Serious question about Dallas media

[WoodysGirl]

Explain the media's negativity week after week during the 2007 season, when they went 13-3.

And for all of the talk about the team's win-loss record (which is better than given credit for when you look at the entire NFL and the conference we play in)...it's way too often not about that with the local media.

What other media have you seen where a reporter like Steve Dennis desperately tries to get the head coach to call the team 'a bunch of losers?' And then when the coach doesn't bite, the reporter gets hostile about it? And then claims (see my sig) that he has to be the 'bad guy' on ESPN, but not on other places?

Is this professional wrestling?

How about somebody like Calvin Watkins going after the team for having flight delays only to find out that his entire story was complete nonsense?

How about Rick Gosselin claiming that if we're not under the cap, we can't draft any players?

What about the entire Terrell Owens situation where they claimed he 'tried to commit suicide because he couldn't play for Parcells' only to find out that his publicist stated that he accidentally took too many painkillers (and the 911 call shows that she never mentioned suicide and that he had accidentally overdosed)?

What about the time that at an event some crazy fan kept yelling 'get your ring finger ready!' repeatedly and Wade finally obliged him by saying 'yes, get your ring finger ready' only to have Mac Engel claim that Wade guaranteed a Super Bowl?

Or the claim that in the playoff game against the Giants that Jerry had showed the team tickets reserved for the Super Bowl only to find out that Tom Coughlin made the story up to motivate his team?

Or the times that columnists called, in print, Wade a 'fat idiot.'

Or how Galloway and JFE refused to call Terrell Owens and instead called him 'El Dorado' because they knew he didn't like the name El Dorado?

What does any of that have to do with actual performance or how the organization is ran?

The answer is that it doesn't.

It has become very personal for them and that makes it very unprofessional. And everything they do as reporters/writers/journalists becomes suspect.











YR

Pretty damning list... and I think you forget when Calvin Watkins actually suggested during a PC that he could coach the team better than Wade Phillips.

I believe he was DMN at the time and was suspended for a time after that.

 

[lurkercowboy]

Were you there? Then was nothing like it is now. If you were there, you would know that. Not saying the media was quiet as a mouse. But, now they dream up stuff to be negative about.

Oh yeah I was alive then and following the cowboys and reading the papers. Saw a bunch of that stuff from Virginian pilot and they printed wire stories from other cities that basically trashed the cowboys left and right. Cowboys were a bunch of criminals druggies prima donnas etc according to those stories. Nothing at all like patriot love in recent years. Terrible stuff. Terrible now too but worse because of the media flood these days.

Can't say too much about what the Dallas media was saying back then but national media was brutal. Loved some of the old time few writers like Luska though. They don't make them like that any longer.

 

[TwoDeep3]

Has it always been this way ? I can kind of understand why the national media like ESPN would want to do negative stories on the Cowboys because it makes for good copy. Just seems to me like the local Dallas media will go out of its way to create out of thin air if they have to any negative story they can about the Cowboys regardless of the negative effect it can have on the team.

Its like they LOVE nothing better than to gin some story up and stir the pot until they create a controversy.

As a Cowboys fan that has pretty much been a lifelong resident of Wisconsin this is very strange to me,...just not use to it. Here in Wisconsin its the exact opposite. For the most part everything reported on the Packers up here is all lollypops and rainbows. I swear,....these guys could just about pull ANYTHING and the media would do theyre best to cover it up completely or put a positive spin on it somehow.

But back to my question......Has it ALWAYS been that way down there? Or did it change at some point and time. If so...WHEN?

There was a journalist back in the 60's and I think his last name was Stevens. He was called the poison pen or something. Worked for the Times Herald.

No, this is not just now. it has been this way always.

 

[Reality]

Explain the media's negativity week after week during the 2007 season, when they went 13-3.

And for all of the talk about the team's win-loss record (which is better than given credit for when you look at the entire NFL and the conference we play in)...it's way too often not about that with the local media.

