1-13

How could one game, one game out of 16, seem so big?

I'm an enormous Miami Doplhins fan, and the horrors of being the worst single season team in NFL history were staring us down like Keith Traylor stares down a stack of hotcakes in the morning. It seemed inevitable. It seemed real, and fast. This storied franchise has been on the skids the last 10 years due to awful leadership, shoddy draft choices, and bad coaching. What's the result? 0-13.

But how could 1-13 feel so different?

I was impressed by Cam Cameron's words to the players in the locker room after the game. Rowdy and loud, with steam still filling the air from the showers, Cameron asked them all to slow down, take a deep breath, and exhale...

"We've been holding that in a long time,
and it feels good to let it out."

Two things happened in the league on Sunday. One team moved a step closer to perfection. One team staved off humiliation. But you wouldn't know who was who from the reaction.

Players out of control. The owner crying in the box. A head coach hugging his heroic quarterback. All for 1-13.

Cameron said, "There are a lot of men who couldn't go through what you've gone through this year. It's been hard, it's been tough. But i promise you, you'll be better men for it."

Keith Traylor, all 340 lbs of him has played in 3 Super Bowls, and he said this win is right up there with those. Wow.

1-13.

I can't help but think about how there's strength in those that realize and experience their weaknesses. How would we know joy and happiness, without also knowing struggle and failure? How can we know what grace truly is, if we don't know intimately our deepest struggles and fears? When we are made strong in our weakness, and experience our want, grace comes like a flood.

It comes like a 64 yard quick post route to a receiver with 4 catches all year.

It comes with 1-13 baby.

1-13.