Are The Dolphins Really Super Bowl Contenders?

Oh my goodness, no. No, no, no. But it's the first week of the season! Anything is possible. In a few hours football becomes a reality, but for now, we can still dream. The Dolphins can dream that they will win more than they will lose. The Colts can dream that Andrew Luck will be just as good as Peyton Manning. The Jets can dream that they are not slowly murdering the will to live of each and every one of their fans. 31 other teams can dream about seeing their punter partying while wearing a festive shirt and sombrero.

In a few hours the dream gives way to real games with real hits and real stakes. It's so much better that way, but for several teams out there, the season will be over almost as quickly as it started. Sometimes it's predictable, like the Rams last year. Sometimes it's less so. One injury and boom, season over. Of course, this is what makes it so compelling to watch. Everything is important and it makes doing well so much more satisfying and doing poorly so devastating.

There is no devastation this morning, though. There is only hope. Who knows, maybe the Dolphins actually put something together this year and Ryan Tannehill will torment the AFC for the next decade. That is a possibility and that is all we are dealing with until 1:05 PM ET. As is so often said, today is Christmas morning. Today is Christmas morning and we are staring at the presents, wondering what's inside. Depending on the wrapping paper used it could be the original Voltron action figure (the Lions, not the bootleg "Vehicle" version) or it could be pajamas.

For now, you can still pretend you won't be faking a smile and holding up some crumby flannel fabric. And really, even if that is all you get, it's still free shit and better than nothing.