By JEFF DARLINGTON
FOXSportsFlorida.com Dolphins Contributor
Whenever he gets the opportunity, Dolphins linebacker Cameron Wake likes to remind anyone where he spent his Sundays five years ago, when no teams in the NFL deemed him worthy of their rosters.
"From the time when I was sitting on the couch watching games on Sundays, I believed in myself," Wake said again Tuesday. "There was never something I thought was out of reach for me."
He says it again. And again. And again. Yet given the inspirational nature of this story, it never seems to get old. It certainly was worth retelling Tuesday, when Wake was named a Pro Bowl starter during just his second NFL season.
Wake, you see, went undrafted and didn't last on any NFL rosters.
Rather than accepting his Sundays spent watching from the couch as inferior athletes succeeded in the league that deemed him unworthy, Wake took a shot in the Canadian Football League.
After two years of success in the CFL, Wake landed a job with the Dolphins, where he is now leading the NFL with 14 sacks. No doubt, this has been a wild ride for Wake -- one he continues to enjoy.
"To be considered an All-Pro, it's hard to put it into words," Wake said. "It was a tremendous amount of sacrifice. It's a great feeling."
Coincidentally, the Pro Bowl falls on Jan. 30, which also happens to be Wake's birthday.
"This is the best birthday present I've ever gotten," he said.
With such a long journey to show for his current success, this is one present he has most certainly earned.
