By John Haile
John’s Thoughts
Every football season in the Haile household, you can hear quite a few cheers whenever the Dallas Cowboys reach the endzone. However, with every couple of cheers, there is always one frustrated groan. Mine. Ever since I was small, I have always disdained the so-called “America’s Team.” I have never been able to put into words why I cannot stand the Cowboys. Not until now.
First, let me be clear. I do not hate anyone that wears a Dallas Cowboy uniform. I think that those are some fine young men playing some great football. That is, except for one: Dez Bryant. Bryant is, in my opinion, the player representative of what truly irks me about Dallas. That would be the Dallas Cowboy fan base.
I have friends who are Dallas Cowboy fans. They are some wonderful folks. What I am saying is that, drawing from the movie, “Men in Black,” “A person is smart. People are dumb, panicky animals.” You could say the same about Dallas fans. One fan is a good logical person, the bunch of them are the whiniest fan base in the NFL.
I call the Dallas Cowboy fans the Millennials of the NFL.
The first reason I say that is that they are entitled. They remember the days of glory with Tom Landry, Roger Staubach, Emmitt Smith, and Troy Aikman. They remember the days of expecting to win a Super Bowl every couple of years. However, they remember it so well, they will not step back and acknowledge reality. That is the fact that Dallas has underachieved for 21 years.
Secondly, the Cowboy fans believe themselves above the rest of the NFL just for existing. They believe that their five Super Bowl rings place miles ahead of all teams. Once again, they fail to realize that their team has not had much success for over two decades.
The last thing that annoys this writer is how they still claim to be “America’s Team.” That title was bestowed upon the Cowboys in the late 70s by NFL Films. Much like we do when we advance mobile films from the “Brick Phone” to the Blackberry and the iPhone, nicknames should be fluid.
In my opinion, the Cowboys have not earned the title of “America’s Team” for 21 years. If we are to believe that Dallas will always be “America’s Team” and that they will always represent the state of the nation, then at this current time, America stands for under achievement and mediocrity.
If I were to change the current state of things, the first thing I would say that the Dallas Cowboys are not what they once were. The fans would have to know that they must getting back to work. Finally, I would bestow the title of “America’s Team” to the New England Patriots. This is the team that has made the Super Bowl seven times in 12 years.