How Did You Become A Fan?

[GimmeTheBall!]

The public persona may have been that he had no personality. He may have been that way in front of NFL cameras, but I disagree.

In many interviews that I have seen of him I see personality. I saw him speak at a Fellowship of Christian Athletes dinner and he was full of personality. Funny and very engaging.

After the dinner, .. I also got to shake hands with him and talk with him for maybe 90 seconds and he was very personable. I watched him interact with others that night as well.

He was a quiet and reserved man in public, but he had personality. JMO

Well, I am glad you saw the other side to him.

But belief me, he was probably no Shecky Greene.

 

[GimmeTheBall!]

I was just wondering how often I have seen this same thread. LOL

Well, there is nothing wrong with it. Just to remind us of why we come here ever day and why we live and die on NFL Sundays.

I never tire of these. It gift me insights and stuff.

 

[Doc50]

I was raised in Arlington, and 1960 was just about the greatest year ever for a 10yr old kid -- we got both the Dallas Texans and Dallas Cowboys.

I actually liked the Texans better, since they had well-knowns: QB Cotton Davidson (Baylor), RB Abner Haynes (North Texas St), and FB Jack Spikes (TCU). And the coach was a heck of an interesting guy -- Hank Stram. They drafted E. J. Holub for MLB in '61 (Texas Tech), and Jimmy Saxton @ RB (UT). They won the AFL championship in '62 in the first ever double-overtime pro football game, 20-17 vs the Houston Oilers.

The Cowboys (who were originally known as the Steers, then the Rangers by their first draft) did not have any significant recognition, other than their short QB (Eddie LeBaron) and the one they drafted out of SMU, Dandy Don (#17 on your program, but #1 in your heart). Coach Landry was from UT, but not very colorful. And almost everybody beat the crap out of them that first year, 0-11-1.

They gained some momentum and fans after picking Bob Lilly as their #1 in '61, but lost draft pick Holub to the upstart AFL (see above), so I didn't yet think they were legit in Dallas. The next year, besides drafting Sonny Gibbs out of TCU (the only time in the history of the planet that QBs from SMU and TCU have played together), they were still seemingly bush-leaguing it by signing a track guy (Mike Gaechter) from Oregon and a basketball player (Cornell Green) from little Utah St. They still didn't win the D/FW popularity sweepstakes, and still weren't winning.

By the '63 season the Cowboys were the only game in town, and were beginning to look a bit more solid. Gaechter and Green had turned into real good DBs, Howley was making great strides, and Lilly had already become just about the best DT anybody had ever seen. They drafted Lee Roy Jordan, and the defense was looking formidable. Billy Howton had been in the league long enough to get the receiving records from Don Hutson on Sep 29, so that was a big deal; I had officially become a fan (with my other team now in low-life Kansas City).

That sense of fan loyalty and commitment was heightened and solidified after Nov. 22.
We were all looked upon with scorn and anger, is if we had something to do with the end of Camelot. I was only 13, but it wasn't difficult to sense the kind of perception shared about Dallasites by out-of-towners. The team members were routinely chastised when on the road, and Dallas was not a great place to be from. Well, I think everyone at that time decided to pull together, be proud of who we were, and determine our own destiny. If you were here, you know what I mean -- everyone felt a bit of a need to get better, and we therefore developed a sense of civic pride and unity. The Cowboys became much more than a football team; they were our ambassadors, and Landry's class act was exactly the right fit.

It would be more than 30 years before I had any reason to be ashamed of them.

 

[jubal]

Always rooted for the under dog.The Cowboys are almost always the under dog.

 

[Luther]

Ice Bowl.

 

[HappyOnions]

I became a fan in 2002. A lot of the kids in my high school were Giants fans (upstate NY) and many of them I didn't like all that much - cocky, bullies, arrogant, etc. So I decided to become a Dallas fan in hopes that they would be miserable, and I could rejoice in the fact that they were...I believe the Germans call it schadenfreude.

They've been getting the last laugh as of late... although I don't despise them like I did back in school.

 

[WPBCowboysFan]

The public persona may have been that he had no personality. He may have been that way in front of NFL cameras, but I disagree.

In many interviews that I have seen of him I see personality. I saw him speak at a Fellowship of Christian Athletes dinner and he was full of personality. Funny and very engaging.

After the dinner, .. I also got to shake hands with him and talk with him for maybe 90 seconds and he was very personable. I watched him interact with others that night as well.

