Advertisement

Rick Zamperin: Miami Dolphins the latest example of why sports is the ultimate reality TV

Miami Dolphins quarterback Ryan Fitzpatrick celebrates his winning touchdown pass to Mike Gesicki in the second half of an NFL football game against the New England Patriots, Sunday, Dec. 29, 2019, in Foxborough, Mass. AP Photo/Charles Krupa)

I’ve never been so happy being wrong, even if it meant getting roasted on Twitter.

For those of you who are unaware, I am a huge Miami Dolphins fan and 2019 has been flooded with a lot of growing pains.

The National Football League team started the season in full rebuild mode — or tank mode if you ask some — after shipping out star players like QB Ryan Tannehill, running back Kenyon Drake, receiver Kenny Stills, linebacker Kiko Alonso, and left tackle Laremy Tunsil, so not much was expected of the remaining players on the roster.

Miami lost their first seven games and were outscored 163-26 in their first four losses, including a 43-0 loss at home in Week 2 versus the New England Patriots, so things were not looking so hot midway through the campaign.

Story continues below advertisement

The Dolphins finally found the win column in Week 9 against AFC East rival New York, beat Indianapolis the following week and played much better in the second half of the season.

Which brings me to Sunday in New England, where Miami had not won a game since 2008.

On Dec. 21, the Patriots beat the Buffalo Bills to clinch their eleventh straight AFC East title and I tweeted “Like death & taxes… the Patriots win the AFC East.”

Breaking news from Canada and around the world sent to your email, as it happens.

So when fellow Hamilton sports announcer Bubba O’Neill replied “It was there for the taking. Are the fish going to hand them the 2 seed?” I responded with, “Miami has a zero % chance, no… they have LESS than a zero % chance of beating the Pats at Foxboro next week.”

Story continues below advertisement

The Dolphins beat New England 27-24 Sunday on a last-minute touchdown from journeyman QB Ryan Fitzpatrick to tight end Mike Gesicki. They finished their season with a 5-11 record and most importantly, they prevented the Pats from becoming the second seed in the AFC playoffs — that went to the Kansas City Chiefs.

My less-than-stellar prediction spread like wildfire Sunday evening on Twitter when dozens of people retweeted, liked, or made fun of it.

It was all in good fun and it just goes to show you that sports, unpredictable as they are, make for the ultimate reality TV.

Click to play video: 'Superfan meets his NFL namesake'
Superfan meets his NFL namesake

Sponsored content

AdChoices