CFZ How I've Come to Peace as a Cowboys Fan

[Shane612]

You clearly haven't been on a game-day thread around here. IT'S SERIOUS AS CANCER!

I hope all the "seriousness" is just for fun....I hope...

 

[T-RO]

I hope all the (game-day-thread) "seriousness" is just for fun....I hope...

Sadomasochism. Whip me some more, my favorite NFL team, please. thank you, mistress.

 

[Hardline]

How I deal with being a Cowboys fan?

Hope for the best.
Expect the worst.

 

[Vinnie2u]

I just look at it as entertainment. As long as I'm entertained, I keep coming back for more. It's not that serious.

 

[Shane612]

How I deal with being a Cowboys fan?

Hope for the best.
Expect the worst.

We usually end up with something in the middle.

 

[Jake]

A few years ago I felt trapped in Cowboys hell. Fed up with Jerry and feeling hopeless the team would ever bring up another Lombardi Trophy.

In the past couple years I cobbled together a "system" that works for me. Gives me more peace and enjoyment as a fan. My plan might seem like nonsense to you. Might not work for you at all.

But here it is:

1 - In addition to my Cowboys wife, I've added mistresses, side dalliances. Yup. The Chargers, the Bills, even an emerging interest in the Lions, who I think could be a fun team on the rise next year. If things are ugly at home....I get out. (I sure don't view this as a good plan for real life family, but feeling loyalty to a sports team? C'mon, thazzz silly.)

2 - I don't watch games live. Do loosely track the game, but don't watch. Depending on how interesting the game looks after it's over I do the following:
-If It's an ugly loss, watch 10 minute highlights that night on YouTube. That's it. Save the full game to watch later in week, when I'm detached.
-If it's a well played loss I sometimes watch most or all the plays that evening on condensed NFL+
-If it's a win watch the full re-broadcast on NFL+...again later that night (night owl here)

3 - Later in the week before bed often re-watch (or watch afresh) chunks of games. Then I'm 100% in analytical mode.

4 - Take it game-by-game and enjoy any win and any player successes. Not hung up on Super Bowls. With 1/32 odds each year, life's too short to get hung up on winning the fan lottery.

I'm not going to expose my emotions to a Roger-Goodell-run league or a Jerry-run team. Just not. One thing certainly does suck with my plan: the annual subscription for NFL+ package.

If any part of my plan adds a little enjoyment to a couple fans here...I'm honored to have assisted.

Whatever happened to just watching the games and accepting the result? It's not nearly this complicated.

 

[T-RO]

Whatever happened to just watching the games and accepting the result? It's not nearly this complicated.

As I said in OP, "My plan might seem like nonsense to you."

But this formula is fine-tuned brilliancy, optimizing pleasure, eliminating pain....the achievement of ultimate football zen nirvana.

Not complicated at all. To summarize:
-Diversify Team Investment (sleep around)
-Delay watching until after outcome is determined
-Doggie bags for mid-week treats
-Day-By-Day (These things I pray) mentality

Risen will now lead us in prayer:

 

[Jake]

As I said in OP, "My plan might seem like nonsense to you."

But this formula is fine-tuned brilliancy, optimizing pleasure, eliminating pain....the achievement of ultimate football zen nirvana.

I like watching games as they happen.

I stopped allowing Jerry to cause me pain after the 2016 season's playoff loss to the Packers. I am so removed now, I bet San Fran and the points in the playoffs because what I thought would happen, happened. Might as well make a little money off it and let Jerry be the fool who's shocked in the aftermath. I wasn't surprised at all. It was a bad matchup.

 

[Buzzbait]

Some NFL aficionados believe a winning season means more wins than losses. Some here believe the season is a complete and total loss for anything less than a Super Bowl. Personally I feel like 10 wins equals a winning season, and then just hopeful for the playoffs or better. But 31 other teams are all vying for that Super Bowl, 1 chance in 32 is not exactly great odds. I always have hopes of a SB championship like everyone else, but as a Cowboys fan I watch every game win, lose, or draw and a winning season is enough to prevent a melt-down.

 

[T-RO]

I like watching games as they happen.

I stopped allowing Jerry to cause me pain after the 2016 season's playoff loss to the Packers. I am so removed now, I bet San Fran and the points in the playoffs because what I thought would happen, happened. Might as well make a little money off it and let Jerry be the fool who's shocked in the aftermath. I wasn't surprised at all. It was a bad matchup.

