This game was a big one! Anticipation was killing me. I was beginning to lose hope. Desperation was setting in. Saturday, inspired by the magic of the first snow of winter here in Virginia, I felt like a little girl again. And who do little girls share their wishes and dreams with? Santa Claus. So I sat down and wrote a letter to Santa. Thankfully, Santa is high-tech and digital now, so he got my letter and went straight to work. Thank you, Santa Claus, for the most wonderful early-Christmas gift a girl could ask for! How sweet it is to beat New England!

I asked Santa to help Chad Henne play like Marino. Or, at least, like Jay Fiedler. I think Santa economized and gave me Jay Fiedler. Henne’s play was not perfect, but it was solid and dependable. When he made mistakes, he quickly recovered and gave us big plays. For example, on 3rd down and 6, during the Dolphins final drive, it appeared Henne choked when he overthrew a pass to a wide open Lousaka Polite. But he came through on 4th down, throwing on the run as he rolled to his right, connecting with Greg Camarillo for 13 yards. Wait, maybe this was the lucky 13 of week 13. Maybe Henne did channel Danny boy on that one! Thanks, Santa!

I asked Santa to slow down Randy Moss enough to cause him to gather moss. While Moss had two big catches for 66 yards and a TD in the first half, he was shut out in the second with no touches. Now, if that’s not gathering moss, I don’t know what is! Thanks, Santa!

I asked Santa to give Ted Ginn velcro hands. Ginn’s 2 catches were both big third down plays–the first was a 19-yard sideline grab that set up a field goal at the end of the first half; the second was a 17-yard catch that allowed us to sustain a drive and eat up clock time in the 4th quarter. Yeah, I might also have asked Santa for 2 TD returns, but he knew I was being greedy. Still, he generously gave me a 51-yard return that helped put us in position for a 3rd quarter field goal. Thanks, Santa!

I asked Santa to help Tom Brady give us “2 errant throws and a pick-six in-a-palm-tree.” Santa did come through with the two interceptions. We didn’t get the pick-six, but I guess the economic woes have reached the North Pole, too. And, as it turned out we didn’t need the pick-six. Santa doesn’t believe in unnecessary spending. The look on Brady’s face as he fell apart in the 2nd half was priceless! (He only connected on 6 of 15 passes in the second half.) Thanks, Santa!

Like I knew it would, the game came down to the 4th quarter. I asked Santa to help our defense keep from falling apart. This is a defense that had given up about 12 points per game in the final quarter. I asked Santa to help them allow ZERO points. What happened in the fourth quarter? The Patriots had four drives with the following results: Interception, Punt, Punt, Interception. And both punts were on three-and-out drives! Our defense came through! We won! We Won! WE WON! We’re doing the Santa Claus boogie! THANK YOU, SANTA!!!

What’s the moral of this story, kids? You’ve got to take some time to believe in Santa Claus!

Our play-off hopes are alive and kicking. What’s next? We hit the road to play Jacksonville. I wonder, could Sunday the 13th of December bring as much luck to the Dolphins as week 13? And, more importantly, would it be breaking the rules if I were to write another letter to Santa?!?