Why Loving The Dallas Cowboys Is Like Being In An Unhealthy Relationship

The title of this post should not be taken out of context. First and foremost I am a diehard Dallas Cowboys fan. I have been since I was a wee pup, sitting next to my grandpa on gameday and loving every minute of it. I love most everything about the Cowboys. Their colors, stadium, players, city, and fans have been a draw for me from the get-go. Every time things get bad or look a little bleak I think to myself, “What if I switched to the (insert team name) and followed them for a while.” As soon as I think or utter the words, I feel a little sick inside and realize how idiotic I just sounded. I could never stray from the star. It has consumed so much of my life to date, and abandoning everything I know for a fleeting moment of sunshine that another team may present is ludicrous.

While I was in one of my crazy, post-loss stupors last season, I realized that I love the Dallas Cowboys, and the relationship could be considered unhealthy. The reason I say this, and this is probably true about most fans from every sport is I give so much time and energy to the team, and lately the love doesn’t seem to be reciprocated. When I say love, I don’t mean the players should come to my house and hang out with me on a regular basis. As awesome as that sounds, I would much rather have them in the film and weight room getting ready for the upcoming season. When I talk about love I mean wins, championships, and all-out effort.

The last two seasons have been ones to forget, and if anyone says otherwise, they’re raving lunatics. I rooted for the team with everything in my being, like I do every year. What stood out during the past two seasons were that the team was supposed to be good. They were suppose to challenge the top-tier teams in the league and win super bowls. They were suppose to reciprocate the love.

Well to this day I am still baffled as to what happened.  Two seasons ago when the going got rough, and man was it rough, it seemed to me the team quit. Midway through the season Wade Phillips was fired after going 11-5 the year before, winning the division, winning a playoff game, and humiliating the Eagles in three meetings, which to me is just icing on the cake. So what happened that year? Where was the love? I was there, and did my part, if I could conceivably consider yelling at the TV a contribution. Yet the team was AWOL for the first half of the season and squandered a golden opportunity to go deep into the playoffs.

Last season was an improvement over the year before. The team seemed to have more fire in their belly, and I was sure at the beginning of the season that things were going to be different. Just like in 2010, 2011 was a nightmare in a different way. The Cowboys had a chance to win more games than anyone had expected them to. Most analysts pegged them for eight or nine wins, tops. Realistically they should have won 13 games. Bad choice by the head coach, quarterback, and lack of a defense in critical minutes caused the 2011 Dallas Cowboys to fall to an average 8-8 record, and a front-row seat to watch other teams play in January and February from the comfort of their homes.

So if you haven’t gathered by now what I mean by a unhealthy relationship, let me spell it out for you. As a Cowboys fan I am always behind the team, rooting and supporting them. Each year I invest a large amount of time and money. All I am asking for in return is for some love, just like any other relationship. Well honestly the last time I felt any was the 1995-96 season. I want to finish the season and not feel empty-handed.Is that too much to ask from a team that is built for greatness?

Just so you all don’t think I’m a negative-nanny, I want to state here and now that I think this year is the year that the fans of the Dallas Cowboys finally get to feel the love… I hope. I say this same thing most seasons before a single game has been played. To date I haven’t had the best track record. But with the offseason additions, as well as a solid draft, I think greatness is just around the corner. Hopefully this is the year the Dallas Cowboys show us fans the love.

Like what you see? Give The Landry Hat a “like” on facebook, become a follower on twitter, or grab our RSS feed.