The Miami Dolphins fan base, especially those who brave the social media world, is at an impasse. On one hand, losing means a higher draft pick, but on the other hand, who roots for your team to lose?
The victory on Sunday morning in Madrid has fans talking playoffs again, but also the drop from a top-5 pick to 11th. The back-to-back wins have damaged their draft slotting, and fans are torn on why they are rooting so hard for a 4-7 team that has struggled all year long.
That isn't lost on the media either. Both Joe Schad of the Palm Beach Post and Barry Jackson of the Miami Herald called out fans for wanting the team to tank. Why? Because of the win, the Dolphins are making this season a bit more interesting.
Miami Dolphins have left fans rooting for and against them as mediocrity continues to plague them
The debate on social media over where Miami is selecting in the draft is only part of the issue. Miami fans are tired of the Dolphins picking between 11 and 20 each year. They can just as easily waste picks at the top of the draft. This, however, is deeper than draft slotting.
The core of this ongoing debate is not draft picks, it's change. Winning gives Stephen Ross a reason to keep things the way they are. Sure, the Dolphins won on Sunday, but the play-calling wasn't good, the decisions were worse, and Miami snuck out of Madrid after a missed field goal gave McDaniel a reprieve.
Fans are tired of being average and tired of being filled with false hope. Two years after putting 70 points on the Broncos, Denver is 9-2, four games up on the Chiefs in the AFC West. After competing with the Jets for two years to own the basement of the AFC East, the Patriots are 9-2 and at the top of the AFC East.
Under Ross, nothing has changed in over a decade. That, too, is where Barry Jackson comes in. He doesn't believe Miami has the ownership and executive staff in place to make the right decisions this offseason. He thinks it's better to win as much as possible because there is zero proof that the owner can get it right the next time around.
He isn't wrong. Making a run for the postseason is far more interesting to Schad than simply losing for the sake of a higher draft pick and potential change that may not happen. He isn't wrong either, but neither of them is pouring their salaries into tickets and airfare to see the team play, or buying the expensive concession items.
Dolphins fans have had enough, but they, too, realize that Ross isn't going to make the right decisions that will lead the Dolphins to a turnaround. He relies on the wrong people, who in turn rely on the wrong people, who end up signing the wrong players.
Fans are not happy about dropping to 11 in the draft standings. Even if they win their next two games, they would still have only a 1% chance of making the playoffs, and that only increases to 41% if they win the rest of their schedule, according to The New York Times' "The Athletic."
It's mediocrity 101 at its best. Do enough to keep your name relevant, but not enough to actually get better. That is where fans are at. Do they root for change, or do they root for that 1% chance?