Crybaby Cowboys?!?
By Joshua Huff
I was talking to a coworker the other day who said they were really starting to like the Texans. Being from (and living in) Texas, I like the Texans too. Pretty much anytime the Cowboys aren’t playing, I’ll watch and root for the Texans. So why is it that Houston fans hate the Cowboys so much?
Aug 4, 2013; Canton, OH, USA; General view of the line of scrimmage as Dallas Cowboys quarterback Alex Tanney (7) takes the snap from center Phil Costa (67) in the 2013 Hall of Fame Game against the Miami Dolphins at Fawcett Stadium. The Cowboys defeated the Dolphins 24-20. Mandatory Credit: Kirby Lee-USA TODAY Sports
Every Texan’s fan I know takes any opportunity to trash the Cowboys, whether on Facebook, Twitter, or in person. My coworker and I spent the morning trying to figure out why this is so rampant. We came to the conclusion it was based in jealousy for any of several possible reasons.
Could it be the moniker of “America’s Team”, or perhaps the awe-inspiring newly minted “AT&T Stadium”? Is it the national coverage and attention that Dallas receives? I live in San Antonio, where every Cowboy’s game is televised, but not many Texan’s games, despite being about 70 miles closer to Houston. Maybe that’s why Texan’s fans are so angry?
As luck would have it, only a few hours later a patient’s family member came into my ER wearing a Houston Texan’s shirt. I told them how the coworker and I had just been talking that morning about how we both liked the Texans, and we were wondering why most-,” they immediately interrupted, “-as long as you’re not Cowboy’s fans”. I tried to suppress my laughter.
Aug 29, 2013; Arlington, TX, USA; Dallas Cowboys defensive DeMarcus Ware (94) on the sidelines during the second half against the Houston Texans at AT
“That’s exactly what we were talking about,” I told them, “Why do Houston fans hate the Cowboys so much?” “Because they are crybabies,” they answered.
This conversation went on for a while. I asked in every conceivable way I could imagine, while trying to maintain my professionalism, how the Cowboys are crybabies. “How?”, “What makes you think that?”, “What do you mean?”, “Can you give me an example?” were just a few of the questions. “They just are,” was the answer I was repeatedly given, “They cry when they win, and they cry when they lose”. Several more questions were asked, still no examples were given.
Then I actually started to feel myself getting angry. In the last several years, the Cowboys have regularly received more penalties in each game than any other team that opponent would play all year. At the same time, the opponent would be flagged for less penalties when they played the Cowboys than in any other game they played all year. That seems to be a bit more than a coincidence, doesn’t it? Yet I have never heard anyone involved with the Cowboy’s organization complain (or cry) about it, to the press or in social media.
Aug 29, 2013; Arlington, TX, USA; Dallas Cowboys wide receiver Dez Bryant (88) smiles while on the sideline during the game against the Houston Texans at AT
Of all the ridiculously blatant interference penalties that have not been called when guarding Dez Bryant, I have never heard him say a thing about it (despite the “attitude problem” the media desperately wants to convince us he has).
How about an even comparison? Take Tony Romo and Michael Vick, for example. Tony Romo has taken a significant amount of unnecessary roughness, roughing the quarterback, and helmet to helmet shots over the years that have not been called, some even resulting in injury. I have spent more games than I can remember absolutely livid, fuming about the illegal shots on Romo that were not called. Although Romo has never said a word, let alone whined or cried about it. Vick, on the other hand, cried like a little girl with a skinned knee in a post-game interview about how the refs don’t ever call illegal shots on him. I have to be honest, if I was a ref, I would look the other way while a player urinated on Vick. Unfortunately, Vick’s perceived slight was only in his head, but the refs spent the rest of season throwing flags at players for looking at Vick the wrong way.
Aug 24, 2013; Arlington, TX, USA; Dallas Cowboys quarterback Tony Romo (9) throws a pass in the second quarter of the game against the Cincinnati Bengals at AT
This was the same season that both Romo and Vick would suffer broken ribs. Romo would come back into the game and lead the Cowboys to a come from behind victory with a broken rib and a punctured lung. He would go on to play in the following weeks, not missing a game over the injury. Vick would not return to the game, and went on to miss the next several weeks, despite only having a cracked rib (no punctured lung).
Vick never released a statement, but the Eagles organization commented that injuries can affect athletes differently. Yeah, some athletes take it like a man. Some athletes suffer through the pain, no matter how intense, and give their team what’s needed of them. Other athletes…are just crybabies.