It’s no secret a lot has changed as time moves on, and the world of sports isn’t any different. Gone are the days where players and teams competed every single night, regardless of the chances they had of winning, and here are the days where we wanted to reward people for giving up. It’s to the point where you see full articles describing tanking (a word used to describe being the best at being garbage) as an art. To be honest, it’s downright sad how we can even entertain such a thing, but there are examples of teams who still put competing over throwing a season (or three) away for draft picks who aren’t guaranteed to turn fortunes around anyway. These teams, two from the NFL and one from the NBA, get a standing ovation for coming out and being who they are, professionals who get paid a good amount of money to play sports.
The first team I want to applaud is the Miami Dolphins. It’s definitely understood the Dolphins finished the year at 5-11, but when we consider how they started the year, that record should be looked as wildly successful. Miami began the year losing games by scores of 59-10, 43-0 and 31-6. Combine the awful beginning with the fact the Dolphins were stockpiling draft picks, and there was talk about this team being the worst in league history. Somewhere along the line, professional pride kicked in, and having Miami on the schedule wasn’t looked at as an easy win like it was a few months ago. To top off the season, the Dolphins went on the road and defeated the defending (now former) champion New England Patriots. Much credit goes to head coach Brian Flores and his staff for having the team ready to play, where it would have been easy to do what everyone else says they should do, which is tank. All of a sudden, a bleak future suddenly looks bright in south Florida.
This may sound a little crazy considering how I have crushed this team time and time again, but I have to give some credit to the New York Jets. While I still believe the Jets get way too much airtime to be an overall trash product, they actually rebounded from a slow start to win three of their final four games and finish with a 7-9 record. I guess we would have to see if momentum carries on into next season, but maybe (just maybe) head coach Adam Gase might have a clue after all. Quarterback Sam Darnold had an okay year if you take away having mononucleosis and seeing ghosts on the field, and one would think he’ll continue to improve with more time. I don’t give the J-E-T-S Jets, Jets, Jets props often, so maybe this could be considered a weak moment from me. I’m here to say it’s not, and New York could be tough to deal with next season if everything comes together.
For the final team that gets credit for competing, I’m going to the NBA and saluting the Oklahoma City Thunder. Going into this past summer, the Thunder had the vision of building a team around their dynamic duo of guard Russell Westbrook and forward Paul George. When the free agency period began, George demanded a trade to the Los Angeles Clippers to join forces with reigning NBA Finals MVP Kawhi Leonard, and was dealt soon after. Westbrook was then traded to the Houston Rockets, and the rebuilding project was suddenly staring OKC’s front office in the face. Quietly, the Thunder have developed a nice mix of youth and experience who give hell to the league’s elite, and they are at the seventh spot in the Western Conference. As a fan of OKC, I definitely didn’t see this coming, and maybe they don’t make the playoffs at season’s end, but the fact they’re playing this well after such a shift in direction says a lot head coach Billy Donovan and about the organization.
It’s good to see these three teams compete at a high level, but I admit writing this story is a sad case. One would think the least these athletes can do is go out and compete, but it’s not the case these days. We live in an era where throwing away seasons to get high draft picks is encouraged and participation trophies are given out as charity. For these teams to ignore all of that noise should be commended because it sends a positive message. None of these moments are promised, and we don’t know what tomorrow is bringing us. This is why we have to make the most of what we have today, and Dolphins, Jets and Thunder are examples of that characteristic.
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