As Yet Untitled

[jday]

I’m reminded of that scene in just about every action movie where the reluctant hero wipe’s the dust off his old trusty weapon of choice before exacting vengeance on the bad guy(s). It has become a notorious scene in just about every shoot-em-up and/or hack and slash script; you spend an hour and a half not exactly knowing what the hero is capable of…you simply know by his/her reputation developed by the various scrub actors who don a face that say’s simultaneously fear, respect and admiration all in one look as the would-be hero walks by on a mission to put an exclamation mark on another feel-good happy ending story with a thinly-veiled agenda or moral.

Like our aforementioned hero, I now dust off my keyboard (or pen if you prefer a more dated reference)…incidentally, I use compressed air, not a feather duster, but I digress. I don’t require a head band, utility belt, or extra ammunition…just my mind and my opinion on all things Cowboys. It has been awhile since I have put something together (if you consider a week after the draft until now to be “awhile”), much has transpired but even more has not. And most topics have been dissected to death both here in the zone and abroad throughout the various news outlets, rather it be printed or televised.

Even now, I have no idea what the following is going to be about. Predominately, this piece at the moment serves one purpose: killing time because I simply have nothing to do but I’m at work and I am getting paid to look like I am hard at work. As you probably can imagine, I’m really good at my job.

One thing that has occupied my mind here as of late is the occasional accusation towards other zoners that gets thrown out from time to time, “You’re not a real fan!” I hate it. It is ridiculously annoying and is furthermore, a bit misguided. Here’s why: Fan is short for fanatic. Fanatic is defined as:a person filled with excessive and single-minded zeal, especially for an extreme religious or political cause. Therefore, if you are reading this, you are a fan. Only a fan would spend time out of their day, when time is so precious – particularly for those who have children such as myself – to spend time on a site devoted to our favorite team – The Dallas Cowboys.


Having said that, there are different types of fans; below I’ll attempt to describe the various groups:


Fair Weather Fans – These are fans that only watch when their team is good. I have been guilty of this. When Romo went down against the Panthers last season, I barely watched football for the rest of the season. I’d turn it on, but I was not as heavily invested as I have been up to that point from when I began as a kid watching the Triplets of the Dynasty Era. Why, you may ask? Well, when you have a wife and kids you will understand. At some point you will hopefully come to the conclusion that there are better things to do then screaming and cussing at your television to absolutely no avail. No matter how loud you scream or how brilliant what you would do might be, that genius will not find its way to the coaches brain and by extension improve your teams situation. I love football, but when it ceases to be entertaining, sometimes you have to make a life-decision not just for the betterment of your mood, but for the sanity of your family.


Band Wagon Fans – These are the fans that have a winning team year in and year out because they only bother to watch teams that are winning. It is a great system to have if you can pull it off. I simply cannot root for any other team but the Cowboys. That’s just me; I wish I had that flexibility…I’m sure my life would be a lot easier and enjoyable.


Diehard Fans – These are the fans whose team can do no wrong. I’ve also been guilty of this. Years and years of failure-experience cleared that blemish on my intelligence right up. I’m sure many of you can relate, while many of you will remain blissfully ignorant to the fact that every team to their perspective diehards got better than the rest of the league during the offseason and are bound for the Super Bowl. Eventually, especially the hold-overs from the Dyansty Era of the early 90’s, you should figure out that more than just having a great roster goes into winning a Championship. A lot of things have to go just right. A lot of balls have to bounce just right. And a lot of decisions by the organization, coaches and players have to be made just right to snatch a Lombardi from the clutches of 31 other teams…a lot of who also made all the “just right” decisions…which is why luck must also factor into the equation…but once again I ramble and must move on.


Pessimist Fan – We’ve all been there, some more than others. This is the fan who transversely to the Diehard fan, his or her team, coach, owner, gm, scouting department, and/or the organization as a whole can do no right. No matter what for this brand of fan, the team is years away from fielding a competitive team. This fan likes to focus on everything that has gone wrong and completely disregards all the things that went right. For this fan, if his or her team is not playing in Super Bowls, his or her team is a pile of garbage….no way around it; no way to convince them otherwise, so to all you other fans you are much better off just leaving this fan to his or her druthers. Or you can use the ignore feature. I as rule don’t ignore anyone because every now and then even the zoners I am not particularly fond of will offer something of value with their point of view.


