Wild Cowboys

Jake De Grazia poses the question that is on everyone's mind:

The Cowboys? You're from Baltimore, right? I request a totally transparent (and possibly apologetic) explanation of why you root for the Cowboys. Please.

Yup from Baltimore. Been a Cowboys fan since 1980. When I was five, I saw football on TV and fell in love. Who can know why? One of the first teams I saw had this big beautiful blue star on their helmet. I don't have anything deep to say--it just looked cool. And they had this guy--Tony Dorsett--who looked like he was dancing up and down the field. Man, even that young, not understanding the game, I thought Dorsett was incredible.

I watched the Cowboys in the playoffs that year, right up until the championship where they were promptly smacked by the Eagles. My Dad was from Philly, and an Eagles fan--he razzed me the whole damn game. I learned a valuable lesson that year. When the Cowboys lost, I told my Pops I was switching to the Eagles. He gave me this lecture about how you can't switch teams. I told him I was rooting for the Eagles anyway--and of course the Eagles were destroyed in the Super Bowl. That was a very early lesson in why don't ever, ever switch teams.

So I was a Cowboys fan--I don't even know if I was aware of the Colts at the time, and I probably would have rooted for them later. But they left town, and until the Ravens, we had no team. By the time I got to middle school, most of my friends, coming up, l became Redskins fans. But that just seemed weak to me. "Fuck them D.C. niggers," I'd think. 

Anyway, as any Cowboy fan can attest, being a Dallas fan in the 80s may have been the worst possible decade to pledge. The Cowboys were two things in 80s--really awful, or a game away from the Super Bowl.  I think we went to three straight NFC championships--and lost. Shit was rough. Imagine being a six-year old kid when "The Catch" happened. But I've been there for it all--for Hogeboom, for Landry brining Ed Jones back out because of fans, for Jerry firing the whole lot of everyone. That 92 game against the 49ers was such great payback--the 49ers ruined my childhood, and to beat them in that way had me floating for a week. The thing is this--I'm old school like Dexter Clinkscales, Rafael Septien, and Tony Hill. How can I switch now?

And now I have some good old fashion smack to talk. I actually didn't even realize how much the Cowboys were hated until after college. I still don't get the hate. For my money, only two--maybe three--teams have the right to hate the Cowboys. The Redskins for obvious reasons,  and the Bills for maybe even more obvious reasons, and 49ers because we played some classics. All other people who hate the Cowboys--especially people who are, like , Seahawk or Panther fans, or some other off-brand team--have no lives. Us Cowboy fans have so little respect for the Giants and the Eagles that we don't even return the hate. Call us when you're on your fourth Super Bowl. Until then, you have no right to speak.

Comments

"Fuck them D.C. niggers," I'd think.

I've been waiting for you to go off the rails and you've finally done it here. You are talking straight madness son.

Posted by Hill Rat | November 11, 2008 10:06 AM

Don't act like you ain't never dissed Baltimore house music!

Posted by Ta-Nehisi Coates | November 11, 2008 10:08 AM

Read Jeff Pearlman's new book "Boys Will be Boys" about the late 80's-early 90's Cowboys. At least half of it is about Charles Haley's penis

Posted by Jack | November 11, 2008 10:15 AM

Ah, how many playoff games have the Boys won in the last ten years?

Posted by jbentley4 | November 11, 2008 10:16 AM

You lost to the Rams by twenty. The Rams lost to the Jets by 44. By my calculation, your current town's team is 64 points better than the Cowboys this year.

Posted by Stacy | November 11, 2008 10:16 AM

Back when I cared about football, The Cowboys were always called "America's Team" which always struck me sorta like Palin's "real America," so fuck you and your Cowboys both! :P

Posted by Tony Comstock | November 11, 2008 10:18 AM

And I ain't even talking about the Giants...

Posted by Stacy | November 11, 2008 10:19 AM

Are there comments in this thread? I thought I saw someone commenting?? Something about the Rams, but...wait...Oh yeah, they've only won one Super Bowl...by an inch...Yeah, no one was commenting. And I do mean "no one."

Posted by Ta-Nehisi Coates | November 11, 2008 10:23 AM

I'm around the same age as you, TNC, and though I've always been a Steelers fan, my main Cowboys memory was feeling really sorry for Danny White. It always seemed to me that he just got a raw deal.

Posted by dwhite10701 | November 11, 2008 10:23 AM

Also. Stacy. You're banned.

Posted by Ta-Nehisi Coates | November 11, 2008 10:23 AM

I think we're about the same age. At that same time, I was also in love with the 'boys. Anyone remember the NFL Kids Club? You'd get stickers and stuff after sending away a few dollars and waiting for like months for them to mail you this stuff.

Then I realized somewhere between the age of 5 and 6, exactly where I was from and that it was my moral obligation and duty to back the Lions through thick and thin. The Lions were as much a part of me as my parents DNA. Inhereting them is like inheretting your mother's fathers male pattern baldness (if he had it, I have a sick head of hair).

I hear your pops about not switching teams. I was convinced on your site that it is permissible in the event of a team departing your home city, and I suppose being drafted or buying a team are exceptions as well. Cheering for some team from outside of your home area just seems kind of wrong to me, but once you hit puberty you're locked in for life.

