even with Big Ben Rothlisberger sidelined for the Steelers.  Nevertheless, it’s still agonizing.  The loss still leaves me reeling and too pissed off to try and get some sleep.  The performance has me anticipating all the deservedly negative comments in the Miami Herald tomorrow morning.  The game has me anxiously waiting for the Dolphins’ home opener versus the hated Bills to see if the Fins will bounce back from this crappy 4th quarter showing. 

Yet whatever this season has in store for us fans, be it a pathetic 6-10 showing or a home win on February 4th, I will live and die with every week.  From now until the last game the Dolphins play, I will wake up every morning thanking God. I will love my kids, my friends and my Leelee – although she may not love me so much on Sundays – and I will love my Dolphins.  It’s a trifecta of passions and I wouldn’t have it any other way.