Me no bet Nothing Nohow.
Serenity Now.

 

[T-RO]

...but as a Cowboys fan I watch every game win, lose, or draw and a winning season is enough to prevent a melt-down.

Just teasing ya, Buzz. Kinda agree.

 

[Flamma]

You know what I do? I've done this since 2007. It helps me get through the NFL season when the Cowboys aren't contenders. I have a bet sheet with friends. Nothing big, 5 and 10 dollar bets on all kinds of props, lines, under overs, you name it. It keeps the season interesting for me. Because many of the games are unwatchable to me without something on the line.

The one thing I will not do, and cannot do, is root for a different team. I despise every team that are not the Cowboys. It's just the level of disgust that is in question.

There is no way for me to feel better after a Cowboys loss. That's never going to happen no matter what I do. But I can make the NFL season in general better when the Cowboys aren't competitive. Because the entire season is better when the Cowboys are. But I will never come to peace with a Cowboys bad season.

 

[Reid1boys]

This is for me only, not to the person that started this thread. What works for him, works for him.

Let me preface this by saying I am a serious sports fan. Not as bad as I was in my 20s, but for me, its serious stuff. My oldest daughter is the all time leader in points scored at her HS in basketball, boy or girl. She would have started on the varsity team around here when she was in the 7th grade. She got that way from me coaching her. She never played a single game of Golf, basketball or softball at the JV or Frosh level. She was a 4 year starter and all conference player and league mvp. She played both college basketball and softball at the d2 level. She tied an NCAA record hitting 4 HRs in a single game..... all of that was because I was her coach from age 1 month....lol
I coached HS and club softball for 20 years, it dominated my life. I am now done coaching. <y point... sports and competition are in my blood. You come over for a barbecue, Im kicking your butt in corn hole. We play clue, I have strategies to kick your arse in that also... my wife wont even play with me.

On Sundays, I wake up, get my coffee, start listening to fantasy radio 2 hours before 10 am west coast kickoff. I watch EVERY game. My emotions go up and down and that is exactly what makes it so great. Little in my life gets me so excited and so upset at the same time...... which is the fun. I used to tell my teams that the games can not only be fun if we win. The closes losses are also fun. The tension at some of our games you could cut with a knife. We knocked out the number 1 team in the state from the HS playoffs in a 1-0 nail biter. Our pitcher collapsed in the dugout after the game because she was emotionally spent... it was freaking AMAZING! But I have also been on the losing end of those types of games.....and it is that emotion that is simply unmatched anywhere else in my life.

So, to hear someone actually say they have started rooting for the Bills, Lions and Chargers is an absolute joke to me. Those teams have won exactly zero titles and have been pathetic for the past 30 years. So you think your heartache rooting for them is going to be all cured? I could not root for another team anymore than I could all of the sudden start dating men. Ot is who I am.

You think the rams or Bengals had any great expectations of winning a SB title last year? Nope, zilch, and then pow, it just happens. It is the journey, it is the excitement all week leading uo to the games, it is the excitement of kickoff. But you only seem to enjoy things when we win. You cant enjoy the wins if you dont know the heartache of the losses.

So for me, I simply cant understand your way of thinking.

My daughter and I are heading to our 4th Cowboys game of this season in Nashville on Dec 29 against the titans. I cant wait.... but maybe I will wait outside and wait till halftime to see if we are winning. If we are kicking their arse, Ill go in. If we are losing, maybe Ill just walk over to the honkey tonk and drown my sorrow? What a ****** way to live.

 

[Flamma]

This is for me only, not to the person that started this thread. What works for him, works for him.

Let me preface this by saying I am a serious sports fan. Not as bad as I was in my 20s, but for me, its serious stuff. My oldest daughter is the all time leader in points scored at her HS in basketball, boy or girl. She would have started on the varsity team around here when she was in the 7th grade. She got that way from me coaching her. She never played a single game of Golf, basketball or softball at the JV or Frosh level. She was a 4 year starter and all conference player and league mvp. She played both college basketball and softball at the d2 level. She tied an NCAA record hitting 4 HRs in a single game..... all of that was because I was her coach from age 1 month....lol
I coached HS and club softball for 20 years, it dominated my life. I am now done coaching. <y point... sports and competition are in my blood. You come over for a barbecue, Im kicking your butt in corn hole. We play clue, I have strategies to kick your arse in that also... my wife wont even play with me.

