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Viva Murillo!

In 2001, I sat in an end zone of Raymond James Stadium in Tampa and watched Buccaneer Aaron Stecker come toward us as he returned a kickoff. It looked like he was going to take it all the way, and you could literally hear the roar of the stadium increase as he passed each yard marker. The Buccaneers hadn’t ever returned a kickoff for a touchdown, and it didn’t happen that day, either. He was tackled at something like the 11-yard line (don’t look it up, I’m working from memory here) and the Bucs blew out the Saints that day.

This past Sunday I was also at the stadium, and also sitting in an end zone watching a returner come toward us. This time is was Micheal Spurlock and, as everyone in the world knows, he snapped one of the remaining records of Buccaneer futility. I’ve seen Monday Night Football victories, playoff victories, you name it. I even saw the Bills lose their first Super Bowl against the Giants. But I’ve never seen the kind of jubilation I witnessed Sunday. The scoreboard only added six points, but everyone celebrated like it was much more than that. Because, of course, it was.

At the same time, in the southern part of the state, the Miami Dolphins were playing another game, wondering when their streak would end. As it turned out, after more than 60 minutes of football and a missed kick by the normally-reliable Matt Stover, the Dolphins finally won a game and let those same Buccaneers keep their other record—the “perfect” 0-everything season from 1976. The video from that game looked like something from a playoff victory—the fans, players and coaches were ecstatic, the owner was crying and the camera was shaking. It only counts as one win, but it was a very big one.

Now, the Dolphins will be playing golf in January, and few odds-makers would favor Tampa Bay over the best of the AFC (if they can get past the talent in their own conference and reach the Super Bowl). But those teams couldn’t be happier today. They didn’t win it all on Sunday, but they celebrated their triumphs with the same enthusiasm a champion uses.

Yes, there’s a lesson there: You don’t have to win it all to enjoy your successes. You might have rolled through the regular season, set weekly or season points records, and made yourself a good bit of money. But if Tom Brady, Antonio Gates or someone else contributed to a bitter defeat, you might feel like the entire season was a failure. But it wasn’t.

Think back to everything that happened this year. Did you beat up a bitter (but friendly) rival? Did you keep a buddy out of the post-season? Did you pull out a few miracle victories due to an amazing play -- the kind of play that typicall haunts your fantasy team?

You probably had a number of memorable events this season, so don’t forget them if your season didn’t end the way you wanted. You still had a lot of fun and accumulated some new trash-talking fodder. That’s a pretty good year, no matter your record.

Of course, it’s better if you’re still playing for a title -- and If you are, congratulations. But if not, take a page from the Miami Dolphins and celebrate anyway. Even if you’re looking like a long shot to win it all, be happy like the Buccaneers. There are a lot of opportunities for every owner to enjoy the fantasy football season. Take advantage of all of them.

Feel free to mention your memorable events of 2007 below. You can also reach Michael Murillo at vivamurillo@gmail.com.

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