Daunte, it doesn't have to be like this!

Daunte Culpepper wants out of Miami. If he wants to do it with class and professionalism, he really doesn’t need to look far to find out how. Daunte, we in Miami have seen this before, and it really doesn’t have to be like this.

Just one name. Dan Marino. It has been a long time since many a fan sat and watched the greatest QB in Miami Dolphins history walk onto a field. For some it came full circle at the HOF enshrinement, for others, he just faded away into history.

In another 5 years or so, we will have the new wave of fans, the ones who only know Dan as “that guy on the pre-game show“. Like many now who don’t remember watching Bob Griese, not Brian, walk onto a field in Aqua and Orange.

After a long 17 year career, I watched in complete sadness as my “American Idol” announced he would no longer stand at the line of scrimmage. It was over.

For all the banter of “Marino needs to retire“, “Hang it up Dan your done“, one thing remains skewed. One thing remains tarnished and questioned. One thing links Dan Marino to Don Shula in more than just how the two of them combined to set records. It was the way they were shown the door. It was the “mystery” surrounding it. It was the blatant disrespect for two men who gave more than any other for this team.

Here we are, some 7 years later, yes it really has been that long, and once again, we watch as yet another QB is shown the door. This time however, I don’t care. Not one….single….bit.

The media has embraced the cause of Daunte Culpepper with a fiery vengeance, as though they are finding a new martyr to champion. Fans have become so divided that friends spend more time telling themselves to remember the fact they are “friends” with their counterpart. Culpepper and the NFLPA has filed a grievance with the NFL on his behalf, he has reportedly shot down one trade offer for the sole purpose of demanding his release and has even told teams not to bother trying, that he would be a free agent soon enough.

After being told in front of his teammates that he was not going to be allowed to participate in team drills, he walked off the field waving. He released a press release, his own press release, saying that his dream of playing for the Dolphins is now a “Nightmare“. My dream of seeing the Dolphins win another Super Bowl has been a nightmare since Don Shula left. Sorry Daunte, but I have more time invested in this team than you do.

I have no sympathy for this man. I rooted for him to succeed in Miami. I wished that he could fully recover to his pro-bowl days. I told myself that his attitude in leaving Minny was the exception and not the norm. I was wrong.

7 years ago I watched a man who poured blood, sweat, and tears into this team be ridiculed and belittled by the very community that he played for. I watched a man who for 17 years made Miami his home, the community his own. I watched a great athlete, great person, stand and struggle with the notion that his career was over, the only career that he ever loved.

The new head coach had shown him the door. The new head coach told him he could find another team. Ironically it was Minnesota who came calling. A 1 or 2 year deal to groom their new rookie QB. I paced in front of the TV for days, awaiting the official word that a trade was done. Instead, I get “I’m retiring from the Miami Dolphins“.

Make no mistake, Dan Marino did not retire because he wanted to. He retired because he no longer had a place within the Dolphins team. He retired because he would rather do so than play for someone else. He retired because he had no guarantee that Dave Wannstedt would keep him at all.

He retired to much fanfare. Hell it was fit for a king, but more importantly however, he retired with complete class that carried with him for the next 5 years to Canton. Where he stood and thanked his family, his teammates, his coaches. Where he stood and tried not to cry as he thanked his fans. I stood in the grass that day, in the sweltering heat with my then 1 year old son, trying not to cry myself.

This man, left his body and soul on a football field in the South Florida sun. He did it with dignity.

Daunte Culpepper is not retiring. He is not leaving the game that he loves. He is not even leaving a team that he has bled for. He is leaving a team that he has rode a stationary bike for. A team that has paid him millions for a 4 game stint that left the Dolphins 1 and 3. Daunte Culpepper is doing so with the dignity and class of a toddler.

Sure, the Dolphins have shown little class themselves in how they are handling his situation. He is not being given a chance to fight for his job. His livelihood. The Dolphins are acting not much older than he is. Yet somehow should we have expected anything less?

Is it not the same owner who gave the nudge in Don Shula’s back for Jimmy Johnson? The same owner who watched Dave push Dan Marino out the door? I like Wayne Huizenga, there are not many other owners who I can say I would want here in Miami. Yet the truth does hurt.

Daunte Culpepper has done nothing to deserve anything more than what he is getting right now. 4 games, a 2nd round draft pick, and a few million dollars earns you nothing these days. This is now Cam Cameron’s system. This is now the age of a real General Manager. This is a new era for the entire franchise. Why shouldn’t it be ushered in, any other way?

Daunte is getting a high dose of sympathy attention. He begs for it, he screams that he deserves better. The media screams that he deserves better, fans are screaming that he deserves better. Daunte Culpepper deserves nothing. I applaud him for his rehabilitation. His undying desire to get back on the field, but that does not change the fact, that for this team, he has done nothing. And nothing should get you nothing.

Daunte Culpepper does not deserve a portion of what little respect, the media, the fans, and the team gave Dan Marino, in his final days as an active Miami Dolphin. Dan Marino, went out and performed…for 17 years, he had few champions. Culpepper is being championed…for a total of 4 games.

To me, the media frenzy and the fan devotion to a guy who did nothing for the franchise does not make sense. Personally, I don’t want it to. I am a Miami Dolphins fan. I live, breath, and bleed Miami Dolphins football. I rooted for Dan Marino back then, Daunte Culpepper and Joey Harrington last year. I will root for Trent Green today and John Beck tomorrow. I will root for that kid who is still playing with matchbox cars in his family’s basement in another 20 years.

Jason Taylor and Zach Thomas have earned my respect. Dan Marino earned my admiration, respect, devotion, and to a degree my heart. Daunte Culpepper has earned nothing from me. Again, in my little world, the love fest with this 4 game starter makes no sense.

That’s my 2 cents, and I guess it is better than no sense at all.