I have been a Cowboy fan for more years than I have been alive. Pero that might be an exaggeration. It has been over 50 years that I do know, it was closer to 55 years when I made the conciseness decision to Live or Die with every Cowboy win or loss. My fandom has had plenty of ups and downs, including 5 Super Bowl wins and three losses that nearly broke me.
For me, there was the Landry era, the Jimmy Johnson era, the Dam Garret era, and now the McCarthy era. And, of course, a bunch of other Ham and Eggers that never really moved the needle for me one way or the other. As for Q.B.S., there was Don Merideth of Monday Night Football fame, Rodger Staubach, Danny White (underrated), Troy Aikman, Tony Romo (Hope Crusher), and now Dak Prescott (H.C. Jr.)
As for the owners, I liked it better when they were rarely seen and never heard. And especially not involved in football decisions. We all know who I am talking about here, so I will leave it at that.
In all my years as a fan, I also became contagious to those around me, my sons, and several grandkids. My sons have enjoyed the most recent Glory Years (28 years ago) for my grandkids; for the most part, it has become more of a fairy tale. They have never been around for the Super Bowls, at least with full sports consciences. I have a cousin who has already apologized to his grandson for affecting him with Cowboy fever. Believe me, I have been close to that also, but never as close as last Sunday (Cowboys/49ers)
There are losses, and there are embarrassing losses. This was one of them. Most people thought the 49ers would win. And I didn’t necessarily disagree with them, Pero I never thought there was no way the Cowboys could win. Sure, San Fran has owned the Cowboys the last few seasons, but hey, this year, we have Doomsday 2 or 3. I don’t know which one, and yeah, McCarthy is calling plays now. So, not to sound like Dumb and Dummer (An old movie), I told everybody I thought we had a chance.
Boy, was I wrong; it reminded me of when I said Trump would never win the presidency. I was wrong, then dead wrong. And while maybe sports are not as important as who runs our country, I felt very much like 2016. How could I have been so wrong? Have I become Dummer in my old age? Have I swallowed the J.J. Kool-Aid? Or worse, I have lost touch with reality. After all, how many times has Jones told us this is the year, even after going through consecutive 8/8 sessions? I swear I am not buying it, but then they win a game or two. And if we squint hard, I can almost see that, hey, On Any Given Sunday. Why not us? After all, we are as good as most, Ca No?
Well, the answer to that question is a resounding NO. That is if you watched the game on Sunday or the last 28 seasons. And we all know who must share much of the blame for the last 28. His answer to that is, “Did you like the three Super Bowls? I hope you liked them very much,” or something like that. For Sunday’s loss, though, I might leave him off the blame train for this one, at least for the on-field play.
The blame in my (never played anywhere) opinion, but I watched for over 50 years. I must start with the coaches. First, did they ever consider one of the top N.F.L. Defensive teams that probably saw what Arizona did to the Boys? And with a lot less talent on both sides of the ball. D.A.K. looked scared and nervous most of the game, and his play reflected that. It reminded me of the old Oprah Show (not that I ever saw it), where she announces to her audience, “You get a new car, and you get a car, etc.” Except D.A.K. was, “You get an interception; you get an interception, and you too.” What the H*** was that did he forget he could run out of trouble? And I only saw him roll out to pass once, something he does good. Then, the mind-numbing you need 5 yards for a first down, and you make sure to throw 2 yards short. Also, can we not get any of the wide receivers open? Oh, and it’s a good thing we got rid of Zeke since Pollard was able to run for a whopping 29 yards on 8 carries Sunday night.
It’s a good thing McCarthy is now calling the plays with his celebrated (sic) Texas Coast offense, which managed to get the Boys 10 whole points. As a real Tejano Texan, I would appreciate it if you removed Texas from what is a dumb name anyway.
I have a few things to say about the defense also. Pero, the blame here goes to Mr. Quinn (I think I know why he is not in Atlanta anymore). Knowing that San Fran has one of the best, if not the best, runners in the N.F.L. and having just been whipped by the Mighty Cardinals, you would think, “Huh, I better do something different this time.” As for the players themselves, in their defense (no pun intended), though, when the offense spends most of the half or more sitting on the bench, something has to give.
I still have lots more to say, but I will spare you and me that. Will I watch it again this season? I want to say no, but I’d probably be lying. “Don’t let your babies grow up to be Cowboys” or fans.
By. A. Govea albertogovea@amigosnbusiness.com