In order to justifiably analyze the reasoning behind the term “America’s Team” though it is first necessary to give a comprehensive history of the artifact. The Dallas Cowboys franchise was started back in 1960 as an NFL expansion team. At the time, only the Washington Redskins existed as the representation of the NFL South and thus brought a lot of opposition to the birth of the Cowboys. This opposition was later overruled, however, and the Cowboys were born, but not without the disproval of their long-standing rival the Washington Redskins. It is to be noted that Washington stands for the nation’s capital, Washington D.C. and not Washington state, making it ironic that “America’s Team” is hated mostly by those living in America’s capital.
After the team was born it took exactly six seasons before they started a tradition of winning. Beginning in 1966, the Cowboys started an unparalleled road to most winning seasons in NFL history with 24, sadly ending with this most recent year’s abysmal record of 6-10. This streak of winning seasons undoubtedly brought a lot of support from football fans nationwide, both inside and outside of the Dallas-Fort Worth area, creating a buzz large enough to allow the Cowboys to be in the national spotlight more than most teams, while also creating a winning tradition consistent only with that of the Pittsburg Steelers.
While narrating the film for the 1978 Cowboy’s season, NFL Films Vice President Bob Ryan needed a term that resembled not only the team, but also the team’s wide-ranging fan base. He decided on the term “America’s Team” for this one year’s highlight video saying, “They appear on television so often that their faces are as familiar to the public as presidents and movie stars. They are the Dallas Cowboys, America’s team.” The term was accepted so much that it was again used prior to the first game of the 1979 season, seemingly giving birth to the phrase as it has been used consistently by analysts and fans ever since.
The real controversy of the term “America’s Team” truly comes in whether or not the Dallas Cowboys are the most deserving of the name, or if one of the other thirty-two teams currently in the National Football League are more worthy. However, since the term was born in 1978, it is only fair to consider the twenty-four teams in the league at the time of the birth. At this time, only the Cowboys and the Steelers were hailed as current dynasty franchises. Pittsburg, however, beat the Cowboys in two Super Bowl Championship games in the seventies, and in addition won four in the decade as opposed to the Dallas Cowboy’s two. Furthermore, the Cowboys had a dry spell through the 1980s, not winning one Super Bowl Championship, but yet still keeping the title of “America’s Team.” The national popularity and spotlight still shined heavily on the Texas football team, however, and they were still viewed as the number two National Sports franchise despite the recent decline. The ninety’s saw a resurgence of the national heroes as they combined to win three championships, becoming the holder of most by any NFL team, passing who else but the Pittsburg Steelers, with five. They also set a record for most players sent to the Pro Bowl, the name of the NFL all-star game, in one season with eleven. Currently though, the team has seen yet another recession as they have not only ended their streak of winning seasons, but have also only won two playoff games since their 1995 Super Bowl Championship season. The Steelers, however, have won two championships in that span and have currently established themselves as a perennial powerhouse year after year.
It would seem through the previously stated facts that the Pittsburg Steelers would hold the coveted title of “America’s Team” if it was not for one extremely important factor, NFL Films Vice President Bob Ryan’s famous statement that the faces of the Cowboys, not the Steelers, were as recognizable as famed movie stars and Presidents. This obviously brings up the questions of how these players became so famous, and why they are the ones that became so associated with American football. In order to answer these questions we must look even closer at the history of the Cowboys leading up to the legendary statement. As previously noted, the Cowboys were a perennial powerhouse in the seventies, winning two Super Bowl championships. During one of these championships, also, the Cowboys were able to hold their opponent to zero touchdowns, a feat still unaccomplished by any other Super Bowl team. In addition, the Cowboys were able to shed their then common title of “Next Year’s Champion”, consequently leaving them without a common nickname and allowing a new moniker to be set in place.
