While Some Fans Lose Faith, Dallas Cowboys Stay Positive
By Kenny Spotz
Nov 28, 2013; Arlington, TX, USA; Dallas Cowboys fan Mark Wilhite poses for a photo prior to the game against the Oakland Raiders for a NFL football game on Thanksgiving at AT
Cowboys fans have been going through some turmoil recently. The team, it seems, is once again falling apart at the worst possible time.
After collapsing against Green Bay, Dallas must now find a way to beat a dangerous Washington team with nothing to lose. If they somehow make it past the Redskins, the season will come down to a win-or-go-home game in Philly.
Losing would be awful.
It would mean that Dallas, with a playoff berth on the line, lost to their three division rivals three consecutive years.
Quite the embarrassment.
And if the mentality of a team’s fans is any sort of predictor of how that team will do in real life, embarrassment appears to be inevitable.
One of the week’s most popular threads on my favorite Cowboys forum (/r/Cowboys on Reddit) started with the line: “The bad thing about being a Cowboys fan these days is that there’s no solution.” The Landry Hat has also seen its share of hopelessness, with the resignation of our writer Todd Toombs over Jerry Jones’ incompetence.
Considering that article’s popularity, it seems a significant portion of the Dallas fan-base has given up on this season.
Has the team done the same?
The answer coming out of Valley Ranch looks to be no.
Demarcus Ware tweeted this yesterday.
Meanwhile, everyone’s favorite 73-year-old punching bag had this to say about his sorry defense:
"We ain’t going to pout around. We’ll be ready to play."
Instead of complaining, Brandon Carr focused on getting better when he talked to reporters:
"For myself, just be more aggressive and just get back my mentality that got me into these doors. I feel like I kind of went away from that. Whatever, that’s my fault. You get an opportunity to go out there Sunday and to prove yourself once again. I’m encouraged about that, I’m happy about it."
Scandrick on his recent struggles:
"Nobody wants it more than me. I’ve just got to keep grinding and banging away and figure out a way to make it."
Dez talking about his quarterback and team:
"That’s our guy. We all love him. Things happen. Unfortunate things happen. Those things can be fixed. That’s by staying together."
And the Quarterback himself on the team’s chances going forward:
"Last year we obviously didn’t [get it done]. We had to sit with the Washington feeling all offseason. This year it’s a great feeling to know we can go out and be a better team than we were last week and be able to do what we want to do … Would you rather have that [Green Bay loss] be the last game of the year or would you rather have two games left to go win the NFC East? If you don’t feel good about what you can still do, then you just haven’t played the game long enough. It’s a positive to have games left still and have an opportunity to do what we want to do."
To me, that sounds like a team that still believes in their ability to win. Amazing considering their epic collapses the past few years.
You can fault Jason Garrett’s game management all you want, but what I admire about his coaching is the appreciation for psychology . He preaches that the only thing you can control is your attitude, so players should always stay positive.
And that is what they’re doing.