Posted by AliHajiSheik | November 11, 2008 10:26 AM

there is a very simple reason to hate the cowboys and that is cowboys fans. it's always funny to see someone try to justify being an out of town front runner. why not get a yankees cap and a red wings sweater too?

Posted by bfnh | November 11, 2008 10:29 AM

The arrogance of anointing themselves "America's Team" when in fact they were a regional team with little appeal outside Texas might have something to do with the hatred. The only way that works is if you think "America" consists of rednecks like George W. Bush.

The Cowboys are not like Notre Dame, which tends to appeal to Catholics all over the country.

Plus, add the Vikings to that list. There was a horrible playoff game in '75 that still lives in infamy up here.

Posted by Greg Abbott | November 11, 2008 10:29 AM

For the record. When Mike Jones(Mike Jones!!) tackled Kevin Dyson on the 1 yard line, the Titans were still down by 7. So unless you are absolutely confident that the Titans would have converted a 2 pt. conversion, I refuse to believe the Rams only won their Super Bowl by an inch.

Also, I had to try to talk some trash. I was so defeated on Sunday, I couldn't even defend myself when you posted that Jets-Rams boxscore.

Posted by Stacy | November 11, 2008 10:32 AM

Sorry-- this girl from Steeler Nation don't have no time for any of y'all. We got a whole hand of rings in the 'burgh. Get back, before i smack you with my Terrible Towel.

Posted by lebecka | November 11, 2008 10:32 AM

Whoa Greg! Let's not start generalizing Catholics now. This Catholic knows that Jesus loves the Jesuits more. Real Catholics, from what I like to call the Pro-Catholic parts of Catholica, the pockets of Catholic land where the most Catholic, Catholics live, support the plucky team from Chestnut Hill that just smacked around the frauds from South Bend for the sixth straight time.

Posted by AliHajiSheik | November 11, 2008 10:33 AM

I understand about team loyalties. I grew up in NY and I've been a serious Giants fan since I received a Phil Simms jersey and a Rawlings helmet as gifts back when he was a flack-jacketed rookie. Those were some lean times, and my dad's loyalty to the Giants was the reason I stayed a fan.

From my perspective, hatred of the Cowboys is easy to understand - back in the '70s they dominated the NFC East at a time when TV and football were jelling and this led their being anointed "America's Team." They were inescapable back then. I can remember times as a kid going to the local Sears wanting to get a Giants jersey and only finding Cowboys jerseys. It was as if the local team barely existed.

And that is some serious smack you throw down at the end of your post. You're neglecting a lot of NFL history by focusing on the Super Bowls era - if you look here you'll find that the lowly Giants only have seven championships. Never mind the Packers with their 12.

Posted by Jim Bush-Resko | November 11, 2008 10:35 AM

lebecka,

The Steelers have earned my hate. I salute you ma'am.

Posted by Ta-Nehisi Coates | November 11, 2008 10:35 AM

Thanks for the explanation.

Your dad showed some true Eagles fan class by letting you start rooting for the Cowboys.

Good move not to switch teams. I have an uncle that grew up a Phils fan, moved to Atlanta, and now roots for the Braves. He's on double secret probation in the family.

The hate is all about the America's Team thing. No fan community likes to be infiltrated. And Cowboys love is epidemic if the team is good. That's scary. Cities lose generations of fans to that blue star. And people get bitter. And you guys are spread out and lonely and easy to pick on because you get angry and defensive and all act a little bit like Jerry Jones when provoked.

You don't need to hate Eagles and Giants fans. We supply the hate. You guys fuel it with smugness.

See you December 28.

Posted by Jake de Grazia | November 11, 2008 10:39 AM

Go live in Albuquerque, NM for a while. They don't have an NFL franchise so for many years the loyalties were divided. Half the town was for the Cowboys and half were for the Broncos. By far the most obnoxious fans were the Cowboy fans. Much of my hatred for the Cowboys comes from that time spent in Albuquerque. (And being a fan of the Current Super Bowl Champion Giants made it all the easier for that hate to manifest itself.)

It got so bad I was an ABC (Anybody But the Cowboys) fan for years! It's gotten so bad I don't know what I enjoy more, the Giants winning or the Cowboys losing. I guess the Giants beating the Cowboys is only second to winning the Super Bowl in my mind.

I will, however admit to moments of weakness, when I didn't hate them. Emmit Smith is one of my Top Ten favorite all-time NFL'ers. I can say that I didn't hate the Cowboys when he carried the ball. But I did every other down!

Posted by The Grand Panjandrum | November 11, 2008 10:39 AM

I am a fan of the "off-brand" Lions and a lifelong Cowboys hater. Of course, I recognize that a Lions fan has no business commenting on anyone else's team. We have one playoff win in the last 50 years!

I'll never forget that playoff game, by the way. The score: Lions 38, Cowboys 6.

Posted by Steve | November 11, 2008 10:40 AM

As a Steeler fan, I don't hate the Cowboys. I hate Neil O'Donnell.

