Dallas Cowboys: Takeaway lessons from 2019 Wimbledon men’s final

The 2019 Wimbledon men’s final was a thriller. The Dallas Cowboys are up for a trophy this year. Are there lessons to be learned from the big tennis stage?

As you know, the sports world can be a cruel one. For Dallas Cowboys fans, the wait for the big title hasn’t come around since the 1995 season. For fans born after that title year, well, they haven’t even enjoyed the words of calling their team Super Bowl champions or have any idea what it feels like.

The wait continues and continues. Will 2019 be the year America’s Team returns to supremacy? Of course, the words from any football lips is let’s wait and see. Sure, it’s only July, but I believe this is head coach Jason Garrett‘s best team, best chance to win the big one since he took over coaching duties back in November of 2010.

The Dallas Cowboys have the elements to make a deep run. On paper, the team is stacked on offense and the defense is a bit underrated in my book, which is crazy talk. The pieces are in place and the time is, in essence — now.

But building your optimism through the prism of your depth chart isn’t enough. The Cowboys proved in 2018 that this era of players, coaches, and management staff aren’t just pretenders. Dallas is expected to contend this year and many more years down the road due to the youth movement manufactured through recent NFL Drafts.

Again, everything that looks good on paper can mean little when the whistle blows. Take the 2019 Wimbledon men’s final as an example. 20-time grand slam winner, Roger Federer, executed a brilliant performance over his rival Novak Djokovic. Going down the stat sheet, Federer actually played a better match, including hitting more winners.

Going by stat sheet alone, you’d think it’d be Federer who would be the one holding the trophy. And against any other foe, he’d be the victor with that type of play. But it didn’t turn out that way last Sunday.

Professional sports can be a cruel arena. You can execute a perfect game plan, possess all the tools and ingredients to win on the big stage, but at the end of the day, still lose. After all, to witness the triumphs of great wins we all have to witness the depths of great losses.

Regardless of being one single point away from another grand slam title, Federer’s moment in the sport is dented because of the loss. His rival takes the limelight now and deserves every minute of it. It’s how sports operate. The victor is hailed and remembered, while the loser goes away and left to their own devices to pick up shattered pieces of their legacy.

Just go ask the Seattle Seahawks fan base about it. The team was within a play of taking another title against the New England Patriots during the 2014 Super Bowl run. Instead, Malcolm Butler jumped the gun and intercepted a pass from quarterback Russell Wilson.

Game. Set. Match.

You know the play. You might remember the loser, but you can’t deny that the winner is all they talk about. If you can’t recall, just start counting Tom Brady‘s rings. Champions are crowned by the single play, the single point. Sports can be cruel and kind. Sports have the power to deflate hearts and fertilize cities (looking at you Toronto).

The Dallas Cowboys have a shot in 2019. We could shoot arrows back and forth on this topic, going line by line, but there’s one thing I know. A shot at a title means nothing if the Cowboys can’t propel themselves in key moments.

Does this collection of players possess the championship quality? The recipe that separates contenders from pretenders? I think so. But possessing championship quality doesn’t always grant you access to the trophy. You have to earn that set of privileges every play, every point. Just ask Roger Federer.