My thoughts on a Cowboys book I'm reading... "Boys Will Be Boys"

[keds]

I can't put this book down... it's a New York Times best seller by Jeff Pearlman... it's about "the glory days and party nights of the Dallas Cowboys Dynasty"... covers mostly the 90s teams...

Lot's of juicy behind the scenes stuff that I found really interesting, like... the story of Irvin's scissor attack on McIver... Jimmy Johnson going nuts on players on a plane flight home after a tough Commanders loss... the crazy, appalling antics of Charles Haley and Irvin among other things...

My conclusion after reading this book is that what's happening with this team now, the controversy between Witten, T.O. and Romo is kindergarten stuff compared to what was going on with the team during the 90s dynasty years...

This book illustrates how there have always been big egos on this team, there's always been infighting, dissension, petty bickering between players and coaches... from Tony Dorsett getting upset at Herschel Walker getting big money and then Emmitt Smith acting the same when Aikman got his big contract... to offensive players turning on offensive coordinator David Shula and forcing his exit... I can go on and on, there's much more...

After reading this book I'm surprised we won 3 Super Bowls. The team could have imploded several times with all of the sleazy, dangerous extra curricular activities players were involved in and the harsh, demeaning, bullying motivational tactics Jimmy Johnson used on the players.

A definite must read...

 

[rysko]

yes agreed thats why all this stuff just makes me laugh... i mean irvin stabbing a guy in the neck had less coverage than t.o. and witten having a confrontation lol its all jokes man

 

[EastDallasCowboy]

the key diffrence though is that all the circus of the '90s cowboys didnt start until after they'd won atleast one super bowl. this team's a circus without even a playoff win.

 

[BHendri5]

the key diffrence though is that all the circus of the '90s cowboys didnt start until after they'd won atleast one super bowl. this team's a circus without even a playoff win.

that is one difference, and I agree with you., BUT, I would say THE biggest difference is how much more the MEDIA coverage is now, it is more than the reporters and their stories in the newspapers, you have the internet, espn, NFLN, the reporters on the news it self, and all these sports talk radio and tv shows.

That is the biggest key, just think how much all those things that happened back then would have been magnified now if those same guys were playing.

T.O., would not even be on the radar.

 

[BHendri5]

Oh, and don't forget about the media fall out in the early 90's, when a lot of hack reporters lost their jobs.

 

[keds]

I didn't realize it until I read this book but Werder has been covering the Cowboys for a long time going back to the early 90s... I'm sure most of the beat writers new all the stuff going on back then but for whatever reasons some of this stuff was suppressed or denied by Cowboys spokespersons...

 

[Thomas82]

I didn't realize it until I read this book but Werder has been covering the Cowboys for a long time going back to the early 90s... I'm sure most of the beat writers new all the stuff going on back then but for whatever reasons some of this stuff was suppressed or denied by Cowboys spokespersons...

Ed Werder has been covering the Cowboys since 1989. BTW, you can actually read the book without buying it on Amazon.com.

 

[tyke1doe]

that is one difference, and I agree with you., BUT, I would say THE biggest difference is how much more the MEDIA coverage is now, it is more than the reporters and their stories in the newspapers, you have the internet, espn, NFLN, the reporters on the news it self, and all these sports talk radio and tv shows.

That is the biggest key, just think how much all those things that happened back then would have been magnified now if those same guys were playing.

T.O., would not even be on the radar.

Great points.

The Internet has taken this stuff to another level. Now, television and newspapers have to compete with the Internet because even if you don't report the "inside" stuff, it's bound to make its way through the world wide web.

That kind of forces traditional media to keep up, unfortunately.

 

[YoungBuck]

That team had leaders that this team doesn't. Irvin was wild, but he was the hardest worker on the team, he set the standard for everyone else to follow, and if other players weren't working hard he would get on them.

Romo/Witten/Ware are hard workers, but they aren't the kind of guys that are going to hold other players accountable and challenge them to be better.

 

[SibannacRex]

Ed Werder has been covering the Cowboys since 1989. BTW, you can actually read the book without buying it on Amazon.com.

How?

 

[Thomas82]

How?

It's called Amazon Online Reader. Go to the thread titled "What changed Jerry's mind?" There is a link to it in there.

 

[keds]

After reading in the book about the McIver scissor incident I can't believe how anyone could call Irvin a leader... he came across to me as a thug... McIver is sitting in a barber's chair getting a haircut. Irvin walks into the room spewing obscenities, orders McIver out of the barber's chair... fight ensues...

 

[Bob Sacamano]

reading "Boys Will Be Boys" makes you hate Skip Bayless even more

and understand why he acts like he does on TV

 

[tyke1doe]

reading "Boys Will Be Boys" makes you hate Skip Bayless even more

and understand why he acts like he does on TV

Why?

What does the book say about him?

 

[Bob Sacamano]

Why?

What does the book say about him?

without getting into too much detail, he stirred up alot of **** when he was a Dallas writer, same thing as he does today

he was then, and still is, an attention-starved, pompous ***

while a Dallas-area writer, he was one of the 1st writers to hire an agent, be on a billboard, negotiate for company car and stock options

 

[RoadRunner]

Why?

What does the book say about him?

Bayless is as much of a hack as your hero Ed Werder. He tried to float a rumor of Troy Aikman being gay. Another rumor has it that Aikman was ready to beat the **** out of him over it, but his lawyers convinced him it wasn't the best idea.

 

[DallasGirl50]

I read the book.

Irvin comes across as being mentally deranged..I guess it was the drugs.

Most of the guys were just low life sex crazed asswipes.

And Troy should have belted Bayless for spreading those rumors.