Let Us Gloat: The Dolphins Are Playoff-Bound

Just before the game that would decide whether the Dolphins or Jets went to the NFL Playoffs, Jets QB Brett Favre delivered this rousing pep talk to his teammates: "Hey, if it works out, it works out. If it doesn't, it doesn't."

It didn't. I haven't seen so many treats tossed at Dolphins since my last visit to Sea World. And now the Dolphins are in.

For die-hard fans who've pined for the playoffs these past nine years, it's cause for celebration. The day after that playoff-sealing victory, however, the glow is beginning to fade, ever so slightly. Maybe it's the knowledge that this team has feasted all season on cupcakes and that a sugar buzz rarely lasts long in the post-season. Maybe it's the prospect of facing a junkyard dog like Ray Lewis and the Baltimore Ravens. Maybe it's the dim memory of the last time a somewhat shaky Dolphins team eeked into the playoffs by winning in the season's last week. That was 1999, and this is the disturbing video footage.

For those who want to keep their buzz, I prescribe a dose of schadenfreude.

The Star-Ledger of Newark will oblige. For the quarterback who only four months ago got a hero's welcome, here was his ignominious send-off:

Favre arrived as a confident quarterback with Hall of Fame credentials. He crawls into the offseason and probably into retirement as a limp-armed, lead-footed, mistake-prone loser.

The same article calls his Jet teammates "cooties with shoulderpads" and warned readers, "If you're a Jets fan and this season did not shake your belief that anything is possible, there is a padded room waiting for you. One with a Vinny Testaverde poster on the wall."

Oooh...that's harsh. Well, better luck next time, Jets. And thanks for loaning us your quarterback!

-- Thomas Francis