One of the big reasons you may be hearing something down there is because the Miami Heat are not in the playoffs, so attention, on a sports level, has shifted towards the Dolphins. So it naturally makes sense that more excitement has been built in an earlier time frame than we had over the last 4 years.
In Broward, not really much of a difference and I'm out and about all through the week. I mean maybe there is more of a buzz, but it is not something that is really noticeable in comparison to other years.
I don't think the schedule really does us any favors for home field advantage increases . . . UNLESS we are really successful early on and enter those 5 out of last 7 games at home with something like a 6-3 or better record. In actuality, the schedule setup plays very much in the favor of opposing teams. We already lost 1 home game to London, and 5 of the other 7 happen on November 22nd or later. In those 5 home games, we have Dallas on November 22nd . . . expect many Cowboy fans to attend as it's one of the top 5 fanbases in South Florida. The rest of the games happen on December 6th or later . . . . which is when MANY snowbirds are starting to vacation and plan their vacation around watching their team play down here. Ravens is a prime example of a team that travels well down here and we see them December 6th. Same with the Giants on MNF. Colts could be hit or miss, but again, post Xmas, many people are traveling down here to go on cruises and watch their team play. Pats after New Years certainly will have their share of fans.
Early we have a home game against the Bills. . . again a team that gets their fair share of fans in our stadium any time of the year due to the amount of transplants. The one game that we should have a nice home field advantage on is the Houston game . . . late October and a warm weather city visiting, less of a traveling fan base due to the lack of real history of the organization . . . unless we are struggling that should be very Pro Dolphin.
You already know how it is down here. Very little loyalty and fickle fans . . . . brokers/people buying tickets and eager to sell them to out of towners who desperately wanna see the their team play. Less seats = more demand at higher prices. Halfway to a fully refurbished venue to top it off.
In the end, Miami will do what it always needs to do to regain real home field advantage . . . win games early and be in the hunt for the playoffs. Hell when New England came down here in 2008 . . . say what you want, that place was ROCKING!!
Win and they will come.
