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The following is a true story. The names have no longer been changed to protect the innocent.
[Editor's Note]: Hey all, it's time to welcome another writer to the front page. Just like the team, BTB is adding talent for the 2015 season. Read on to hear from the new writer, who you knew under a previous name. Welcome aboard! [End Note]
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Old Friend, New Writer...
So, for those of you who do not recognize the name, you may know me as The Real Dirk Gently. I am a big fan of Douglas Adams and while many are familiar with his more famous Hitchhikers series, I always found myself drawn to his lesser known hero, Dirk. Dirk Gently is a holistic detective or, as some would have it, a con artist. I saw a lot of me in the stories of this man who was almost always exactly right about everything, but seemed to miss one small detail or have a slight hitch in timing which assured that he would wind up suspect and broke, rather than rich and famous.
Dirk would be among the first to say that Time is a funny thing. We have no reason to believe it has any particular direction or flow and we know for a fact that one second has different values depending on where the observer stands and how fast the observer travels. I am certain, however, that I have been waiting for this opportunity for a great deal of it.
This moment really goes back to February of 1975. Up 'till then I had been largely raised a Rams fan as my father had gone to the same college as their All Pro quarterback, Roman Gabriel. But a new job took my father and our family to Plano, Tx. and one day, at St. Marks' Catholic Church, my father pointed out the Cowboys quarterback a few pews ahead. I had no idea that 1974 had been a disappointing season. A dozen rookies making the team held no significance for me. But watching Roger Staubach go out and lead the team to victory, culminating in The (not "a") Hail Mary against the Vikings pretty much sealed my fandom for good. It's an exaggeration to say that seeing St. Roger and St. John (Center John Fitzgerald also attended there and was much easier to pick out of the crowd) caused me to conflate my Cowboys and my faith, but perhaps not much of one.
I have not been a perfect Cowboys fan. I did not believe in Jimmy Johnson, and basically ignored the 1989 season (I hear I didn't miss much). I have been wrong on other occasions, particularly in my prediction that the 2006 season was done when they let that Romo kid in at halftime of the Giants game. I did, however, witness a good deal of Cowboys history. I saw the Hail Mary, Tony Dorsett's unbreakable record run, and a number of Super Bowl victories on TV, as well as two heartbreaking losses to the 49ers and perhaps the only two moments Tom Landry was ever flustered: "No, Danny! No!" and the announcement of Phil Pozderac as starting quarterback.
In person, I got to see Tommy Loy and Crazy Ray. I watched Tony Hill catch the fade as Roger Staubach threw his last career (regular season) TD pass to beat the Commanders while listening to Charlie Waters scream "you've gotta BELIEVE, Brad!" on the radio. I also got to see Dallas beat the hated Buddy Ryan Eagles en route to their 1992 Super Bowl victory over the Bills in the first and only playoff game I've attended. I was also there for some of the more epic meltdowns with Santana Moss scoring two long TDs to ruin the Triplets' Ring of Honor induction and two of the three longest runs in Texas Stadium history given up to close the stadium down against the Ravens in 2008.
In short (too late), I've generally been there through thick and thin and I wouldn't trade a single minute of it. There's problems a plenty out there, but I know I can always count on the Cowboys to take me away, with much of their history in my memory banks, and much more yet to be written. I cannot express how thrilled I am to be in a position to talk with you all about it.
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