DKphin
Club Member
http://www.montrealgazette.com/spor...eps+Canadian+journey+heart/5886518/story.html
[h=1]Miami Dolphins' Cameron Wake gets pumped up as he is introduced before game against Oakland Raiders at Sun Life Stadium in Miami Gardens, Florida on Dec. 4.
[/h][h=2]Photograph by: Robert Duyos, Sun Sentinel/MCT[/h]
A third teammate walked past with a Louis Vuitton suitcase trailing behind when someone complained about how cold it was in the dressing room, and about how Cameron Wake should be used to it, given the fact he was Canadian.
"No," Wake said, his breath visible as he spoke, "I was an 'import' up here."
The dressing-room door was open because the Miami Dolphins were filing outside to the team bus idling in the runway at Ralph Wilson Stadium. Wake had taken his time getting dressed and was slow to join his teammates, which is really the story of his career in the National Football League.
Wake was an import once because he was an American playing in the Canadian Football League. That is where he landed after slipping through the player-personnel files of every team in the NFL, and it was there, with the B.C. Lions, where he became a star.
He was named the CFL's outstanding defensive player in both of the seasons he spent in Vancouver, in 2007 and in 2008. Wake dominated the line of scrimmage and, by 2009, he was gone, snatched by the Dolphins, who gave him a US$1-million signing bonus.
Wake went to the Pro Bowl last season.
"I kind of went through the back door, the back road to where I'm standing," he said at his stall on Sunday, after helping Miami beat the Buffalo Bills. "There were no bells and whistles, no silver spoon or big contract. None of that. I came out, worked, scratched and clawed and every day I fight for this opportunity."
He had a sack on the fourth play from scrimmage on Sunday, dropping Bills quarterback Ryan Fitzpatrick for a 10-yard loss. He finished tied with a game-high six tackles as the Dolphins earned a 30-23 win to lift themselves out of last place in the AFC East.
Wake is playing through the four-year, US$4.9-million deal he signed after leaving the Lions, but he has not lost touch with his former team. He said a handful of Lions players visited Miami after their Grey Cup win last month, and said he has been in contact with new head coach Mike Benevides, who was defensive co-ordinator when Wake patrolled the line in Vancouver.
"I congratulated him and he congratulated me on the success we've had," Wake said with a smile. "Those guys had an amazing, amazing run. I kind of followed it behind the scenes, but my hat's off to those guys. I'm so proud of them."
Wake plays outside linebacker in Miami, where he has a team-leading 7½ sacks in his third full season. He was fined US$15,000 for a hit on Oakland Raiders quarterback Carson Palmer earlier this month - almost as much as the bonus paid to Lions players for winning the Grey Cup last month ($16,000)."I think he's enjoying himself in Miami, but there's probably a little special part of his heart set aside for Canada," veteran Dolphins linebacker Jason Taylor said. "He talks about it quite often."
Has the time he has spent in the NFL provided any further perspective on how Wake might have slipped under the NFL's radar?
"It happens all the time," Taylor said. "It's not an exact science and personnel guys aren't the end-all, be-all. Unfortunately, he had to take a tough route to get here, but we're glad he's here. And he's very, very deserving of being here - and there's a lot of guys that he should have been here in front of, but he never let that get him down."
