Worst franchises in sports last 2 decades - where do Cowboys rank?

visionary

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Following the Eagles trip to the SB, I was getting ripped by a couple of buddies (Giants and Eagles fans, respectively) related to Nick Foles having the same amount of success in 8 days (2 playoff wins) that Dallas has over the last 20+. This got me to thinking: In my conscious sports life (from roughly 1996/1997 through today), the Cowboys have been a joke on a nearly Cleveland Browns level.

If you had to rank the most meager Big 4 sports franchises in terms of on-the-field/court/ice success (specifically actually contending for a championship) over the last two decades, where would the Cowboys rank?

NFL short list

1. Cleveland Browns - 1 playoff appearance (2002), winless season, 1-15 season. Almost no regular season success whatsoever.
2. Buffalo Bills - just broke a 17 year playoff appearance drought
3. Detroit Lions - 0 playoff wins
4. Cincinnati Bengals - playoff wins
5. Dallas Cowboys

Teams like the Vikings, Eagles, Chargers who have not won the whole thing have been true contenders many years and made conference championship appearances.

Even often-futile franchises in other sports have broken through over the past 2 decades (Warriors, Cavs, Astros, Marlins, Phillies, Mets (multiple WS appearances at least), etc. It's very possible that the Cowboys could be somewhere in the 10-15 most futile franchises in all of North American sports for the past 2+ decades.

Let's hope the next decade is where the bleeding stops.

From a football fan standpoint we're right up there

2 decades plus of mediocrity
Lunatic owner who thinks he knows football
Moronic idiot coach
No prospects of change
 

hornitosmonster

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From a football fan standpoint we're right up there

2 decades plus of mediocrity
Lunatic owner who thinks he knows football
Moronic idiot coach
No prospects of change

Say what you will about Jerry but he played at a level most of us on this board has never obtained. He played on a DI team that has a national title to their name. He is in the NFL Hall of Fame. I would say he knows more about football than you, or me.
 

T-RO

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Wanna know something funny? That this is a discussion.
 

cowboy_ron

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Look at our team like a house we're updating......we can cosmetically dress it up but the foundation has a major crack in it, but instead of repairing the crack in the foundation we keep thinking if we just keep fixing the curb appeal the foundation will somehow repair itself.
 

visionary

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Say what you will about Jerry but he played at a level most of us on this board has never obtained. He played on a DI team that has a national title to their name. He is in the NFL Hall of Fame. I would say he knows more about football than you, or me.

Hug that thought tightly tonight as you stare into the abyss of 22 years (and continuing) of abject mediocrity imposed by that 'football guy' whose football knowledge you hold in such high regard
 

visionary

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Dallas 0 Superbowl rings in 22 plus years.

Eagles 0 Superbowl rings in almost 60 years.

But yet Dallas is a worst franchise.....umm yeah ok

If an alien were to come to earth and were to pick one of these 2 franchises based on where they are right now and their prospects in the near future, there is no question he would pick the eagles
 

coult44

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Why do you say sports but only list football teams? You also leave out some franchises like the Commanders and Dolphins that have been worse just to put the Cowboys in the top 5

I do believe we are near the top 5 in wins for the last 8-10 years. We all expect better but that alone shows you we are more consistently competitive than 75 percent of the league.

I would take a team that is competitive every year over a franchise that sucks for a decade just to pop up and win a couple playoff games(Jaguars). After all, if I’m going to spend 16 Sunday’s a year watching a team and a fortune to see them in person, I want to know my team has a chance every Sunday and we got that with Romo and the first two years when we had Dak and Zeke on the field.

Jags have competed for 2 Championshops since we last did it once. If you're not doing that, regular season wins mean nothing.
 

JBond

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Following the Eagles trip to the SB, I was getting ripped by a couple of buddies (Giants and Eagles fans, respectively) related to Nick Foles having the same amount of success in 8 days (2 playoff wins) that Dallas has over the last 20+. This got me to thinking: In my conscious sports life (from roughly 1996/1997 through today), the Cowboys have been a joke on a nearly Cleveland Browns level.