On Sundays, I wake up, get my coffee, start listening to fantasy radio 2 hours before 10 am west coast kickoff. I watch EVERY game. My emotions go up and down and that is exactly what makes it so great. Little in my life gets me so excited and so upset at the same time...... which is the fun. I used to tell my teams that the games can not only be fun if we win. The closes losses are also fun. The tension at some of our games you could cut with a knife. We knocked out the number 1 team in the state from the HS playoffs in a 1-0 nail biter. Our pitcher collapsed in the dugout after the game because she was emotionally spent... it was freaking AMAZING! But I have also been on the losing end of those types of games.....and it is that emotion that is simply unmatched anywhere else in my life.

So, to hear someone actually say they have started rooting for the Bills, Lions and Chargers is an absolute joke to me. Those teams have won exactly zero titles and have been pathetic for the past 30 years. So you think your heartache rooting for them is going to be all cured? I could not root for another team anymore than I could all of the sudden start dating men. Ot is who I am.

You think the rams or Bengals had any great expectations of winning a SB title last year? Nope, zilch, and then pow, it just happens. It is the journey, it is the excitement all week leading uo to the games, it is the excitement of kickoff. But you only seem to enjoy things when we win. You cant enjoy the wins if you dont know the heartache of the losses.

So for me, I simply cant understand your way of thinking.

My daughter and I are heading to our 4th Cowboys game of this season in Nashville on Dec 29 against the titans. I cant wait.... but maybe I will wait outside and wait till halftime to see if we are winning. If we are kicking their arse, Ill go in. If we are losing, maybe Ill just walk over to the honkey tonk and drown my sorrow? What a ****** way to live.

Great post overall. But one thing you said makes a lot of sense. I highlighted it. That is so true. You're only getting as much enjoyment from the winning as you suffer from the losses. It's like when I was rooting for the Rams to beat the Bengals in the SB. I was happy for Matt Stafford. But I didn't get too much enjoyment out of it because I wasn't invested.

BTW, my 10 year old niece almost took my face off with a softball. This was years ago. She was playing what they considered fast pitch softball at the time. She never got into it in the future. But at that time I was getting her ready for what she was playing. I can pitch a softball a lot faster than a 10 year old girl. Once she starting hitting my pitching, she did well against them.

 

[plasticman]

You don't watch the game, even if you can? That's where you lost me.

You talk of something I know not of.

I watched the game even when I couldn't.

I was watched the game during a wedding. I watched the game in a drunk tank (long story, I won my case), I watched the game while stationed on a remote Radar Station while in the Air Force. I watched the game when I had to work, though not entirely.

If the game is being played and I can find any way. I watch it. I can't not watch it.

Adopt another team while still a Cowboys fan? It's like cheating on your wife. I could never get away with it even if I wanted to. I could never look another Cowboys fan in the eye again. Somehow, they would know.

A Cowboys fan, I believe, should be willing to suffer the defeats if they are willing to celebrate the victories. I have paid for many, many victories by suffering....really suffering........the defeats. It's just part of whole package.

Will I live a shorter life as a result of the pressing anxiety and unrelenting stress? Sure! But, hey, there's still a little time left for a Super Bowl, or two.

 

[DandyDon1722]

I like watching games as they happen.

I stopped allowing Jerry to cause me pain after the 2016 season's playoff loss to the Packers. I am so removed now, I bet San Fran and the points in the playoffs because what I thought would happen, happened. Might as well make a little money off it and let Jerry be the fool who's shocked in the aftermath. I wasn't surprised at all. It was a bad matchup.

I can absolutely relate to you. 2016 was a turning point for me too. Like many, since I was 9 years old after the Ice Bowl I was fanatical, letting losses affect my mood until Wednesdays and loving the euphoria of wins. I bought the gear, and tickets, and travel and everything that came with being a Cowboys fan. I sized other "fans" up to see if they were even close in their knowledge of the team. If they were I would engage them, if not I would simply give them a "go Cowboys" and move on.

But for some reason, the Packers playoff game gashed me, even though I was still optimistic about 2017. We had the QB, the offensive line, the running game and I knew if the defense became just passable we would have a shot.