Realist Fans – After 38 years (39 in a few shorts months) on this earth and roughly 30 years of watching football, this is the fan I most identify with. This is the fan that simply gets it. He or she understand the fickle nature of the NFL; the ever changing landscape and myriad of ways to skin that Lambardi cat; and, furthermore, takes in consideration the many factors that decide the altitude of a team’s season. It’s a copycat league but that doesn’t mean being a copycat is the best way to return to glory. The Cowboys have found that out the hard way. No, being the innovator, staying a step or two ahead of what the rest of the league is doing is truly the best chance a team will ever get at being great...and even then, they still need the luck, the roster, the coach, and the organization to ultimately get it done. So, if you are a realist, you knew the second that Romo went down in 2015 versus the Panthers that the Cowboys season was over…I knew it and completely lost interest in the remainder of the season. Blast me as a fair weather fan all you like, my free time is precious; I could either be pissed off at the things beyond my control or I could do my best to salvage an otherwise wasted Sunday and try to enjoy my hanger-on family. I choose the latter.


There are also ceiling fans and floor fans, but no need to describe them here.


Thoughts?

 

[Doomsday101]

I'm some where between diehard and realist. Cowboys are my team good times and bad times, I will go into the season with high hopes yet never have I gone into a season expecting a SB. I go into the season expecting to be competitive and with good fortune, an opportunity for a run at the title. I'm also realistic that are odds are not the greatest this coming season and it will take guys playing to a level some have yet to achieve and it will take the star player playing at a high level. When the Cowboys lose it makes for a long week as I wait for the next game but even in some of the worst defeats in team history I have never left the stadium or turned the TV off, I will sit there until the end.

While it makes no difference to some I at least know that when others tuned out or walked out I was there and when they do win I will know that I hung with my boys the entire way

 

[jday]

I'm some where between diehard and realist. Cowboys are my team good times and bad times, I will go into the season with high hopes yet never have I gone into a season expecting a SB. I go into the season expecting to be competitive and with good fortune, an opportunity for a run at the title. I'm also realistic that are odds are not the greatest this coming season and it will take guys playing to a level some have yet to achieve and it will take the star player playing at a high level. When the Cowboys lose it makes for a long week as I wait for the next game but even in some of the worst defeats in team history I have never left the stadium or turned the TV off, I will sit there until the end.

While it makes no difference to some I at least know that when others tuned out or walked out I was there and when they do win I will know that I hung with my boys the entire way

Props to you sir for sticking with them no matter what. I used to be that guy, but because my family cannot tell the difference between me being pissed off at them and me being pissed off at the results of a game, from time to time, for my family sake I have to take a step away. That, and let's face it, rather or not I decide to sit there and stew or find a better use of my time, the results will be what they will be with or without me.

 

[cowboyblue22]

I used to watch them whatever the score or how bad it was in the seventies it was every weekend total cowboys and the nineties also and even through the early 2000s but now its so frustrating I now turn off there games off and do other things its been so long now that they haven't won not a lot of expectations any more.

 

[DFWJC]

I'm some mixture of Die-hard, Realist and Fair-weather

Have never picked Dallas to win it all in the Romo era, nor have I picked them to be terrible---and that has ended up true on both accounts with 13-3 the ceiling and 8-8 the floor.
I've picked the win count range to within 1-2 games of the final tally in all of the years that he's played most of the season.
Those projections have been a low range of 7 to 9 wins and high range of 10-12 wins.

BTW, I see them winning somewhere between 10-12 games this year. Unfortunately, I again don't see a Super Bowl...though it is not extremely far-fetched.

Also, I think you could have a pretty long list of fans on this site that claim to be Realists, but are either Fair weather or Pessimist fans....certainly not realist.
I mean, if every year they say 6-10 an claim to be realist, I'd say they are not that at all. Or lese just wrong all the time.

 

[Doomsday101]

Props to you sir for sticking with them no matter what. I used to be that guy, but because my family cannot tell the difference between me being pissed off at them and me being pissed off at the results of a game, from time to time, for my family sake I have to take a step away. That, and let's face it, rather or not I decide to sit there and stew or find a better use of my time, the results will be what they will be with or without me.

I have learned to control that. I'm down but I don't take it out on them. However I know if I lose my passion for the games taking defeat hard and celebrating wins then it becomes not worth watching.

I don't invest myself in other sports as I do Cowboys football but then at the end of those game it really did not matter who won and who lose. Cowboys matter to me

 

[Jack Burton]

If at all possible, I watch every minute of every game, for good and for bad. I do my best to watch the games in a state of Zen-like Landry calmness. This is quite often impossible though, because the Cowboys are a wacky roller coaster ride that more times than not, ends in a devastating gut punch.

