No Dallas Cowboys This Weekend Means Only Super Bowl Memories

Super Bowl Sunday is mere hours away…and as a Dallas Cowboys fan I couldn’t be less excited. There are those who would surmise that the Seattle Seahawks’ second straight appearance in the big game is the indirect result of karma that rolled downhill.

First. there was the pass-interference-call-that-wasn’t which gave a boost to the Cowboys in their Wildcard win over the Detroit Lions. The following week the Cowboys fell victim to the bad juju of the officiating gods as wide receiver Dez Bryant was robbed of a catch that would have most certainly led to a go-ahead score late in the divisional round game against the Green Bay Packers. Finally, it was the Pack’s turn as they suffered a meltdown of massive proportions against the Seahawks at the home of the 12th Man.

If karma is indeed a factor, it must not apply on the AFC side of things or else how on earth did the New England Patriots end up playing for their fourth Super Bowl title? I’m not implying that the Pats bend the rules or anything…however, if their team was a nursery rhyme, a fitting moniker might be “cheater, cheater, pumpkin eater.”

More from The Landry Hat

Taken from a standpoint of individual players, the Cowboys 2014 rushing champion running back DeMarco Murray would have made a far better ambassador for the league that his counterpart, Marshawn Lynch. The Skittle eating, crotch grabbing, Beast from the Seattle backfield became the talk of Super Bowl media day by hardly talking at all. His, “I’m just here so I won’t get fined,” comment has taken on a life of its own in social media and beyond.

If anyone thinks this good natured bashing of the combatants in Super Bowl XLIV is sour grapes because the Cowboys are sitting out the big game for 20 years and counting…you’d be absolutely right.

While it has been an infuriatingly long time since the Dallas Cowboys hoisted the Lombardi Trophy, at least there are some iconic memories of Super Bowls past to look back on…

Legendary Dallas Cowboys Coach Tom Landry enduring a string of close-but-no-cigar seasons, including the infamous “Ice Bowl” loss to the Packers before his Cowboys tasted Super Bowl victory. The relief on Landry’s face was evident in footage from the Cowboys locker room after Dallas defeated the Miami Dolphins by a score of 24-3 in 1972.

In all, Landry led Dallas to five Super Bowls that included a second championship in Super Bowl XII over the Denver Broncos and two losses to the Pittsburgh Steelers.

For those too young to remember the Landry years, the glory days of the 1990s might provide a bit of solace on Super Bowl Sunday. The “triplets” of quarterback Troy Aikman, running back Emmitt Smith and wide receiver Michael Irvin made a charismatic trio that helped bring three championships to Dallas with back to back wins over the Buffalo Bills in Super Bowls XXVII and XXVIII. They ended their run with a measure of revenge over the Steelers in Super Bowl XXX.

It is worth noting that the current crop of Cowboys have been loosely compared to that 1990s team, due largely to the play of quarterback Tony Romo, running back DeMarco Murray and receiver Dez Bryant, along with the pro bowl laden offensive line that perhaps has potential to be a second “Great Wall of Dallas.”

With Murray and Bryant among a lengthy list of Cowboys that are looking for new contracts, it is far from a given conclusion that the same core group of players will take the field wearing the Star for the 2015 season. Maybe that is why the departure from the playoffs for this Cowboys team was such a disappointing blow.

Super Bowl Sunday is said to be the second biggest food day of the year, behind only Thanksgiving. Somehow I think I’ll be enjoying my nachos more than the big game for yet another year…

Next: 2015 NFL Mock Draft: Dallas Cowboys Draft New 'Too Tall'

More from The Landry Hat

Home/Cowboys History