Amarillo & America Need The Cowboys To Win It All
It's truly the most wonderful time of the year! The NFL playoffs are here and the Dallas Cowboys have made it past the first game. Should fans of "Dem Boyz" get excited? Is THIS the year, America's Team returns to the big dance?
I'm one of "those guys." For me, the sun rises and sets on the Cowboys. I grew in a time where the Pokes were expected to make it to the last pro football game of the year. During the 70s, names like Staubach, Dorsett, Pearson, Manster, Too-Tall, and the beautiful Harvey Martin, were household names.
The 90s brought the Cowboys nation, 3 championship wins, in four years. We really should have won 4 in a row, but that's for another time. We were having our kids during that time, and either one of the boys could have had names like Troy, Emmett, or Michael. There was never a question about IF the Cowboys were going, it was when.
Cowboys lovers and haters have noticed the last few years have been lean. However, now we have Dak, Zeke, Cole, and Amari. This season didn't look so hot and the beginning but then the Cowboys defeated the undefeated New Orleans Saints. I noticed people wanted to engage me in conversation more than usual.
The Cowboys beat Seattle, in Texas, last weekend and I spy the bandwagon hoppers, coming around a little more. On Saturday night, the Cowboys will play the Rams in Los Angeles and it could very well be a home game for the Dem Boyz. L.A. didn't have a football team when the Cowboys were winning bowls in the 90s, and Jerry Jones knew this. So, he sent the team to SoCal every year, for training camp. And people came to watch. A reasonable estimate would put half the Los Angeles Coliseum, in the Cowboys corner.
If you're too young to remember the last Cowboys Super Bowl win, you're in for a treat. While the game is on, Amarillo's streets will be deserted. Just like Christmas. There won't be a BBQ rib in town, not already claimed. The convenience stores will have the beer. Lots and lots of beer. All the sports bars in town will be packed. Church services will end early.
If they win, you'll see people who burned their jerseys during the Quincy Carter and Tony Romo years. They'll sport the very latest in shiny new Cowboys kicks, jerseys, and office decor.
Should the Cowboys lose this weekend, they're done for the year. The haters will hate hate hate and the jersey bonfires will resume. People will demand Jason Garrett lose his job, and that's it time for Jerry Jones to retire. I've heard enough of that, over the last few years, to last a lifetime.
But, if they WIN, it'll be good for our economy. Hell, it'll be good for America. In the 50 most watched sporting events in 2018, the Cowboys were in NINE of them. The NFL needs America's Team in the big ballet. Ratings go up, people around the world, become Cowboys fans again, and spend their money.
I'll be watching Saturday night. If you love your city, state, country, and everything as American as apple pie, you'll be Cowboys fan. It's what is best for everyone.