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There are many great and memorable teams in the NFL; however, only one team stands out as my personal favorite. The team is the controversial and legendary Dallas Cowboys. As a child I was never interested in football and only occasionally watched it on television. I have only recently become interested with the subject of football in Texas with the Dallas Cowboys after reading Friday Night Lights by H.
G. Bissinger. The book told a story of ordinary kids like me with a love for the game of football. The kids lived in Texas and played for their high school team.
The book captured the spirit of the kids and the game. This sparked my interest of football and in particular, a Texas team called the Dallas Cowboys. I started out not knowing anything about football and the Cowboys except what I had recently seen on television. I wanted find out why all fans seem to have an opinion about this team. Realizing I did not know much about the team, I needed to discover more about their rich history and why football fans either love them or hate them. I became more intrigued with the Cowboys and wanted to learn more information and find out: Why are the Dallas Cowboys considered one of the greatest NFL teams in history?
Footballs appeal to fans and players is that its a physical game and a collision sport (Anderson 185). With the growing popularity of football many new cities wanted expansion teams. The NFL had come of age. But its success had inspired the creation of a new rival, the American Football League, which eventually would make the NFL itself bigger and better (Anderson 61). In 1959 the AFL formed and included a team named the Dallas Texans.
Texas multimillionaire Clint Murchison, Jr, owned this team. He then hired Texas Tex Schramm, to run his team. The Dallas Texans team was built with free agents and acquired players because the 1960 NFL college draft had already taken place and the new head coach Tom Landry was hired. (Italia 6). With the team starting to be built, January 28, 1960, the NFL voted to award a franchise to the Dallas Texans owner (Italia 7). The team then finished organizing and hired a staff. In March of 1960, their name was changed to the Dallas Cowboys (Italia 8).
I had never known the beginning of this team and it sparked my curiosity to research further. Tom Landry knew right away that he was in trouble (Savage 31). The expansion team of 1960 was created with rejects from other NFL teams. The players who were sent to Dallas were the worst three players from each team (Savage 31).
When Landry got his first look at the motley squad, he had one thought. It was just a matter of time Landry said, before Id be fired (Savage 31). Dallas went winless its first season (Savage 31). Their next three years were losing seasons; however, Landry was not fired (Savage 31). In fact, the owners had so much faith in Landry that he would bring in the wins, they gave him a new ten-year contract (Save 31). I did not realize that the now mighty team had started so poorly with so many challenges.
This gives me a new insight of the team. Of the six teams that have dominated the Super Bowl, the Cowboys are the only team to have won it five times over a quarter of a century with their team of 1971, 1977, 1992, 1993, and 1995 (Anderson 68). In their 39 years of existence, the Cowboys have 27 winning seasons including a record 20 in a row between 1966 and 1985. They made the playoffs 25 times, won 18 division championships and participated in 32 Super Bowls, wining 5 of them. The franchise began to call itself Americas team (Anderson 68). The Cowboys were a exciting team with a popular quarterback, and a likable coach (Anderson 68).
Coach Landry could always be seen on the sideline in his snap-brim hat, suit and tie. He always projected himself as calm and with confidence. He felt during the games that his team did not need to see him as a cheerleader cheering the team from the sidelines, but as a calm-absorbed thinker (Anderson 69). He felt real leadership is when people look at you and gain confidence.
They look to see how you react and if youre in control, they will be in control (Anderson 69). He couldnt cheer great plays because he was thinking a couple of plays ahead. Coach Landry seemed to earn respect from his players, the media and the fans. Landry was one of the first coaches using computers to design complicated offensive plays (Savage 32).
The Cowboys cannot be thought of without remembering the great Tom Landry. He will never be forgotten. In 1989 the Cowboys were purchased by Jerry Jones, who wanted a fresh start. He hired his former roommate and good friend Coach Jimmy Johnson, firing Coach Landry (Savage 22). Critics felt it was a mistake. (Savage 32) Prior to the Cowboys, Johnson was coaching University of Miami. At this time, Landry had been the Cowboys only coach and was very popular.
This was difficult for Johnson as new coach, replacing Landry with poor media criticism and a bad team. It took four years but Johnson turned the Cowboys into winners at the Super Bowl. Johnson was extremely excited that he replaced the immortal Tom Landry four years earlier and turned the Cowboys from looser to winners (Savage 22). Johnson and the owner Jerry Jones began fighting for control of the team. Jones being the owner Bibliography:
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