 

[Garrettop]

I didn't watch much of the 5-11 years, and I didn't watch many games after the NYG game with Cassel under center. To agree with jday, it's not a wise use of time to spend 3 hours getting pissed off (when the outcome is all but guaranteed) and then myself and my family having to experience the negativity.

 

[Doomsday101]

I look at it no different than when I play golf on Sat. I know what I expect from myself and when I fail to achieve that then of course I'm upset and mad about it. Still does not mean when I get home I take it out on my family. I am a competitive person but never a bad sport be it as a participant or spectator. I expect much from the Cowboys when they lose I'm upset about it but never to the extent that I take that out on family and friends.

 

[jday]

I'm some mixture of Die-hard, Realist and Fair-weather

Have never picked Dallas to win it all in the Romo era, nor have I picked them to be terrible---and that has ended up true on both accounts with 13-3 the ceiling and 8-8 the floor.
I've picked the win count range to within 1-2 games of the final tally in all of the years that he's played most of the season.
Those projections have been a low range of 7 to 9 wins and high range of 10-12 wins.

BTW, I see them winning somewhere between 10-12 games this year. Unfortunately, I again don't see a Super Bowl...though it is not extremely far-fetched.

Also, I think you could have a pretty long list of fans on this site that claim to be Realists, but are either Fair weather or Pessimist fans....certainly not realist.
I mean, if every year they say 6-10 an claim to be realist, I'd say they are not that at all. Or lese just wrong all the time.

I'm with you JC...I think the Cowboys are on the cusp of a good season. I'm not claiming Super Bowl, either. On the other hand, I wouldn't be all that surprised if they finally made it. Of course, alot of players, particularly on the defensive side of the ball, will have to make a significant jump if that is to become a reality. But still not far-fetched.

 

[jday]

I look at it no different than when I play golf on Sat. I know what I expect from myself and when I fail to achieve that then of course I'm upset and mad about it. Still does not mean when I get home I take it out on my family. I am a competitive person but never a bad sport be it as a participant or spectator. I expect much from the Cowboys when they lose I'm upset about it but never to the extent that I take that out on family and friends.

Therein is the rub. I'm not mean to my family. I'm just in a bad mood. And when I say family I really mean predominately my wife..my kids are still to young to understand the differences in my moods. Anyway, if my wife knows I'm pissed off, she acts like I'm pissed off at her. It's not like I start throwing stuff and/or punching holes in walls...I'm just not my usual happy-go-lucky self...and she takes offense to that.

 

[Section446]

Realist/pessimist.

 

[jday]

Realist/pessimist.

You are a Cowboys fan. I'll allow it.

 

[Idgit]

If we're talking about Zoners specifically, these probably aren't the classifications I'd use. For example, most of the time if a fan is trying to convince you he's a Realist, he isn't. He's a pessimist who doesn't want to own up to pessimism (and there's nothing wrong with pessimism). I'd say almost all of us are die-hards (the exception being a few random trolls and a few random die-hard fans of other teams). Fair weather and bandwagon fans? Not so much around here these days. They'll come back if and when we ever win more.

There are a handful of topics around here most of us agree on and that never really get a lot of debate, probably for that same reason. Jerry Jones is a meddler. Our defense isn't good enough. Those sorts of things. Beyond those few topics, there's a huge array of things to discuss or criticize. People are hopeful or cynical by nature, or more or less willing to give the benefit of the doubt by nature. So a subset of the hopeful-benefit-givers are always going to take the hopeful side of any critical thread. And a handful of cynical-benefit-reservers are going to take the critical side. No matter what the topic. You can see this in particular when we're talking about teams other than the Cowboys. The same people most often considered homers for the Cowboys tend to take the less cynical perspectives when talking about, say, the Eagles or the Browns, or the league in general. And the cynics that see dumpster fires in Dallas tend to see them everyplace else, also (with the notable exception of Philly, for some reason. Philly gets away with consistently doing the stupidest things sometimes and they never really get called on it, and I don't know why).

Anyway, that's my take. And as far as real realists go, I think there are realists on both sides to a more or less equal degree. A lot of our most hopeful fans have very reasonable perspectives overall when it gets down to it. They're just hopeful. There are a bunch of cynical realists here, too, who just happen to be cynical people. And then there is a big group who's cynical because the team hasn't won enough recently who I always suspect would shift over to being the worst sorts of homers if the team were consistently competing for championships again.

 

[big dog cowboy]

Thoughts?

Dallas Cowboys fan. For life.

