Miami Dolphins putting the life back into Sun Life Stadium

Zach Dean
12.10.11
3:39 pm


Boston-- Remember when the dolphins had one home win in 2010?  Remember when, up until the month of November, those same Miami Dolphins had failed to win a home game through the first two months of this season?

Remember it, you may, but those memories, those sickening images of home mediocrity are beginning to fade away, aren't they?  With every home win, scratch that, drubbing, the Miami Dolphins of before, the 1-10 at home Miami Dolphins, become harder and harder to remember.

And it's been a damn fun ride as well, has it not?  At least for the players it has.

"Our swagger has changed,” veteran linebacker Jason Taylor explained following Sunday's 34-14 win. “This team is a lot looser now and not playing uptight, not preparing uptight, not acting uptight, and that shows on Sundays."


Having a new "swagger," as Taylor puts it, may be the only way to explain the dolphins recent turn around in which they've outscored opponents 139-54, and 120-34 at Sun Life Stadium.


That newfound swagger may have never been more evident than on Sunday when, late in the 4th quarter, running back Reggie Bush dropped a screen pass after taking a punishing hit from a Raiders defender.  After the hit, Bush proceeded to stay on the ground and bang out a couple push ups, much to the delight of the crowd who, in return, began chanting "Reg-gie, Reg-gie, Reg-gie!"


"I wanted to let him know his hit didn’t hurt me,” Bush would later explain. “Just a little humor. Having fun out there …"


And how could you not have fun when you're in the midst of winning four out of five games, with three of those wins coming in front of a fan base in desperate need for a reason to cheer. 


According to linebacker Kevin Burnett, however, it's the fun that brings the winning, not the winning that brings the fun.


"We’re having fun again," Burnett, who had a touchdown of his own on Sunday, would go onto say. "I can’t explain how much that takes away the pain."


That pain can be further removed tomorrow, when the dolphins take the field shortly after the one o'clock hour in search of their fourth straight home win, and fifth overall in six chances.  The game was declared a sellout early on in the week, something that hasn't happened since week one against the Patriots.  


Maybe that's a sign of things to come in Miami, maybe, just maybe, the fun is starting to spread.


"They like having a good time with each other," Coach Sparano said of his fun loving group, "but when they’re out on the field and they get going it’s something that they feed off of."


Let's hope the feeding frenzy continues tomorrow.


Lets hope it continues for a long, long time.