Posted by Aaron | November 11, 2008 10:45 AM

Good to see this explanation of the Cowboy thing. I had been wondering about that. I am 8 years older than you, and in sports that can make all the difference in the world. (I was at that Eagles game when Dallas got smacked around, or more accurately when Montgomery broke free as I was settling in my seat at the beginning of the game and again for the superbowl when the Eagles got smacked around.)

But there was a kid in college from Connectticutt who was a Cowboy and Yankee fan. And he had picked them because when he was young they both won a lot. That is, of course, when the Cowboys became America's team (That and the Dallas Cowboy cheerleaders who were the first to get national attention).

Good to see that your reasons are not the same.

Posted by Lon | November 11, 2008 10:50 AM

And, of course, you are right that the Eagles Cowboys hatred has mostly been a one-way thing. I can remember back to the 'early '70s when the best the Eagles could do is choose to wear their visiting colors at home to make the Cowboys wear their hideous home uniforms.

The only real bad blood the other direction came during the strike year when the scab Cowboys badly beat the replacement Eagles, and Buddy Ryan responded by running up the score when he had his real Eagles back to embarass the Cowboys.

Posted by Lon | November 11, 2008 10:56 AM

For the record, I'm sitting here in my office in Downtown Dallas. I'm a lifelong Cowboy fan, but I'll never understand anyone from out of the area (by which I mean about a 500 mile radius), rooting for the Cowboys. The God's/America's Team thing. If I wasn't a homie I'd freaking hate 'em.

@T: That 92 NFC Championship is my fave Cowboy game ever, and the Alvin Harper catch my most memorable play.

Also, Aaron's O'Donnell comment FTW.

Posted by Dallas Steve | November 11, 2008 11:02 AM

You know it's only a matter of time until the Cowboys become the Raiders of the NFC. Step 1 was get an eccentric owner (done). Step 2 was hire misfits and convicts (done). The next step is to go batshit crazy and become irrelevant.

Yes the Cowboys had some really good teams in the 90s, but that was all Jimmy Johnson. JJ hasn't done shit since and you can tell it's eating his soul. Why else take the discarded castaways of other teams?

Posted by patagonia | November 11, 2008 11:04 AM

America's Team? Whatever. And that stadium is and has always been godawful. What could be the excuse for that roof? In Dallas?! It's depressingly strip-mallish, cheap, and un-football-like. Then there's T.O., Aikman, and a host of other annoyingly immodest showmen who have highlighted your rosters throughout the years. Especially from the perspective of someone from Philly -- a big, old city living in the shadow of mass-marketed newcomers -- the Cowboys (and other teams, like the Braves, who also presume to be "America's Team") just aren't very likable. Go Eagles!

Posted by Tim | November 11, 2008 11:14 AM

All hail Danny White! I was a big, big fan of the Cowboys all through the 1980s, even though I lived in Giants territory. I think the 1980s were a fun time to be a Cowboys fan, a lot of big games against the 'Skins, the Giants, the Niners. Big games on CBS every damn week.

I spent the early 1990s away from the States, so basically missed the Aikman years (so what). I returned and the first SB I saw was the one where they beat the Steelers. The 'Boys were so obnoxious by that point that I found myself giving up my allegiance during the game. I don't have a team to this day but still watch a lot of football.

Posted by Martin | November 11, 2008 11:16 AM

As a fellow Cowboys fan (my grandfather is a fan, and that's who I grew up watching with, so of course I rooted from his team) who also happens to be from North Carolina, I resent the Panthers being referred to as an "off brand team".

Posted by Nicole | November 11, 2008 11:21 AM

Also, looking forward to hearing you on Kojo on WAMU later today.

Posted by Nicole | November 11, 2008 11:22 AM

Jake pegged it. Anyone is allowed to hate the Cowboys based strictly upon the "America's Team" mantle. Presumptuous marketing efforts + national media overexposure + success in recent memory + significant amount of bandwagon fans = hate.

Same reason anyone is allowed to hate the Yankees or Braves. I admit part of it is envy.

My Grandpa always loved the Cowboys, but I think it was because he looked and dressed like Tom Landry.

Posted by JR | November 11, 2008 11:31 AM

"How can I switch now?"

Charles Manson said the same thing.

Posted by ostap | November 11, 2008 11:32 AM

As a Raider fan of 28 years, I also see Jerry Jones morphing into Al Davis east. They both aren't just eccentric, they think they are still smarter than everyone else and don't need to take advice from anyone. Neither has any patience anymore either. I don't see either team winning another playoff game until the owner either stops meddling (don't hold your breath) or sells the team.

Posted by sacman | November 11, 2008 11:43 AM

Hey,

I was 6 (well, 5 going on 6) when I saw "the Catch" too!!! Of course, my Father was a die hard 49ers fan, we were living in the East Bay, so we were rooting for the Niners. It's great when your first memory of pro football was that 1981 49ers season. If you think the Cowboys were awful in the 1980's, just remember that the 49ers were much worse in the 1970's.

Ah, the memories. God, please bring back Eddie D.

Posted by Fighting Words | November 11, 2008 11:53 AM

That helmet! As a kid I used model airplane paint--lots of metallic silver--to make my own full/kid-sized one. (It helped that I didn't have to have any artistic talent to trace the star.)

