Obviously, after seven long years out of the postseason, 'Fins Nation is ecstatic to be back in the playoffs. But amidst the euphoria and the head-shaking reality that this team went from one win to 11 in the span of a year, there has seemed to be something missing this week that I couldn't put my finger on.
And then it occurred to me.
Zach Thomas.
Because this is a team that he would have been proud to have been a part of. This was the gritty, physical, hard-working, never-stop-fighting, underdog squad that embodied everything that his playing career has been about. If anyone deserved to be a part of this celebration, it was a former fifth-round pick who had his head run over as a tot and had always been told that he was too small and too slow.
Through 11 seasons and seven Pro Bowls in Miami, Thomas was the spokesman of the team after Dan Marino's departure. He was refreshingly honest and self-deprecating, a guy you could pull for on a team full of underachievers, castoffs and bad decisions.
In late February, the new regime came in, and Thomas got thrown out with the bath water. It was an understandable move and simply a by-product of change, but it still didn't feel good to see No. 54 take down his parking-space sign, clean out his locker and head back to Texas.
It feels even worse to be rooting on the Dolphins at this time when you see what happened to Thomas. He signed on with the Cowboys, the preseason Super Bowl picks, a franchise loaded with high-priced talent and the shiniest of stars. He was the old Subaru Brat in a parking lot full of tricked-out Mercedes; he was the T-shirt and jeans in a room full of Technicolor dreamcoats and bling.
It didn't feel right to see him on a team with T.O., Pacman Jones, Tank Johnson and other divas and thugs. But he deserved a shot at a ring, you told yourself, and he was a Texas native as well. So you wished him well and hoped he got what he wanted, and you nodded your head and thanked him when he said he would "always be a Miami Dolphin."
But then, even as the 'Fins reeled off nine wins in 10 games to end the season, you couldn't help notice Dallas falling apart and attacking itself from within. And it turned out you were right all along; the pathetic Cowboys were not the right fit for him. He didn't belong in a locker room full of selfish, egotistical, heartless, gutless players. He shouldn't have been a part of this forgettable group of headline-chasing frauds and chokers. He deserved more, and better.
He should have been a Dolphin — because he is the anti-Cowboy. He should have reveled in this memorable playoff run and been the one in the corner of the room with tears in his eyes as the "2008 AFC East Champions" hats were passed around.
He earned it. Over and over.
Zach posted 94 tackles and a sack for Dallas this year, in 14 starts, passable stats for a 35-year-old. But you wonder if the disillusionment that must have set in this year may help force him out of the game; you can't help but think that he would rather hang up his cleats then go through another circus in Jerry Jones's laughable, Botox-ridden world.
I wish I didn't have to look at No. 54's old jersey in my closet as I gear up for the first playoff game in many, many years. I wish Miami could somehow sign him tomorrow so he could experience another shot at chasing the Lombardi Trophy.
But the team can't and he can't, and the Dolphins will line up on Sunday in the playoffs without Zach manning the middle. And I'll be cheering them on as hard as I can.
Even though, in the back of my mind, it will be hard not to notice that someone is missing.
3 comments:
This is a great article and a great point. It's a shame that ZT couldn't be a part of the good times too. Well said.
Good call on this, #54 is missed. He deserved this for all he put into the organization over the years, sux for him
I'm surprised no one else is talking about this. Hate it for Zach and his timing, doesn't seem fair.
Post a Comment