Personal Reflections on the Miami Dolphins' 2008 NFL Season

While attempting to watch the last two games but without a laptop, a decision was made to write about the Dolphins in a public Internet cafe in a Miami Public Library. There are people who are still lamenting the loss of the Dolphins to the Baltimore Ravens after qualifying for the AFC East Championship.

The fact that people are complaining about the interceptions that Chad Pennington threw during the game against the Ravens makes one think many thoughts. One of them is the fact that the most demanding people in a football team are the fans. It appears that the sky is not the limit and that people think they are entitled to total perfection.

It also appears that the majority of the sports fans, especially in American Football, do not have a long-term memory. While Miami should have defeated the Ravens to go to the Super Bowl, it should be considered that at least the team is a lot better than in 2007.

I will never forget how the Miami Dolphins only won one game during the 2007 NFL Season with the other teams using them as welcome mats. It was a feeling that should never be repeated.

We should thank ourselves that the Dolphins did not suffer the fate of the Detroit Lions when they become the first franchise in NFL history to have an 0-16 record, which means no wins and 16 losses.

We may have won most of our games and had been able to win the AFC East, we did ourselves proud with our performance in the 2008 NFL Season. Maybe the Dolphins did not have the perfect season like in 1972, but we improved, and there is more room for improvement.

For the people who still want to make comparisons with the 1972 perfect season, the perfect season was a combination of discipline and respect which will be difficult if not impossible to repeat in the future. Every game and every season is different, and some victories can be possible.

The important lesson to be learned in the 2008 NFL Season is that the Miami Dolphins were able to turn itself from a near disaster to a team that is being respected. It is for this reason and more that the 2008 NFL Season will hold a special place in my heart. The 2008 NFL Season for the Miami Dolphins should be a model for the games of the future.