If you had to rank the most meager Big 4 sports franchises in terms of on-the-field/court/ice success (specifically actually contending for a championship) over the last two decades, where would the Cowboys rank?

NFL short list

1. Cleveland Browns - 1 playoff appearance (2002), winless season, 1-15 season. Almost no regular season success whatsoever.
2. Buffalo Bills - just broke a 17 year playoff appearance drought
3. Detroit Lions - 0 playoff wins
4. Cincinnati Bengals - playoff wins
5. Dallas Cowboys

Teams like the Vikings, Eagles, Chargers who have not won the whole thing have been true contenders many years and made conference championship appearances.

Even often-futile franchises in other sports have broken through over the past 2 decades (Warriors, Cavs, Astros, Marlins, Phillies, Mets (multiple WS appearances at least), etc. It's very possible that the Cowboys could be somewhere in the 10-15 most futile franchises in all of North American sports for the past 2+ decades.

Let's hope the next decade is where the bleeding stops.
You forgot the 2015 Kansas City Royals.
; )
I expect a championship every 30 years or so.
 

trickamsterdam

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Dallas 0 Superbowl rings in 22 plus years.

Eagles 0 Superbowl rings in almost 60 years.

But yet Dallas is a worst franchise.....umm yeah ok
Once you get past the 20 year mark, that just doesn't matter much. Cowboys fans under 30 either weren't alive or barely/don't remember the championships. Think about the reality of that.

You've got cowboys fans who were in college when they last won a Superbowl-- now their kids are out of college. This is also why many under 30 consider the Eagles/Giants to be bigger rivals than the Commanders.

Remember the Cleveland Browns were actually a huge dynasty. At some the past just doesn't matter.
 

trickamsterdam

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They aren’t even close to the worst... they aren’t even in the bottom half of the NFL much less all of sports. It’s also weird how many fans became Cowboys fans in the narrative-fitting year of 1996.

If they're not in the bottom half of the NFL, than list 16 teams over the last 20 years who are less successful.

Also, do you consider the Commanders to be in the bottom half? The Cowboys are very marginally more successful than the Commanders over the same period.
 

Super_Kazuya

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If they're not in the bottom half of the NFL, than list 16 teams over the last 20 years who are less successful.

Also, do you consider the Commanders to be in the bottom half? The Cowboys are very marginally more successful than the Commanders over the same period.
They are in the top third of winning percentage over the made up, narrative-fitting 20 year period. If you want to ding them a bit for not winning a lot of playoff games that's fine, but pretending that teams with far worse winning percentages who make a championship game once a decade are more successful is brain dead stupid.
The Deadskins are 28th in winning percentage over the same period and have won the same amount of playoff games as the Cowboys, so yes they are considerably worse than Dallas over the same period.
 
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trickamsterdam

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They are in the top third of winning percentage over the made up, narrative-fitting 20 year period. If you want to ding them a bit for not winning a lot of playoff games that's fine, but pretending that teams with far worse winning percentages who make a championship game once a decade are more successful is brain dead stupid.
The Deadskins are 28th in winning percentage over the same period and have won the same amount of playoff games as the Cowboys, so yes they are considerably worse than Dallas over the same period.
Despite the fact that you resorted to an ad hominem attack, I won't respond in kind and will merely say that I believe a team like Tampa, thats won a Superbowl, or the Bears who've been to a superbowl & a nfc champ, are more sucessful than the Cowboys over the last 20 years.

I just don't think it matters much if you pad your winning percentage by going 8-8, instead of 6-10.

I also think most ppl agree w/ me, bc the Cowboys have the 6th best (regular season) winning percentage over the last 10 years, and virtually no one on here acts like or believes they've been the 6th most successful franchise.
 

robjay04

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Jags have competed for 2 Championshops since we last did it once. If you're not doing that, regular season wins mean nothing.

I didn’t know Championship games in a weak conference was the goal.

I remember how miserable the 5-11 seasons were. I would definitely take having a chance every season over almost a decade straight of 5-11 or worse.
 
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