My grandparents lived in Dallas and my grandpa died when I was a kid before I ever really got to know him. Sometimes when I try to picture him, I see Tom Landry in his suit and hat.

Posted by Chris B | November 11, 2008 11:57 AM

Cowboy hatred is the same as Laker hatred and Yankee hatred. What is amazing is that they are one of the only non-costal teams to attain that level of infamy. The "Americas Team" bit was a brilliant marketing. It was such a ballsy thing to say that you either had to respect it or revile it. You either turn in to watch them back it up or hoping to see them fall on their face. Love them or hate them you have an opinion about the Cowboys. The Cardinals would kill to generate that kind of interest.

To me the Cowboys are like a great pro-wrestling heel. Loved in their home town, hated when they show up to take on your town's face. Think the Freebirds. In Georgia they were gods, when they came to Texas they were villains out to get the Von Erik's. Either way the seats are packed.

Yes the Cowboys are America's Team. Why? Because they said so. And in the words of the immortal Ric Flair; You may not like it, but learn to love it.

Posted by Matt J | November 11, 2008 11:57 AM

Aww, TNC, stop the hate and come join us in Steeler Nation. We love and accept one and all, even reformed Cowboys fans (even reformed Cleveland fans,, which is a much more fraught proposition!!!) I'll send you a terrible towel for your very own, or maybe a wicked washcloth or a stinky sock.....

Posted by lebecka | November 11, 2008 12:08 PM

Cowboy hatred is the same as Laker hatred and Yankee hatred.

I'd add Notre Dame to that list as well. I'm a Broncos fan and never understood the Cowboys hate at all. Probably that's because I save all my hate for the Raiders.

Posted by SeanH | November 11, 2008 12:10 PM

Cowboy hatred is the same as Laker hatred and Yankee hatred.

And Notre Dame and Duke/UNC hoops and the Celtics. And what have you. A long long time ago some baseball player said, "Rooting for the Yankees is like rooting for U.S. Steel." (It was obviously long enough ago to mean something. Now you'd replace U.S. Steel with Microsoft or something.)

Anyhizzle, TNC, you missed out on some pretty cool Colts clubs. Someday, when there's a time machine, you really should go back and check it out. Bert Jones. The Sack Pack. Lydell Mitchell. They underperformed, but had some fun teams. The 2OT loss to the Raiders still rankles.

Posted by ed | November 11, 2008 12:11 PM

For my money, only two--maybe three--teams have the right to hate the Cowboys. The Redskins for obvious reasons, and the Bills for maybe even more obvious reasons, and 49ers because we played some classics. All other people who hate the Cowboys--especially people who are, like , Seahawk or Panther fans, or some other off-brand team--have no lives.

Dude, no offense, but I grew up in and around H-town. Ergo, I reserve the right to root against da 'boys.

And, yes, yes, I think the name 'the Houston Texans' is a stupid name for a football team.

Posted by mister nomer | November 11, 2008 12:16 PM

I was a 'boys fan until they won their first Super Bowl after they fired Landry. Then I became a huge hater and switched all allegiance to the Packers. Although they haven't won since '97, they are still better than the soul-eating cowboys. Their owner, the human buzzkill, building a $1 Billion stadium is just the latest in arrogance. A lot of Texans I know have either always been haters or switched allegiances to Houston. Through their problems in the '80's, Landry and Schramm always had class. When Jones hired Switzer, I completely purged the team of any feelings I had. Good riddance to the cowboys, they can keep spending their money and failing.

Posted by P to the J | November 11, 2008 12:23 PM

And ps,
"Us Cowboy fans have so little respect for the Giants and the Eagles that we don't even return the hate. Call us when you're on your fourth Super Bowl. Until then, you have no right to speak."

Green Bay Packers = 12 time NFL Champs. Taste that, TNC.

Posted by P to the J | November 11, 2008 12:25 PM

The Cowboys were two things in 80s--really awful, or a game away from the Super Bowl. I think we went to three straight NFC championships--and lost. Shit was rough. Imagine being a six-year old kid when "The Catch" happened.

Right. Kind of like being a Browns fan in the '80s. Except instead of being rewarded in the '90s with 3 Super Bowls we lost our team. And then it came back shittier than ever.

No one does misery like C-town.

Posted by Brent | November 11, 2008 12:35 PM

Lots of owners - pretty much all of them - are presumptuous, arrogant, and basically sociopathic. But Jerry Jones takes it to the stratosphere, making the Cowboys easy to hate indeed. He seems to think (along with his team's fans) we should still regard his team as elite even though they've won nothing since 1996.

It's folly to argue about a franchise's supremacy based on Super Bowls - there were NFL championships for a long time before the Super Bowl. The Packers, Giants, Lions Browns and Bears would all like a word with you. If you're gonna live in the past, you can't ignore forty year stretches. I'm also of the opinion that we should discard Super Bowl wins that were fueled by propitious amounts of blow.

Posted by JoePo | November 11, 2008 12:38 PM

I'll never forget that playoff game, by the way. The score: Lions 38, Cowboys 6

In my 41 years of life, that is the only moment of glory I have had as a Lion's fan. Then Washington beat us like a red-headed stepchild.

