Cowboy fans hosting their annual Whine-fest
Cowboy fans hosting their annual Whine-fest
By Lee Passmore
Sports Writer
Midland Reporter-Telegram
Amazingly, the following headline appeared nowhere on Dallas-Fort Worth areasports pages on Super Bowl Sunday:
Irvin screwed by Hall again; Aikman, Wright elected
The time of year has come and gone for Dallas Cowboy fans, apologists and sycophants to mull over the "conspiracy" or "bias" which has kept all deserving players who ever wore a star on their helmets out of the Pro Football Hall of Fame. The story goes that the East Coast media has done everything in its power to leave all possible former Cowboys out of the Canton, Ohio ceremonies, be it out of jealousy, hatred or distaste for all things silver and metallic blue.
It¹s a self-righteous persecution complex which would be laughable if everybody with any tangential relationship to the Cowboys organization weren¹t so damned serious about it. It seems as if everybody in the DFW area who has covered the Cowboys for the last three decades is required to parrot the bromide "The Cowboys always get screwed by the Hall of Fame." Even the Fort Worth Star-Telegram¹s Randy Galloway, the most respected sports columnist in the state, is a fervent member of The-Hall-of-Fame-hates-the-Cowboys bandwagon. Why are such otherwise reasonable people so irrational when it comes to the Cowboys?
I¹ll preface this by saying that, yes, I despise the Cowboys and just about everything they stand for in all of their monumental self-absorption. You can ask just about anybody in the office, and they¹ll confirm it. But, I won¹t stoop to name-calling beyond this point. And you can make a case that certain Cowboys who aren¹t in the Hall of Fame (most notably, Bob Hayes), probably do deserve to be in.
That was the theme before last Saturday, when quarterback Troy Aikman, offensive tackle Rayfield Wright and wide receiver Michael Irvin were all finalists in Hall of Fame voting. Naturally, the whispers from the Metroplex were that the chowderheads at the Hall were going to find a way to shaft all three deserving candidates, proving how pervasive the anti-Cowboys bias was once and for all.
Well, guess what? Aikman and Wright were among the six players deemed worthy of election to the Hall last weekend, meaning that one-third of Canton¹s Class of 2006 will have spent their entire careers in Cowboys uniforms.
Aikman and Wright are both deserving selections, although if you take away two of Aikman¹s three Super Bowl rings it might be another story, but you can¹t argue with the facts.
But the fact that Irvin didn¹t make it is enough for those who¹ve drunk the Cowboy Kool-Aid to persist in conspiracy talk. See, they¹ll argue. He has three Super Bowl rings and great numbers and he¹s not in the Hall of Fame! That only proves how much they hate us!
Irvin¹s extracurricular activities might have something to do with his not being voted into the Hall of Fame, although they shouldn¹t. When push comes to shove (which he did as well as any receiver ever to play the game), he was unquestionably one of the top five receivers of his era, and nobody should object too loudly if (or more likely, when) he¹s inducted.
But this is where Cowboy supporters seem to have a blind spot. While there might be some deserving Cowboys who aren¹t in the Hall of Fame, they¹re hardly the only team with worthy members who haven¹t been voted in yet. Indeed, Irvin wasn¹t the only worthwhile receiver who was shot down by the voting committee last weekend -- and he wasn¹t even the best. That would be former Redskin and Cowboy nemesis Art Monk, who had 190 more career receptions than Irvin, also won three Super Bowl rings and at one time was the NFL¹s all-time leading receiver.
I could be missing something, of course, but I don¹t hear the Washington media types on "Pardon the Interruption" talking about any conspiracy to keep Monk out. I don¹t have a problem with Cowboy boosters saying a few more of their own should be in the Hall, but they seem to lack perspective.
Bottom line, the only national conspiracy which was likely connected to Dallas came 42 years ago at Dealey Plaza. Maybe the D-FW media should spend a little more time looking into that.
By Lee Passmore
Sports Writer
Midland Reporter-Telegram
Amazingly, the following headline appeared nowhere on Dallas-Fort Worth areasports pages on Super Bowl Sunday:
Irvin screwed by Hall again; Aikman, Wright elected
The time of year has come and gone for Dallas Cowboy fans, apologists and sycophants to mull over the "conspiracy" or "bias" which has kept all deserving players who ever wore a star on their helmets out of the Pro Football Hall of Fame. The story goes that the East Coast media has done everything in its power to leave all possible former Cowboys out of the Canton, Ohio ceremonies, be it out of jealousy, hatred or distaste for all things silver and metallic blue.
It¹s a self-righteous persecution complex which would be laughable if everybody with any tangential relationship to the Cowboys organization weren¹t so damned serious about it. It seems as if everybody in the DFW area who has covered the Cowboys for the last three decades is required to parrot the bromide "The Cowboys always get screwed by the Hall of Fame." Even the Fort Worth Star-Telegram¹s Randy Galloway, the most respected sports columnist in the state, is a fervent member of The-Hall-of-Fame-hates-the-Cowboys bandwagon. Why are such otherwise reasonable people so irrational when it comes to the Cowboys?
I¹ll preface this by saying that, yes, I despise the Cowboys and just about everything they stand for in all of their monumental self-absorption. You can ask just about anybody in the office, and they¹ll confirm it. But, I won¹t stoop to name-calling beyond this point. And you can make a case that certain Cowboys who aren¹t in the Hall of Fame (most notably, Bob Hayes), probably do deserve to be in.
That was the theme before last Saturday, when quarterback Troy Aikman, offensive tackle Rayfield Wright and wide receiver Michael Irvin were all finalists in Hall of Fame voting. Naturally, the whispers from the Metroplex were that the chowderheads at the Hall were going to find a way to shaft all three deserving candidates, proving how pervasive the anti-Cowboys bias was once and for all.
Well, guess what? Aikman and Wright were among the six players deemed worthy of election to the Hall last weekend, meaning that one-third of Canton¹s Class of 2006 will have spent their entire careers in Cowboys uniforms.
Aikman and Wright are both deserving selections, although if you take away two of Aikman¹s three Super Bowl rings it might be another story, but you can¹t argue with the facts.
But the fact that Irvin didn¹t make it is enough for those who¹ve drunk the Cowboy Kool-Aid to persist in conspiracy talk. See, they¹ll argue. He has three Super Bowl rings and great numbers and he¹s not in the Hall of Fame! That only proves how much they hate us!
Irvin¹s extracurricular activities might have something to do with his not being voted into the Hall of Fame, although they shouldn¹t. When push comes to shove (which he did as well as any receiver ever to play the game), he was unquestionably one of the top five receivers of his era, and nobody should object too loudly if (or more likely, when) he¹s inducted.
But this is where Cowboy supporters seem to have a blind spot. While there might be some deserving Cowboys who aren¹t in the Hall of Fame, they¹re hardly the only team with worthy members who haven¹t been voted in yet. Indeed, Irvin wasn¹t the only worthwhile receiver who was shot down by the voting committee last weekend -- and he wasn¹t even the best. That would be former Redskin and Cowboy nemesis Art Monk, who had 190 more career receptions than Irvin, also won three Super Bowl rings and at one time was the NFL¹s all-time leading receiver.
I could be missing something, of course, but I don¹t hear the Washington media types on "Pardon the Interruption" talking about any conspiracy to keep Monk out. I don¹t have a problem with Cowboy boosters saying a few more of their own should be in the Hall, but they seem to lack perspective.
Bottom line, the only national conspiracy which was likely connected to Dallas came 42 years ago at Dealey Plaza. Maybe the D-FW media should spend a little more time looking into that.
posted by The Gryphon at 7:00 PM
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