Then Tony got hurt, Dak came in and I don't know why because I love Dak Prescott the person and leader but I never have had the same passion since. I have come to resent Jerry so much that I just feel he doesn't deserve my fandom any longer. His ultimatum of wanting the credit for winning has sapped the life out of me.

I still watch, I still post, I still wear what I got and I hope we win, but now the Cowboys are part of the NFL Red Zone for me and I'm not in bad moods any longer. Maybe I just got older and finally matured out of my fanaticism for maybe is something deeper and sadder.

Maybe when Jerry's gone I'll feel differently and I get people who don't like or understand how I feel, It's okay,

I'm happy you're hanging in there and I'm glad you have a passion for something in life.. I had a great run and got five Super Bowls out of mine.

 

[Streifenkarl]

I have just stopped buying any Cowboys merchandise. I love wins just as much as the next one, but Jerry won't get any more of my money until he brings home another championship.

Regular season wins are nice but the real season starts in January. All this is just foreplay.

 

[Beast_from_East]

A few years ago I felt trapped in Cowboys hell. Fed up with Jerry and feeling hopeless the team would ever bring up another Lombardi Trophy.

In the past couple years I cobbled together a "system" that works for me. Gives me more peace and enjoyment as a fan. My plan might seem like nonsense to you. Might not work for you at all.

But here it is:

1 - In addition to my Cowboys wife, I've added mistresses, side dalliances. Yup. The Chargers, the Bills, even an emerging interest in the Lions, who I think could be a fun team on the rise next year. If things are ugly at home....I get out. (I sure don't view this as a good plan for real life family, but feeling loyalty to a sports team? C'mon, thazzz silly.)

2 - I don't watch games live. Do loosely track the game, but don't watch. Depending on how interesting the game looks after it's over I do the following:
-If It's an ugly loss, watch 10 minute highlights that night on YouTube. That's it. Save the full game to watch later in week, when I'm detached.
-If it's a well played loss I sometimes watch most or all the plays that evening on condensed NFL+
-If it's a win watch the full re-broadcast on NFL+...again later that night (night owl here)

3 - Later in the week before bed often re-watch (or watch afresh) chunks of games. Then I'm 100% in analytical mode.

4 - Take it game-by-game and enjoy any win and any player successes. Not hung up on Super Bowls. With 1/32 odds each year, life's too short to get hung up on winning the fan lottery.

I'm not going to expose my emotions to a Roger-Goodell-run league or a Jerry-run team. Just not. One thing certainly does suck with my plan: the annual subscription for NFL+ package.

If any part of my plan adds a little enjoyment to a couple fans here...I'm honored to have assisted.

Dam bro, you are taking this stuff way too seriously.

Here is a hint. If you are more upset after a loss than the players on the field are, you need to take a step back and ask yourself why. Why do you care so much if the Cowboys win or lose that it affects your emotional state?

 

[T-RO]

You don't watch the game, even if you can? That's where you lost me.

In a given week I probably watch a lot more of the Cowboys game action than 90% here. Just not live-action. Prefer lots of scrutiny. Looking at players in isolation. After the fact. After any emotions of the outcome are over. I enjoy the chess-aspects of football and the sheer beauty of the athletic achievements. Since I no longer trust the league to not tinker in outcomes, I avoid emotional investment in that.

Also enjoy "hot babes" in other NFL cities, wearing different attire, interesting colors. My Chargers, Bills...maybe Lions. Who knows when a new team hits my hot spots. No, won't divorce my Cowboys, but as we are talking about a silly past-time...a league run by corrupt billionaires...I keep my football relationship open.

Dam bro, you are taking this stuff way too seriously.

Here is a hint. If you are more upset after a loss than the players on the field are, you need to take a step back and ask yourself why. Why do you care so much if the Cowboys win or lose that it affects your emotional state?

My OP, and this whole thread communicates things pretty clearly: On a scale of 1-10 I now take this at about a 4 on the serious scale. After my recalibrations.

When I see all the game-day-thread-jump-out-the-window comments I just laugh. Serenity now.

 

[T-RO]

To provoke a little thought... Who does Wade Phillips cheer for now?

He's coached these teams:
Oilers
Saints
Eagles
Broncos
Bills
Falcons
Chargers
Cowboys
Texans
Rams