Most of my bad feelings against the Cowboys comes from the America's Team stuff. I don't like Notre Dame or the Yankees either. Doug Stanhope once said that rooting for the Yankees was like hoping the house wins in a casino.

Posted by DougEMI | November 11, 2008 12:57 PM

As a Vikings fan I still hate the Cowboys for the Herschel Walker trade, all those draft picks who became the foundation of their 90's dynasty should have worn the purple...

Posted by Nate | November 11, 2008 12:58 PM

As a Texan who grew up on the outskirts of Houston, and who therefore hates Dallas and the Cowboys, I have to say that you talk sh*t like a true Cowboys fan, and for that you get props.

Most out-of-state "America's Team" Cowboys fans don't have the right blend of casual arrogance and vehemence, but you've got it nailed.

Posted by Mike Cotton | November 11, 2008 1:10 PM

Perhaps one of the strongest reasons of my absolute love for the New Orleans Saints (even though the Ravens roost in my Baltimore) is that this is unchallenged devotion. Who could hate the Saints?

Posted by Obie Joe | November 11, 2008 1:10 PM

Your dad showed some true Eagles fan class by letting you start rooting for the Cowboys.

Heh...that's funny, 'cuz most Iggles fans I know would send their kids to be without any supper (at a *minimum!*) for rooting for the Cowboys. I mean, seriously...I can think of at least a couple of Philly fans who would set up a cot in a little "Harry Potter" closet under the stairs and push bread and water through a slot in the door until the kid renounced all things Dallas.

Me? I'm a native Wershingtohniun...my boy would still eat if I screwed up and he wound up a Cowboys fan...but he damn sure would never watch football on *MY* TV, in *MY* house. Hell, no.

Now I'm ready for Sunday night:
Come and get your whippin', little sucka Cowboys!

Posted by EdTheRed | November 11, 2008 1:14 PM

as a redskins fan who used to live in TX and attend many 'boys/skins games I can attest to the fact that Dallas fans are terrible. They leave when their team is losing, they don't show when their team isn't good but when all is well in Dallas EVERYONE is a 'boys fan.

Hate the cowboys, but I still read you TNC!

Posted by notchris | November 11, 2008 1:15 PM

That's bullshit! What do you have against the Seahawks. Its a rough year, but how does that make them "Off-brand"?

As a Seahawk fan I hate:

1. The Raiders for obvious reasons.
2. The refs from the Superbowl in 2005.

and that's it.

Posted by Dave | November 11, 2008 1:24 PM

Dalls never wore leather helmets. They're an Expansion Team. They've done pretty well compared to their peers; the Vikings, Saints, Falcons, etc.

Posted by Bruce | November 11, 2008 1:29 PM

"Hogeboom set up a screen to Dorsett, but Dexter Manley flew into his running lane. He tipped the ball in the air, and Daryl Grant pulled it in and chugged into the end zone to make the score 31-17."

Greatest game ever.

Posted by rickhavoc | November 11, 2008 1:31 PM

It *is* possible to become an honest fan of one of those teams that everyone likes to hate. For me, it was 1983, I was in the upper deck of Yankee Stadium on the fourth of July, and in the sweltering sun I saw Dave Righetti pitch a no-hitter. My awareness of the Yankees had only begun in 1981 - the loss to the Dodgers in the Series. And for fifteen years, they struggled as I watched.

'96 didn't feel like rooting for US Steel or Microsoft to me.

And, for the record, I didn't hate the Red Sox until Red Sox Nation redefined "kicking your vanquished foes while they're on the mat" for me.

Posted by Bruce K | November 11, 2008 1:33 PM

odd, i dont think growing up i knew one person from Bmore that didnt hate the skins. A lot of the older folks seem to have become Pittsburgh fans, us younger people who never knew the colts just sort of picked teams based on who was good at the time- for me niners till they dropped Joe, then hopped around for a while till we got the Ravens.

Posted by Green | November 11, 2008 1:42 PM

Us Cowboy fans have so little respect for the Giants and the Eagles that we don't even return the hate. Call us when you're on your fourth Super Bowl.

Hm. Giants are 3-1 in Super Bowls so can be said to be "on" their fourth. The "obvious" rival Redskins? Two Super Bowls.

Steelers also have legitimate old-school rivalry with the Cowboys.

Posted by right | November 11, 2008 1:59 PM

I was wondering why you were a Cowboys fan. Now I know. I am also a ex-pat Cowboys fan having lived in Utah for most of my life. You are right the haterade is just jealousy and recriminations.

Posted by Chancelot | November 11, 2008 2:18 PM

Everyone has a rivalry with the Cowboys. The Cowboys only choose to acknowledge the Redskins, Giants, 49ers and Steelers as worthy rivals. The Eagles we just plain hate.

As for the quality of Dallas fans, we back winners. We're still fans when the Boys suck, we're just angry vindictive fans. We don't start rooting for other teams. We turn on our players and coaches like jackals. Cowboys fans demand championship caliber performance. If we're not getting it on the field, why bother to stay in the stands? You other saps can hang around and root for losers. In the big D we reward only excellence.