Once the title was formed and used again at the beginning of the 1979 season it seemed to have become a part of the franchise’s personality. As seen most in the 1990s to present day, the Cowboy’s have gained a reputation of the spoiled popular kid always searching for the spotlight. Many players of the 1990s, Deion Sanders and Michael Irvin for example, gained a standing as loud mouthed and arrogant, constantly using the media as an outlet for their opinions. The combination of this growing practice, and their stemming success through the nineties allowed for the media to become familiar with many of the players faces and personalities. The proceeding drop of the Cowboy’s dynasty did not stop the media from holding a spotlight to them though as many of the players today still receive more national spotlight than most other big-name football stars. The current quarterback, Tony Romo, for example, is constantly viewed outside of the football field in tabloids and newspapers as more of a Hollywood actor than a team captain, and it is now seemingly easier to become aware of which female actress he is dating rather than which receiver is his favorite target. Another great example of the team’s media spotlight is the famed Dallas Cowboy cheerleaders. The Cowboy’s cheerleaders have a reputation of beauty and perfection so strong that they can sometimes overshadow the Cowboys themselves, leaving the actual play on the football field to sometimes become trivial, allowing the Cowboys to look good even in a loss. All these reasons combined obviously give the media a great outlet; a constant championship contenting team with, until recently, the most championships in the National Football League, a sexy array of cheerleaders to boost ratings, a group of loud-mouthed stars addicted to the spotlight, and a pretty-boy quarterback whose love life is just as exciting off the field as his job on the field.
While it seems the questions of both how and why the Cowboy’s have been dubbed “America’s Team” have been answered, it is still questionable as to whether or not they deserve the title. It can easily be seen that the Cowboy’s have a reoccurring history atop the National Football spotlight, both within the media and within the league. However, while they do hold many important records in the National Football League it is quite debatable whether or not they are the best historical franchise in the league history. This brings up the question as to what the term “America’s Team” truly means. If, in fact, it means that the Cowboys are the best franchise in the history of the National Football League, it has no doubt become an outdated title as the Cowboy’s no longer hold the league record in Super Bowl wins, and are currently going through a franchise worst post-season slump. If, however, it is a more literal term of popularity controlled by the media, than its surplus of past and present spotlight friendly stars may, in fact, have a stronghold on the label. In order to indentify which definition is accurate, though, it becomes overly important to dissect the term in its most literal way.
The media market in America has in recent years become more and more important in defining American culture. In fact, it is obviously important to point out that they necessarily construct the narrative for the Dallas Cowboys, as well as the entire football league and all other sports leagues in the country. With this in mind, when someone says the Dallas Cowboys are “America’s Team” they quite possibly could be referring to the fact that they are the most popular team in the National Football League, and because football has become the most popular sport in the country this would actually make the Cowboys, in the most literal definition of the term, “America’s Team”, whether they technically deserve the term or not.
The Dallas Cowboys have many accomplishments and achievements to be proud of ranging from the longest streak of winning seasons, to the most players sent to the Pro Bowl in a single season. They have become a fan favorite through their ability to talk to the media, their interactions with other famous, non-sporting celebrities, and their still increasingly popular cheerleading squad. All these things combined have allowed them to wear the term “America’s Team”, despite the fact they no longer own the most National Football League championships. In conclusion, the most critical part about the Dallas Cowboy’s does not come from their place in football at all. It comes from their ability to hold the title, “America’s Team”, while not actually being the best team in the league. On the contrary, in recent years they have been strongly outdone by their Pittsburg Steeler counterpart, but yet are still viewed as “America’s Team” because of the narrative created by the media and their ability to stay popular, despite only winning two playoff games in sixteen years. The term, however, is still justifiably the Cowboys because in America they do not need to be the best at what they do, they just need to look the best while doing it.
Works Cited
"History of the Dallas Cowboys." Home Game Travel and Tour Packages by Five Points Texas Tours. Web. 11 Apr. 2011.
“Narrative Criticism.”
Jenkins, T. J. "America's Team? Dallas Cowboys Can Keep That Moniker | Bleacher Report."Bleacher Report | Entertaining Sports News, Photos and Slideshows. 8 Nov. 2009. Web. 11 Apr. 2011.
"Dallas Cowboys Schedule at NFL.com." NFL.com - Official Site of the National Football League. Web. 11 Apr. 2011.
NFL Scores and Schedules - 2010 Regular Season - National Football League - ESPN."ESPN: The Worldwide Leader In Sports. Web. 11 Apr. 2011.
"Dallas Cowboys." Wikipedia, the Free Encyclopedia. 1 Apr. 2011. Web. 11 Apr. 2011.
"Pittsburgh Steelers." Wikipedia, the Free Encyclopedia. 4 Apr. 2011. Web. 11 Apr. 2011.
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