9/16/2010 10:28 PM ET By
Dave Goldberg
"America's Team'' turns 50 this year.
Face it,
Steelers fans and
Packers fans and
Raiders fans and fans of all the other teams with national followings: the
Dallas Cowboys ARE America's Team because, while it can't be quantified, more people follow them than any other team in any other sport. They follow them to love them and they follow them to hate them -- there are more people rooting for the
Cowboys and more people rooting against them.
The moniker "America's Team'' wasn't a self-designation.
It was coined by Bob Ryan, vice president of NFL Films, who put the phrase on the Cowboys' 1978 highlight film.
Gil Brandt recently put together a list of the team's accomplishments and, love 'em or hate 'em, you have to respect them. Of the 53 players (current roster size) on this all-time Cowboys' team, Brandt acquired 35 of them.
Click to see the list