Was that the right blend of casual arrogance and vehemence you were looking for Mike?

Posted by Matt J | November 11, 2008 2:22 PM

Just being from Texas is enough for my hate, but the America's Team bullshit pushes them over the top into frothing hatred.

I've got a basic rule of thumb for team hatred: hate every team from NYC (with some sympathies for the Mets), LA, Florida, and Texas. Goes for pro and college teams. Sometimes you just gotta be a hater.

Your dad showed some true Eagles fan class by letting you start rooting for the Cowboys.

Mark this moment: The first and last time someone has ever accused a Philly fan of class.

Posted by Loneoak | November 11, 2008 2:33 PM

You fell in love with Cowboys as a kid because they had a cool blue star? Whatever, T. When I was a kid growing up in a suburb north of Chicago, I had a real neat Sega Genesis game called "Lakers vs. Celtics NBA Basketball." I played as the Lakers all the time. I loved James Worthy. He had glasses. A guy with glasses who was cool and played basketball! What an awesome thing to watch!

All this is to say....I'M NOT A LAKERS FAN. Never have been. You never, never, EVER pick a team because you like their uniforms, or their logo, or if they wear glasses. Doesn't matter how old you are. I at least forgive you for this one because the Colts left town when you were young.

Posted by Evan | November 11, 2008 2:33 PM

I appreciate and can relate to your explanation for following the 'Boys. I grew up in suburban NY and decided to be a White Sox fan in 1989 at the age of three when my dad bought me a Sox hat on a business trip to Chicago. That was all it took, and I've been a die-hard ever since, which wasn't easy growing up among Yankees fans.
My problem, as a Giants fan, is that you are including two Cowboys titles that came before you were a fan (SBs VI and XII) but conveniently ignoring the four titles that the G-men claimed before the Super Bowl era. You've been lucky enough to celebrate three wins, while I've only experienced two (I was in diapers for SB XXI). I'm a firm believer that, in these arguments, fans can only use the team's history that they themselves remember. Championships that 'your' team won before they were 'your' team cannot be part of your supporting evidence any more than, say, the Black Sox scandal can be used to hate on the current ChiSox (Yes, I've heard that one, and instantly laughed it off). By my line of thinking, you've got me by one Super Bowl, and I wouldn't trade last year for any of your '90s wins.

Posted by Alex | November 11, 2008 2:41 PM

You're too young to remember, Ta-Nehisi, but back in the 70s the Cowboys knocked the 49ers out of the playoffs three straight years, including a comeback from down 28-13 in the 4th quarter. The Catch was such sweet, sweet revenge that beating the Bengals in the Super Bowl was an anticlimax.

Posted by Mike | November 11, 2008 2:44 PM

Are there comments in this thread? I thought I saw someone commenting?? Something about the Rams, but...wait...Oh yeah, they've only won one Super Bowl...by an inch...Yeah, no one was commenting. And I do mean "no one."

Nothing like a front runner, with no other tie to his team, using his teams historical awesomeness against other teams.

Posted by crack | November 11, 2008 2:46 PM

As a Vikings fan, I do not hate the Cowboys for the Herschel Walker trade. That was a self-inflicted wound. Besides, the Vikings would never have used those draft picks as productively as the Cowboys did.

Speaking of arrogance, have you seen the new Cowboys stadium? A billion dollars for a crystal palace in the middle of ugly stretch of run down strip malls ? (a description which fits most of the Metroplex, I admit)

Posted by Greg Abbott | November 11, 2008 2:48 PM

"Hm. Giants are 3-1 in Super Bowls so can be said to be "on" their fourth. The "obvious" rival Redskins? Two Super Bowls."

Which answers the musical question When Does Three Equal Two?. 3-2 thanks to that Rocket Screen. Y'all can take comfort in the fact that the gods will never let The Danny own the trophy.

Posted by rickhavoc | November 11, 2008 2:57 PM

Of course we're going to throw five rings in your face. You would too if your team had them. It's one of the greatest things about being a Cowboys fan. No matter how shitty that year's edition of the Cowboys are you can always fall back on the five rings, most all-time playoff wins. It's cheap, but effective. Unless you're arguing with a Steelers fan. They own the tie breaker.

Posted by Matt J | November 11, 2008 3:11 PM

"The "Americas Team" bit was a brilliant marketing."

People were buying Rutles records just to burn them.

Posted by rickhavoc | November 11, 2008 3:24 PM

No matter how shitty that year's edition of the Cowboys are you can always fall back on the five rings, most all-time playoff wins. It's cheap, but effective. Unless you're arguing with a Steelers fan. They own the tie breaker.

I'm pretty sure the 49ers are 5-0 in Super Bowls, but I may have lost count.

Posted by right | November 11, 2008 3:27 PM

At least you have a team. Moving away from Houston -and then having my team, the Oilers move away from Houston, change their name, and then have their sweet owner so sweetly give the one finger salute to the old town, well, I couldn't stay a Titan fan. (Which is unfortunate, as I would be sitting pretty now.)

I've got to adopt a new team. I sorta rooted for my new home team - the 49'ers - in the 90's. But that's a whole host of pain, and will be as long as the current owners are in charge. The pain's just not as worth it, if it's not your original team.