He was a quiet and reserved man in public, but he had personality. JMO

I too was able to meet and talk to Coach Landry in a similar situation. He had plenty of personality in person. I had a picture taken with him and asked him if he would autograph it if I sent it to him. He said sure and gave me the address to mail it to. One of my prized pieces of sports memorabilia.

 

[Idgit]

I became a fan back when I was still young enough to play Cowboys and Indians. Running around in my boots with a toy revolver one day, I came across a Broncos game. I followed Denver for 3 weeks because of the 'D' and the horse on the helmet, until they happened to play the Cowboys. I still remember being confused by the Star being a symbol for Cowboys when it should have been a symbol for Sheriffs or Rangers. The D and the horse seemed pretty good Cowboys symbols to me at 6 years old, or whatever it was. I switched teams in mid-game because of the name and became a fan for life from there on out. Didn't even entertain the notion of a switch when the Cardinals later came to Phoenix.

 

[RonSpringsdaman20]

small child in a city not named dallas. father bet on the cowboys against the steelers... I didn't know, I just cheered because he cheered... cowboys loss... but the next year I had the cowboys/steelers football board (old school guys remember them?), dorsett pj's, cowboys gloves, hat & jacket..... cried after all 3 championship losses in the 80's...... love at first sight......


PS... i despise the steelers to this day....

 

[RonSpringsdaman20]

I see a lot of people saying they became Cowboy fans because their Dads were Cowboys fans, or that they were born into it.

My Dad must be sorely disappointed in me. He and all of the rest of my family are Steeler fans.

I became a Cowboys fan after I saw Chuck Howley on TV with that gorgeous Blue Star on his helmet, .. because I had met him in person after a WVU Mountaineer game in Morgantown before that.

But I was the only family member wise enough to select the Cowboys.

wow....
they hate you..
I have steeler fans in my family and we argue like cats and dogs, more than the eagles, giants & skins fans in my family.. no one cares about the carolina & raiders fans..
yeah I got family all over..

 

[skinsscalper]

The public persona may have been that he had no personality. He may have been that way in front of NFL cameras, but I disagree.

In many interviews that I have seen of him I see personality. I saw him speak at a Fellowship of Christian Athletes dinner and he was full of personality. Funny and very engaging.

After the dinner, .. I also got to shake hands with him and talk with him for maybe 90 seconds and he was very personable. I watched him interact with others that night as well.

He was a quiet and reserved man in public, but he had personality. JMO

My experience was exactly the same. Met him at a banquet for the Fellowship of Christian Athletes in Casper, Wyoming. He had another engagement that same day (in Colorado, I believe) so as soon as he finished his speech he was headed to the back door. I rushed to the back of the room with my Cowboys cap, thanked him for coming and asked if he would take a moment to sign my hat. His escort tried to rush him out but Coach Landry stopped and signed my hat while I told him a couple of my favorite Cowboys moments to that date. The whole encounter took a grand total of about a minute but I was so grateful and he knew it. I thanked him for his time and he told me "Take care of yourself, young man. God Bless".

Now, I've met several celebrities (most in the music industry but a few actresses/actors) and I've never been starstruck or intimidated. But, I've never been so nervous to meet someone as I was Tom Landry. I watched that guy since I was a pup. He couldn't have been more gracious. and, I agree with the above poster. He was actually a good story teller and had a good sense of humor.

 

[StevenOtero]

I was born, therefore I am.

 

[casmith07]

I was raised in Arlington, and 1960 was just about the greatest year ever for a 10yr old kid -- we got both the Dallas Texans and Dallas Cowboys.

I actually liked the Texans better, since they had well-knowns: QB Cotton Davidson (Baylor), RB Abner Haynes (North Texas St), and FB Jack Spikes (TCU). And the coach was a heck of an interesting guy -- Hank Stram. They drafted E. J. Holub for MLB in '61 (Texas Tech), and Jimmy Saxton @ RB (UT). They won the AFL championship in '62 in the first ever double-overtime pro football game, 20-17 vs the Houston Oilers.

The Cowboys (who were originally known as the Steers, then the Rangers by their first draft) did not have any significant recognition, other than their short QB (Eddie LeBaron) and the one they drafted out of SMU, Dandy Don (#17 on your program, but #1 in your heart). Coach Landry was from UT, but not very colorful. And almost everybody beat the crap out of them that first year, 0-11-1.