 

[Dallas_Cowboys50]

I used to be that guy who punched holes in walls after losses and yelled at the tv like a lunatic... But I havent done either since probably 2009...I dunno if I just became de-sensitized to it all or just stopped producing an excessive amount of Testosterone lol....but I still eat, sleep and breathe Cowboys football. (right now is seriously my most hated part of the year) Im kinda the guy who says SB every year (2008 and 2015 Especially), I was so sure we'd win it all in 2008 I got my Cowboys Star Tat before the season, I was gonna add all our SB years plus 2008's to it after we actually won (still to this day, just a lonely Star lol) and of course last year I thought it was for sure, for realsies this time! lmao.....but otoh, before 2014, I thought we were gonna suck hard, like 4-12 at best.....smh.....Im waitin to see how we do injury wise and how we look in TC and pre-season before I proclaim anything for this year, but Im definitely excited about a healthy Romo, Dez, this OL and Zeke......True story, Wife brought home a new kitten a week ago yesterday, 6/21, our other cat she named Zoey, so I said alright, Im namin this one.......Zeke......Zoey and Zeke, and his "nameday" is the 21st, what could be more perfect?.......of course he'll probably be a bust and 5 yrs from now I'll slap myself for namin a cat after him, but hey, its whatevs.....So I dont know what kind of fan I am, I just know that as long as theyre the DALLAS Cowboys and the NFL doesnt become flag football, Im in it til death, just like my marriage.....

 

[Alexander]

If we're talking about Zoners specifically, these probably aren't the classifications I'd use. For example, most of the time if a fan is trying to convince you he's a Realist, he isn't. He's a pessimist who doesn't want to own up to pessimism (and there's nothing wrong with pessimism). I'd say almost all of us are die-hards (the exception being a few random trolls and a few random die-hard fans of other teams). Fair weather and bandwagon fans? Not so much around here these days. They'll come back if and when we ever win more.

There are a handful of topics around here most of us agree on and that never really get a lot of debate, probably for that same reason. Jerry Jones is a meddler. Our defense isn't good enough. Those sorts of things. Beyond those few topics, there's a huge array of things to discuss or criticize. People are hopeful or cynical by nature, or more or less willing to give the benefit of the doubt by nature. So a subset of the hopeful-benefit-givers are always going to take the hopeful side of any critical thread. And a handful of cynical-benefit-reservers are going to take the critical side. No matter what the topic. You can see this in particular when we're talking about teams other than the Cowboys. The same people most often considered homers for the Cowboys tend to take the less cynical perspectives when talking about, say, the Eagles or the Browns, or the league in general. And the cynics that see dumpster fires in Dallas tend to see them everyplace else, also (with the notable exception of Philly, for some reason. Philly gets away with consistently doing the stupidest things sometimes and they never really get called on it, and I don't know why).

Anyway, that's my take. And as far as real realists go, I think there are realists on both sides to a more or less equal degree. A lot of our most hopeful fans have very reasonable perspectives overall when it gets down to it. They're just hopeful. There are a bunch of cynical realists here, too, who just happen to be cynical people. And then there is a big group who's cynical because the team hasn't won enough recently who I always suspect would shift over to being the worst sorts of homers if the team were consistently competing for championships again.

So if the realists are pessimists, who is a realist?

 

[Alexander]

Dallas Cowboys fan. For life.

Most of the people that post on this board are so. Otherwise they would not be here.

 

[Idgit]

So if the realists are pessimists, who is a realist?

The "Realists" are mostly pessimists, yes. The actual realists could have positive or negative dispositions. It depends on the person. It's not like a person's disposition and their ability to be realistic in handicapping a football game or a football season are necessarily correlated.

And of course there are people who are just here for attention and are playing roles pretending to be Realists, but those guys typically get sorted out.

 

[ksadler1]

I used to watch them whatever the score or how bad it was in the seventies it was every weekend total cowboys and the nineties also and even through the early 2000s but now its so frustrating I now turn off there games off and do other things its been so long now that they haven't won not a lot of expectations any more.

I hate to admit it, but that's me too. I use to devote my weekends to Cowboys football. Now I find myself saying "SOS different weekend" far too often. For the first time in my life I felt like watching this team was a waste of time. They are so aggravating and predictable at times and it drives me fricken crazy. With the exception of a couple years, these past 20 years have been brutal. I'll always be a Cowboys fan, but I no longer get my hopes up before every season. I miss the Staubach years. Football was special then. The players cared about the game. Now it's all about the mighty dollar and selfish players.....