Feh.

Posted by JC | November 11, 2008 3:45 PM

"All other people who hate the Cowboys--especially people who are, like , Seahawk or Panther fans, or some other off-brand team-"

that wasnt very nice sir. =(

-signed, a Bucs fan (b.'76 like the Hawks)

Seriously, NO team can talk loyalty till they put up with the post Doug Williams Bucs under Hugh "JR Ewing on Crystal Meth" Culverhouse with his complete indifference to fielding a competitive team for 20 YEARS!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

sorry, it gets me.

I saw the Bucs get dissed in Tecmo, in movies, in jokes, in freestyle rap battles, in Madden, in NFL Films, on ESPN, it was just the effin WORST. And I got mocked year after year when I vowed we'd make it to the big dance once day.

And BOY was that day sweet.

"Jake pegged it. Anyone is allowed to hate the Cowboys based strictly upon the "America's Team" mantle. Presumptuous marketing efforts + national media overexposure + success in recent memory + significant amount of bandwagon fans = hate.

Same reason anyone is allowed to hate the Yankees or Braves. I admit part of it is envy."

Yeah I loved Dorsett too, and even Danny White was ai'ght but that American's Team nonsense brought out the rebel in me like PE, I aint with it. (This is what I mean, an anti-Cowboys machine...)

Posted by Juba | November 11, 2008 3:50 PM

My favorite 90's player - Jerry Rice - looks to be the standard setter for at least another decade, in terms of records.

It looked for awhile like Moss, Owens, Harrison, or Holt, might keep up the same level of excellence, and get close to Rice's records.

But they are all losing a step now - and it's only going to get worse.

Posted by JC | November 11, 2008 3:50 PM

You don't even know.

I'm in Little Rock, Jerry Jones Homef*ing Town, surrounded by Cowboys fans. I hate them. They are ubiquitous down here, and insufferable. I hate them.

I hate Roger Staubach, I hate Troy Aikmen, I hate Barry Switzer, I hate Too Tall Jones, I hate Michael Irvin, I hate Emmit Smth, Tony Romo, Tony Dorset and all the rest of them.

In fact, there is a special pit in hell reserved for Emmit Smith for the bitch-ass way he broke Walter Payton's rushing record.

Hell, I even hate Jessica Simpson.

But, I digress.

I grew up a Niners fan for one reason - similar to yours for the Cowboys - Joe Montana.

Hat pulled way down over his eyes, on kinda crooked, a little scrawny looking. But cool. And clutch. I idolized him.

It's a shame they suck so hard right now.

The only thing that takes the edge off my hatred for the Cowboys a little bit this year is former Razorback Felix Jones, whom I love unreservedly.

Posted by Patrick | November 11, 2008 4:12 PM

Totally understand on the meta-level. I was a passionate 49s fan for years, and though football no longer grabs me -- I won't get into why, it's a three hour rant -- I will always, always, always hate the Rams, whatever city they live in, whoever is on the team, I hate them.

Ronnie Lott rocks!

Posted by Lizzy L | November 11, 2008 5:04 PM

The Cowboys were two things in 80s--really awful, or a game away from the Super Bowl. I think we went to three straight NFC championships--and lost.

One of my first clear memories of football is watching John Elway systematically dismantle the Browns defense for 5 minutes. It was a thing of Beauty, and I remember watching him tattoo Mark Jackson from 5 yards out to tie the game and eventually send the Broncos to the Super Bowl. Where they lost. By 19 points. The following year they made the Super Bowl again and lost by a score of 42 - 10. Two years later they lost by the largest margin in Super Bowl history: 55 - 10.

From Dec 86 until the win over the packers in 97 was 10 long years of close but not enough (only 2 losing seasons), so I'll have none of this whining about the pain of rooting for the 'boys.

Posted by TW Andrews | November 11, 2008 5:07 PM

As someone(age 33) born and raised in Dallas, it was amazing to me to find out that people hated the Cowboys the way they did. It was quite the shock when I left Dallas for boot-camp at 18, I just assumed everyone was a Cowboy fan, not so much. Good times...

By the way, T-N-C, Rafeal Septien might not be a good example of Cowboy nostalgia:

http://query.nytimes.com/gst/fullpage.html?res=9B0DEED81538F93AA35757C0A961948260

How about replaceing Rafeal Septien, with say...Randy White or Drew Pearson.

Posted by keith | November 11, 2008 6:15 PM

Us Cowboy fans have so little respect for the Giants and the Eagles that we don't even return the hate. Call us when you're on your fourth Super Bowl. Until then, you have no right to speak.

Oooh...I was with you until this one. I'm a lifelong Cowboys fan, will ALWAYS be a Cowboys fan, and I hate the Eagles right on down to the pavement their stupid and witless fans walk on. A few snowball-covered batteries, booing of possibly paralyzed players, bounties and nasty games will do that to you.

Posted by Xanthippas | November 11, 2008 6:17 PM

I'm pretty sure the 49ers are 5-0 in Super Bowls, but I may have lost count.