They gained some momentum and fans after picking Bob Lilly as their #1 in '61, but lost draft pick Holub to the upstart AFL (see above), so I didn't yet think they were legit in Dallas. The next year, besides drafting Sonny Gibbs out of TCU (the only time in the history of the planet that QBs from SMU and TCU have played together), they were still seemingly bush-leaguing it by signing a track guy (Mike Gaechter) from Oregon and a basketball player (Cornell Green) from little Utah St. They still didn't win the D/FW popularity sweepstakes, and still weren't winning.

By the '63 season the Cowboys were the only game in town, and were beginning to look a bit more solid. Gaechter and Green had turned into real good DBs, Howley was making great strides, and Lilly had already become just about the best DT anybody had ever seen. They drafted Lee Roy Jordan, and the defense was looking formidable. Billy Howton had been in the league long enough to get the receiving records from Don Hutson on Sep 29, so that was a big deal; I had officially become a fan (with my other team now in low-life Kansas City).

That sense of fan loyalty and commitment was heightened and solidified after Nov. 22.
We were all looked upon with scorn and anger, is if we had something to do with the end of Camelot. I was only 13, but it wasn't difficult to sense the kind of perception shared about Dallasites by out-of-towners. The team members were routinely chastised when on the road, and Dallas was not a great place to be from. Well, I think everyone at that time decided to pull together, be proud of who we were, and determine our own destiny. If you were here, you know what I mean -- everyone felt a bit of a need to get better, and we therefore developed a sense of civic pride and unity. The Cowboys became much more than a football team; they were our ambassadors, and Landry's class act was exactly the right fit.

It would be more than 30 years before I had any reason to be ashamed of them.

If only fans today would share the same sentiments that you did in the 1960s.

 

[Lodeus]

I was born, therefore I am.

yup

 

[cajuncocoa]

First, I became a football fan because, when I was 12 years old, my Dad told me I would have to know something about football if I ever expected to have a boyfriend. LOL ... I think he just wanted someone in the house to watch football with!!

So, midway through the 1968 season, the Saints hosted the Dallas Cowboys. My Dad told me the Cowboys were a team that could never win the Big One. At the time, I had a soft spot in my heart for underdogs (plus, I loved their uniforms!) so I started following them (along with the Saints for awhile) and eventually they became my only favorite team -- and a huge part of my life.

 

[JohnnyHopkins]

When I was born on a military base in Germany in 1973, I was wrapped in a Dallas Cowboys blanket. When I was young, my Momo, who lives in a little town in Texas, had a pic of Tom Landry on her wall and unplugged her phone when the Cowboys played. I sat on my Dad's lap and watched Dallas beat Denver in Superbowl XII and I cried in my Momo's kitchen for three straight NFC Championship game defeats at the hands of the Eagles, 49ers and Commanders. There never really was a "how", it just "was".

 

[WV Cowboy]

Well, I am glad you saw the other side to him.

But belief me, he was probably no Shecky Greene.

Nobody was comparing him to Shecky Greene.

 

[Doc50]

BTW, in my previous post I mentioned the initial name selected for the Cowboys was the Steers.

I discovered at a Big Spring High football game just how awkward that can be.
The opposing team yelled, "Steers ain't got no balls - hey, Steers ain't got no balls, hey....."

 

[WV Cowboy]

My experience was exactly the same. Met him at a banquet for the Fellowship of Christian Athletes in Casper, Wyoming. He had another engagement that same day (in Colorado, I believe) so as soon as he finished his speech he was headed to the back door. [/B]

He was in a rush after the banquet when I saw him too. I was actually out in the parking lot, and was close to him as he was going to a limo to go to the airport. He was very gracious and took a moment to talk with a fan.

Now, I've met several celebrities (most in the music industry but a few actresses/actors) and I've never been starstruck or intimidated. But, I've never been so nervous to meet someone as I was Tom Landry.

For some reason, I was very at ease around Coach Landry. I just always figured it was him, and just his Christian demeanor that made him seem approachable.
(but I was right beside Emmitt one time at training camp in Witchita Falls and I was star-struck. Could have reached out and touched him, but couldn't move or say a word, which is odd for me.)

I also got to shake Landry's hand after we lost to the stealers in pittsburgh, .. pretty sure it was during his last season. It was after the game and he was walking from the locker-room to the bus. It was only a quick handshake that time.

 

[GimmeTheBall!]

Nobody was comparing him to Shecky Greene.

Except me and that is all that matter.

Hey you seen Shecky's moovie "My Year of loathing in the Catskills?" it is a treatsie on angst and and humor.
Hey that remind me, you needs humor in your life. I am sending you a book of Shecky's best jokes and a recording of his last roast with Deans Martins, Scatmans Crothers and Frank Finata.