by Jentezen Smith
This is our year…
I’m a Dallas Cowboys fan, an often regrettable choice. I was born into Cowboys Nation from infancy and as I grew in age, so did the size of my Cowboys fandom.
When I started to become a diehard fan, I found myself reciting the classic “this is our year,” every year.
For those who want to make fun of me, save it. Countless people already have.
Eventually, I gave up on that statement. But it wasn’t people clowning me that led to me losing belief. It was the Cowboys constantly disappointing and failing to meet expectations that killed my hope.
It’s been 29 years since the Cowboys won the Super Bowl and in that span they haven’t even won a divisional round playoff game.
The truth is they haven’t just failed to win a Super Bowl, but they haven’t even been close.
The sad part is they’ve wasted the careers of numerous special players.
To name a few: Demarcus Ware, Tony Romo, Terrell Owens, Travis Frederick, Tyron Smith, Ezekiel Elliott, Dez Bryant, Jason Witten, Sean Lee, Demarco Murray, Miles Austin, Marion Barber III, Jay Ratliff, Andre Gurode, Roy Williams, Flozell Adams and La’Roi Glover.
Not to mention they’re likely to do the same with current players Zack Martin, Demarcus Lawrence, Dak Prescott, Ceedee Lamb and Micah Parsons.
Are you starting to see a theme here? That’s a list full of All-Pro and Pro Bowl players along with future Hall of Famers.
Sure you can partly blame coaching, but five out of the six Cowboys head coaches during the Super Bowl drought have had winning records overall.
These Cowboy players and coaches aren’t the problem, ownership is.
Jerry Jones is the problem. He’s built a culture placing fame and fortune over winning. It doesn’t matter if the team is winning Super Bowls as long as Dallas is in the headlines.
What a perfect example this past season is. In the offseason leading up Jerry Jones commented the Cowboys were “all in,” then proceeded to make ONE offseason signing to a clearly deficient roster. Which resulted in a 7-10 season.
It’s the same song and dance time after time, but I’m no longer buying it and neither is the rest of the fanbase.
The Cowboys ownership is the real issue and it won’t be fixed until Jerry Jones isn’t running the team.
Even then, not much will change as his son Stephen Jones will likely take over the reins.
I love the Dallas Cowboys and I’ll always be loyal, but truthfully I have zero hope for a Super Bowl as long as a Jones is running the organization. With a Jones in power, it’ll always be about popularity over playoff results, building on the brand of the five-time Super Bowl champions and holding onto what once was.
Because of this, it’s an unserious organization in relation to modern championship football. But hey, How Bout ‘Em, right?
