Miami Dolphins changing perceptions around the league
By George Keim
A good start by the Miami Dolphins have some in the media and the fan base changing their perceptions about a team many thought would finish near the bottom.
The Miami Dolphins are off to a 3 and 0 start this season, yet most of the so-called “experts” continue to doubt them. However, the Dolphins quick start is starting to change the perception of the team in the eyes of opposing fans.
I live behind enemy lines, deep inside the evil empire. Being a Dolphins fan and living in New England during the Patriots unprecedented run hasn’t been easy. Granted, of all the teams in the AFC East, the Dolphins have had the most success against the Patriots over this time, if you consider an 11-22 record success.
The Patriots played Sunday night this past week, thus the local CBS game was the Dolphins vs. the Raiders. This gave New England fans a chance to watch the Dolphins.
Following the game, I poled a few of my Patriot fan friends and the majority feeling is actually that of respect for the Dolphins. This usually isn’t the case around here. Often times Patriot fans think, why are we even playing this team? Just give us the win and lets move on. It’s hard to blame them with the success they’ve had.
But, things feel differently this fall in New England. Fans of the Patriots are actually, dare I say it, a little nervous about this week’s game.
Lets be honest though, I still get the “look at who they’ve beat” or “they haven’t played anyone yet” comments but the Dolphins can only play the teams that are on their schedule. To the Dolphin’s credit they’ve done exactly what they should have done, beat teams they should beat.
This week will not make or break the Miami Dolphins’ season. They will still have 12 more games following this one. What this game will do though, should they win, is legitimize the hot start they’ve gotten off to. If they want to change people’s minds then the Dolphins need to beat the Patriots this week, and then maybe, just maybe start to change the minds of the “experts” even though I kind of like the no respect, chip on the shoulder this team plays with.