True. But the Cowboys/49ers are pretty much on even ground there. Although we still own them on playoff wins. I say the Steelers get the tie break because they beat us head to head in two of their wins.

Juba,

I lived in Tampa for the end of the Culverhouse era. Moved there from Dallas when I was 15. That's where I learned that most people hate the Cowboys - a fact I learned to love. It's also where I learned to appreciate an owner like Jerry. Culverhouse sucked.

Posted by Matt J | November 11, 2008 6:41 PM

LORD did that man suck. I hate to say it but I predicted the team would never turn around until he passed on to this reward (or not! LOL). And sure enough, he dies, carpetbagging Yankee Glazers come down, hire St. Anthony (Dungy) and our football souls are made clean as if anew!

Dungy is WISE. (AMEN!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!)

Posted by Juba | November 11, 2008 8:05 PM

I am a Packers fan. Lifelong. I grew up 40 minutes from Lambeau and when I was a kid my dad went to all the (Green Bay) home games (no one else remembers Milwaukee home games). I came of football age in the Starr-Gregg-Infante years. So I learned what being a Packers fan meant; staying steadfastly true to your team even when their on-field performance was lacking (which was pretty often in those days). I don't know what it is to grow up in a community that doesn't have a strong tradition of support of their team.

My feelings for the Cowboys come out of the 90s and are largely based on games against the Packers. I don't like them, I don't like thier fans. But I have to reconcile my dislike for them with their current quarterback, Tony Romo, who is a Wisconsin boy. Which means something, I'm just not sure where that takes me. I know I can respect opposing fans, like Bears fans even though the Packers/Bears rivalry is decades old.

I guess I hope that I can understand why any lifelong fan roots for their team, and hope they can understand mine. But I will still have my own reasons to disagree with them about which team is better. And my answer will always be the Green Bay Packers.

Posted by sarac | November 11, 2008 10:19 PM

Still, I loved going to Bucs games in the 90s. You could pull up to the Sombrero right before kickoff, walk up to the window and still get a decent seat. If you did get there early there was a respectable if low key tailgate scene and you could usually catch the players on their way in. Pig Goff BS'd with us for a while one day. Another time we were chucking the ball in parking lot and Vinnie was cool enough to toss my buddy a pass that damn near broke his fingers.

The scene in the Sombrero was always entertaining. Everyone knew the game would suck so everyone concentrated on getting as hammered as possible before they cut off the beer. There were some great fan gimmicks like the dickheads. Four guys who walked around in capes and giant penis hats with Buco Bruce stickers on the side. By the second half fist fights would start breaking out in the stands and drunks would start running out on the field. It was a blast.

But then again I wasn't a Bucs fan.

Posted by Matt J | November 11, 2008 10:29 PM

As an Eagles fan, I hate the Vikings for the Herschel Walker trade.

My boy's got a mixed race (Philadelphia & Boston) background, and I told him early on: "Son, you can root for whatever team you want . . . with two exceptions: No Yankees, *no* Cowboys."

Posted by mike | November 12, 2008 9:19 AM

"Hm. Giants are 3-1 in Super Bowls so can be said to be "on" their fourth. The "obvious" rival Redskins? Two Super Bowls."

At the risk of acting white, you might want to check your math there. The Redskins are 3-2 in Super Bowls. They lost 1 to the Dolphins with George Allen as coach, and went 3-1 under Joe Gibbs. They lost to the Raiders, but beat the Dolphins (with Theisman and Riggins), the Broncos (Doug Williams throwing for 17 TD passes in the 2nd quarter), and the Bills (the Mark Ripien team).

Of course, they now share with the Cowboys the experience of having an ignorant and meddlesome owner who is holding the franchise back and generally giving good reason for anyboyd to hate the team.

Posted by Doug T | November 12, 2008 9:27 AM

Matt J,

Great memories cuz-zo, thanks! Made my day.

Posted by Juba | November 12, 2008 3:35 PM

"Us Cowboy fans have so little respect for the Giants and the Eagles that we don't even return the hate. Call us when you're on your fourth Super Bowl. Until then, you have no right to speak."

Won't be much longer, buddy. Giants are well on their way to #4. Cowboys are well on their way to an implosion.

Posted by Karl | November 12, 2008 6:30 PM

Yo, my friend passed on a link to your site just this evening and I was digging it already.

Then you said you were a Cowboys fan and you became my all time favorite blogger.

My love for America's Team is a bit more logical--I grew up in the North Dallas suburbs and my family would have disowned me otherwise. Indeed, the Friday before the 93 Super Bowl my elementary school had "Dallas Cowboys Day." We drew Dallas Cowboys pictures, sang Dallas Cowboys Songs, maybe did a few Dallas Cowboys-themed assignments and mercilessly ridiculed the few students with no sense of self-preservation who dared wear Buffalo Bills jersies. It was as distilled an instance of public education as indoctrination as I've ever seen.

That being said, it's been a tough few years, but I can't WAIT til we win again. I mean, I lived through Quincy Carter. Through Clint Stoerner. We even gave Ryan Leaf a second chance!

Mr. Coates, you are hereby officially my comrade. Rock on!

Posted by Andrew Dobbs | November 13, 2008 4:25 AM