Reflections from a Middle-Aged Fan

[dallasdave]

Thats the way I feel, I live in Giants country and I have to listen to them tell me to go get a vhs tape to watch our last SB

I would love to tell them to shove it up there ***

Hope you get the chance !!!!

 

[mahoneybill]

If we win tomorrow, the anxiety will really go up to something I hadn't felt since the early 1990's.

Fan since the 60's. For those who are newer to the " clan" this is how it is. Excitement, fear, anxiety, joy.... Normal cycle. Temper it with this, sure beats 8-8 or 4-12 as we are in the hunt, not seeking to see the door knowing we will not get a chance to open it..

 

[robbieruff]

Middle aged?!! I was born in 66 and, to quote the great Doc Holliday - "I'm in my prime"

My emotions actually teeter between two bookends: incredibly excited about this team's future AND anxious to take advantage of our shot when it presents itself.

One thing I think many of us fans over the decades can appreciate is how hard it is to get in this position and seize the moment. I'm sure there were lots of Dolphins fans looking forward to the next 10 years with Dan Marino at the helm when he went to his first Super Bowl. So while I am incredibly bullish about the future based on the character and makeup of this team (particularly when we bolster the defense with more playmakers), I will always have that gnawing feeling of anxiety that we should take advantage when we have the chance and act like there is no tomorrow.

To put these sentiments into a Cowboys' perspective, I think the OP could have been written right before the 2007 season's playoffs and it would have reflected the majority of Boys fans' optimimistic future outlook. But I do believe this version of the team has a culture and mental makeup to indeed seal the deal. I just to want to bank on it to the point of complacency about the present opportunity.

Great topic!

 

[mahoneybill]

Middle aged?!! I was born in 66 and, to quote the great Doc Holliday - "I'm in my prime"

My emotions actually teeter between two bookends: incredibly excited about this team's future AND anxious to take advantage of our shot when it presents itself.

One thing I think many of us fans over the decades can appreciate is how hard it is to get in this position and seize the moment. I'm sure there were lots of Dolphins fans looking forward to the next 10 years with Dan Marino at the helm when he went to his first Super Bowl. So while I am incredibly bullish about the future based on the character and makeup of this team (particularly when we bolster the defense with more playmakers), I will always have that gnawing feeling of anxiety that we should take advantage when we have the chance and act like there is no tomorrow.

To put these sentiments into a Cowboys' perspective, I think the OP could have been written right before the 2007 season's playoffs and it would have reflected the majority of Boys fans' optimimistic future outlook. But I do believe this version of the team has a culture and mental makeup to indeed seal the deal. I just to want to bank on it to the point of complacency about the present opportunity.

Great topic!

Have 20 on you and still get those feelings.... I feel proud of this team and will be pulling for them to go all the way to join the great ones of years gone by who brought sadness, joy, and finally celebrations...

 

[dallasdave]

Fan since the 60's. For those who are newer to the " clan" this is how it is. Excitement, fear, anxiety, joy.... Normal cycle. Temper it with this, sure beats 8-8 or 4-12 as we are in the hunt, not seeking to see the door knowing we will not get a chance to open it..

 

[BlueStar22]

Really? Average life span of a male is 76 years old-- so 40 sure as hell seems like "middle age" to me lol

I plan on living until at least 100.

 

[skinsscalper]

I always felt nervous. During that first NFC title game with SF I had to keep changing the channel. I was nervous in the SB until we started blowing the Bills out and then it became a party. lol That last SB with Pittsburgh I was too nervous to really enjoy the game. If I knew that was going to be our last SB I would have enjoyed it more. Haven't had too much anxiety the last 20 years. Just used to something bad happening.

I was just the opposite in our last Super Bowl. I knew it would be our last one for a while (I never imagined that it would be 20+ years). I was just relieved that we won it.

 

[PA Cowboy Fan]

I was just the opposite in our last Super Bowl. I knew it would be our last one for a while (I never imagined that it would be 20+ years). I was just relieved that we won it.

I had a feeling it was our last one too. Never thought we'd have 3 playoff wins since then.

 

[roughneck266]

I vehemently disagree with some of what you've written.

I completely agree with everything you said about the Cowboys, though.

But you're a decade younger than me. I bristle at you calling yourself middle aged.

Hurt me too. I didnt know I was old yet.

 

[yimyammer]

I never understood the criticism that Jerry got for how he fired Landry. Jerry spent his time going to Austin to meet Landry in person because he didn't want it to play out in the media before he talked to Landry and he didn't want to fired him over the phone. It was a no-win situation for Jerry. People loved Landry and didn't want to see some Hillbilly taking over the team.

Jerry was a big part of the 3 Super Bowl wins, so I've always appreciated him to that. Yes, Jimmy built the team, but Jerry made it possible for him to take risks and have the freedom to operate without the restriction that many teams put on their GMs (Jimmy gave up in Miami because they forced him to keep Marino).

Stephen is basically running the team now, but Jerry still has his input. I'm fairly certain that trading up for Claiborne, drafting Gregory, signing Hardy, drafting Jaylon Smith and other questionable moves were Jerry initiated. We'll see if Jaylon was a good move. Hardy was a low risk from a salary cap perspective. The scouting dept. was completely unprepared when the Rams called Jerry directly to make the Claiborne trade so that' s not all on Jerry himself. I was OK with the Gregory risk. Jerry did make good decisions on the trade down that resulted in getting Fred. Giving Leary a guaranteed contract as UDFA also appeared to be a good Jerry move. I'm fairly certain that giving in to Dez and his contract demands was a Jerry move and the Stephen was going to Franchise him and either get a reason deal or move on. Now they're stuck with the massive contract for guy that does not play like a #1 WR in many games.

I think the direct enabling of players by Jerry has almost ceased at this point. I think Stephen and Garrett work together to prevent it from happening for the most part. He might still be involved in enabling Dez and Gregory to a small extent, but that's about the only players where that might be an issue. During the Wade era, Jerry was directly involved with many players and would overrule Wade. Ratliff is the prime example.

Good stuff, that's pretty much my take as well

 

[cajuncocoa]

Been a Cowboys fan since '68....got to see all the good stuff. I want this badly. It's been too long.