America’s Team

(Image via Wikipedia)

Although the Dallas Cowboys in recent years have not had the success they had in the 70’s and 90’s.  They are still to be considered “America’s Team.”

While attending school in St. Louis Missouri, my roommate, who is from the middle of Illinois, was a Redskins fan.  You must be thinking, “surely he has family from the DC area or maybe his parents went to school there.”  If these thoughts crossed your mind, you are wrong.  So I ask him, “why are you a Redskins fan and not a Bears or Rams fan?”  His response still rings in my ears to this day, “I am a Redskins fan because I hate the Dallas Cowboy.”  Intrigued, I ask him to elaborate.  Apparently, everyone from his small, central Illinois town is a Dallas Cowboy fan.  ”How is this possible?” I question.  ”Well, everyone our age had to watch them win in the 90’s, while our parents generation had to watch them win in the 70’s.  So of course, they jumped on the bandwagon to follow the winning team.  My family supported the team that would piss the most people off – the Washington Redskins.”

After reflecting upon this, I see the answer to how the Dallas Cowboys can truly be America’s team.  The Dallas Cowboys were successful at the perfect times in order to capture fans’ attention in the 70’s, then recapture their attention as well as their childrens’ in the 90’s.  Thus bridging the generation gap, and creating a large fan base of varying ages.

On a side not, think back to almost every football movie ever made.  Just to name a few, “The Little Giants,” “The Replacements,” “Any Given Sunday.”  In all of these movies, the defending champion, or the best team in the league is always from Dallas and/or named the “Cowboys.”

Finally, I have three names for you: Emmitt – Troy – Michael.