The Renny Rant: Top 10 Reasons Why People HATE Our Dallas Cowboys (6-10)

I know, SHOCKER ALERT, there are people who ACTUALLY hate our Dallas Cowboys!

How many of you have heard the terms “Cow-girls,” “Cow-pukes,” “Choke-Boys” etc.?

 Unless you are a Dallas Cowboys fan living under a cave on the other side of the planet, void of any human interaction, you know good and well our Dallas Cowboys are THE MOST hated team in the National Football League as well as one of the most hated teams in major professional sports.

No team in major American professional sports (other than maybe NBA’s Lakers and MLB’s Yankees) evokes such an emotional response at the mere mention of their name than the Dallas Cowboys. When one even hears the name “Dallas Cowboys,” many sports fans either cringe at the very words and immediately start shouting obscenities, OR (if you are a fan) your eyes light up and are looking for the nearest high-five from a fellow fan (I’m in this boat).

Whichever boat you happen to fall in, there are MANY (WAY more than 10 by way) reasons why opposing fans loathe our ‘Boys. Here are reasons 10 through 6… (leading up to 5 through 1 next week). And don’t worry, I will also have a “Top 10 Reasons Why People LOVE Our Dallas Cowboys” article soon as well. Not surprisingly, a few reasons will be on BOTH lists.

Without further ado…

Nov 22, 2012; Arlington, TX, USA; Dallas Cowboys flag on the field before the game against the Washington Redskins on Thanksgiving at Cowboys Stadium. The Redskins beat the Cowboys 38-31. Mandatory Credit: Tim Heitman-USA TODAY Sports

10. “The Dallas Cowboys wear white at home”

Many fans think we wear white at home simply because “we just need to be different and therefore think we are better than everyone else.” Yes, just about every other team in the league wear their dark colors at home and their whites on the road. We have been just the opposite since 1964. What do I tell these fans, “Blame Tex Schramm.” Schramm (the “mad inventor” he was) wanted his home fans to be able to witness the wide array of visiting teams’ colors on game days. That, and wearing white at home in the blistering Texas heat offered cooler temperatures for the players and therefore a better product on the field as oppose to our darker blues. But, haters will always find something right?

9. “All the players have a ‘we are better than you’ attitude”

Now this one was more prominent in our decades of dominance in the 1970’s and 1990’s though our current team is also subject to this loud criticism. Opposing fans thought that our players were “flashy” and “cocky.” Truth be told, in those particular decades, we were simply “better” more often than not. Yes we had “flashy” players that sometimes spouted off in front of the cameras and carried Texas sized egos (and also coaches for that matter…Jimmy). Yes we had arrogant players that were supremely confident in their abilities on the football field. And yes, most certainly, we were oftentimes simply better (and the absolute best on five occasions). The truth hurts, and it hurts the haters even more.

8. “We ALWAYS ‘have to watch’ them on Thanksgiving”

Yes it’s true; a tradition we have come to know since 1966 (except for 1975 and 1977 when the Cardinals were allowed to host) annoys the dickens out of opposing fans. They have not warmed up to the fact that turkey and the Dallas Cowboys go together like peas and carrots. To these fans I say again, “Blame Tex Schramm.” After the 1965 season the NFL went out looking for volunteers to host the holiday game alongside the Detroit Lions. The ONLY one to accept the offer was good ol’ Tex. Schramm fell in love with the idea of hosting a home game on a national holiday with the entire country watching. What better way to grow the fan base of his young team?

After all “People in this area are used to having football with their turkey,” said Schramm referring to the annual Texas-Texas A&M Thanksgiving game. And as I often suggest to these fans, “Well, you don’t ‘HAVE TO watch’ the Cowboys game.” Inevitably, they always do anyway…every year, and complain…every year.

7. “EVERYONE is ALWAYS talking about them on TV and they are ALWAYS playing on national TV”

I could probably use the “Blame Tex Schramm” excuse here again, for he was a marketing genius and always knew how to get people talking about his team, but I’ll give ol’ Tex a break here. Instead, I’ll place the blame on the late Beano Cook. Cook was a former network spokesman for CBS and ESPN who once offered this gem, “We have a rule we go by when planning NFL telecasts: Give people the best game possible, and when in doubt, give them the Cowboys.” That is the mantra most television networks go by when it comes to our ‘Boys. The networks know that the Cowboys consistently bring in record high ratings. These networks (FOX, CBS, NBC, and ESPN) are not a “secret group” of Cowboys fans like many opposing fans think. Rather, these networks are keenly aware; the Dallas Cowboys equal ratings, which equal money, which keep them employed.

 So if you hate the Cowboys and are always irritated by them appearing on national television five to seven times a season and annoyed by the endless Cowboys news and segments you have to “suffer through” on Sportscenter, NFL Live, Around the Horn, Pardon the Interruption etc., now you know WHY you must suffer…MONEY AND RATINGS…and “America’s Team” of course (that one a comes later in the list).

Nov 4, 2012; Atlanta, GA, USA; An Atlanta Falcons fan holding a sign stands next to a Dallas Cowboys fan before the game at the Georgia Dome. Mandatory Credit: Daniel Shirey-USA TODAY Sports

6. “THEY JUST SUCK”

To this I usually say, “Your football I.Q. is appalling, your ignorance is absurd, shame on you and may GOD have mercy on your soul.” They then usually the leave the conversation hating the Cowboys even more….Ooops. I’m 100 percent positive, ALL of you Dallas fans have heard this one before and I am 100 percent positive ALL of you have won that argument. You, see these are the football fans that give all others a filthy name. Of course they usually point to the fact that we are 1-6 in elimination games since 2006 and we have one playoff victory since our 40-15 dismantling of the Minnesota Vikings in the 1996 Wild Card round to give their weak argument substance.

 As I have found, “Cowboys Suck” is a wildly popular term. If you would like proof and you have a Facebook account, type in “Cowboys Suck” in the search bar and see how many pages load in a matter of seconds. I lost count after about 300 or so. I’m also proud to say, I have been “banned” from quite a few of these pages. Evidently, they don’t like the taste of their own medicine. Regardless, you will run into the “Cowboys Suck” fan countless times if you have not already. I suggest the line I used above; it shuts them pretty quick.

Stay tuned next week for the conclusion of this Top 10 list as I know you are dying to find out the number one reason why anyone would hate your Dallas Cowboys. Perhaps even ol’ Jerry pays a visit to the list…again…SHOCKER ALERT!