Cameron, Cleo and the great fan divide

By Hugo Guzman  |   Monday, November 05, 2007  |  Comments( 8 )

Miami Dolphins
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Monday was one of the surreal days that makes you appreciate being a sports columnist and a sports enthusiast in general. Why? Because for just the second time in my journalistic career, it became brutally apparent that virtually all fans and media members base their logic on purely self-centered and egocentric assertions.

Yesterday, Miami Dolphins head coach Cam Cameron announced that Cleo Lemon would be the starting quarterback when the 0-8 Miami Dolphins host the 4-4 Buffalo Bills on Sunday. As expected, the South Florida fan base went berserk. They shouted expletives, called for stadium boycotts, insulted the head coach and generally spit venom at the entire organization.

Local media pundits weren't far behind, adding fuel to the fire by generally asserting that there was no logical reason for starting Lemon, a journeyman and career backup, over rookie John Beck. Even syndicated columnist Dan Le Batard couldn't resist the urge to question Cameron's motives; he concluded that the coach's motivations were somehow based on self-preservation as opposed to the long-term welfare of the team.

Lost in all this was the subtle voice of the virtually silent minority -- fans who actually agreed with Cameron's decision to go with Lemon. Last week, I pointed a couple of logical reasons for sitting Beck out a little bit longer, and my assertions were surprisingly well-received. Furthermore, a sampling of the various online fan portals show similar lines of thinking.

After all, there's nothing wrong with sitting Beck for a bit longer. If Beck dazzled in practice, he probably would have gotten the nod. But that is clearly not the case. So why not give the rookie a few more weeks of shared first-team reps as opposed to starting him against a resurgent Bills squad that is fresh off three straight wins and boasts a defensive unit that has snagged 13 interceptions (third in the NFL)?

It's not as if eight games is enough of a sample size to determine whether Beck will be Miami's quarterback of the future, so why rush to start him over Lemon?

The answer is that many Dolphins fans are selfish. The main reason that the South Florida faithful are upset with the decision is because Beck represents one of the few remaining reasons to watch on Sundays. The Dolphins are winless, the defense is no longer a strong suit, and the team's lone Pro Bowl candidate, running back Ronnie Brown, is out for the year with an ACL tear. So the prospect of seeing Beck line up behind center and throw to fellow youngsters Derek Hagan and Ted Ginn Jr. gives fans something to look forward to.

Cameron's decision, which is based on actually watching these guys at practice and on film, goes against the conventional self-centered perspective, and that is why everyone is so up in arms.

This situation is reminiscent of the reaction to Ricky Williams' sudden decision to retire back in 2004. As the aforementioned Le Batard correctly pointed out back then, fans didn't care about the motivation behind Williams' decision or about whether they were legitimate. All the fans cared about was the fact that their enjoyment on Sundays would be curtailed if Williams wasn't there to carry the football.

That brings me back to my original point about today being one of those special days. For you see, I, as someone who covers the team, would like to see Beck play. And why not? It's always interesting to see how young QBs fare. However, it's understandable that Cameron must base his decisions on performance evaluations and not fan or media appeasement.

Unfortunately, save for that small subsection of relatively enlightened observers, few people in Miami share that insight.

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About Hugo Guzman

Co-founder of RealFootball365.com. Born in Argentina, of Dominican descent, living in Hoboken, but from Miami through and ...
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