What other media have you seen where a reporter like Steve Dennis desperately tries to get the head coach to call the team 'a bunch of losers?' And then when the coach doesn't bite, the reporter gets hostile about it? And then claims (see my sig) that he has to be the 'bad guy' on ESPN, but not on other places?

Is this professional wrestling?

How about somebody like Calvin Watkins going after the team for having flight delays only to find out that his entire story was complete nonsense?

How about Rick Gosselin claiming that if we're not under the cap, we can't draft any players?

What about the entire Terrell Owens situation where they claimed he 'tried to commit suicide because he couldn't play for Parcells' only to find out that his publicist stated that he accidentally took too many painkillers (and the 911 call shows that she never mentioned suicide and that he had accidentally overdosed)?

What about the time that at an event some crazy fan kept yelling 'get your ring finger ready!' repeatedly and Wade finally obliged him by saying 'yes, get your ring finger ready' only to have Mac Engel claim that Wade guaranteed a Super Bowl?

Or the claim that in the playoff game against the Giants that Jerry had showed the team tickets reserved for the Super Bowl only to find out that Tom Coughlin made the story up to motivate his team?

Or the times that columnists called, in print, Wade a 'fat idiot.'

Or how Galloway and JFE refused to call Terrell Owens and instead called him 'El Dorado' because they knew he didn't like the name El Dorado?

What does any of that have to do with actual performance or how the organization is ran?

The answer is that it doesn't.

It has become very personal for them and that makes it very unprofessional. And everything they do as reporters/writers/journalists becomes suspect.

YR

This was an awesome post! Thank you for posting it!

I think the problem some fans are having is that they cannot stand anything positive to be said about the Cowboys by other fans. Not because they hate the team, but because they feel the only way they can get their solutions implemented with the team is if they can get the entire fan base to think like they do.

The media knows that the loudest voices are usually the angriest fans, so they cater to them, even resorting to creating drama when there is none. This has been my biggest complaint for years about the Dallas media and even national sports media like ESPN and PFT. There's no fallout for occasionally creating so-called "factual" stories that were derived from assumptions and speculation. If a player or coach does that, the media goes after them endlessly for months or longer, but the media has no one beyond a few readers who have limited user reach to call them out about it.

I think every fan can objectively say there are issues with the team. The problem is that there are some fans that are absolutely obsessed with "converting", "fixing", etc. any fan who does not share their anger or hatred of certain aspects of the team. Never mind the fact, that people rarely change their opinions about things when those opinions were formed over several years.

The thing is though that most fans are not that emotionally wrapped up in their favorite teams. Yes, they like them. Yes, they own a lot of their favorite team's gear. Yes, they visit sites like CowboysZone and read NFL news like crazy throughout the day. However, their daily lives are not greatly impacted or reliant on the success of their favorite teams.

Do most fans hate that the Cowboys have been average at best the last 17 years? Absolutely! Should fans be happy about how the team has done in the last 17 years? Absolutely not! The difference is that most fans look at each new season as a chance to right the ship and win a Super Bowl. Are they naive? Maybe, but who would you rather be .. the pessimistic/cynical fan who dwells on the past and is miserable every day of his life or the optimistic fan who looks forward to next season and enjoys life?

/reality

 

[Doomsday101]

This was an awesome post! Thank you for posting it!

I think the problem some fans are having is that they cannot stand anything positive to be said about the Cowboys by other fans. Not because they hate the team, but because they feel the only way they can get their solutions implemented with the team is if they can get the entire fan base to think like they do.

The media knows that the loudest voices are usually the angriest fans, so they cater to them, even resorting to creating drama when there is none. This has been my biggest complaint for years about the Dallas media and even national sports media like ESPN and PFT. There's no fallout for occasionally creating so-called "factual" stories that were derived from assumptions and speculation. If a player or coach does that, the media goes after them endlessly for months or longer, but the media has no one beyond a few readers who have limited user reach to call them out about it.

I think every fan can objectively say there are issues with the team. The problem is that there are some fans that are absolutely obsessed with "converting", "fixing", etc. any fan who does not share their anger or hatred of certain aspects of the team. Never mind the fact, that people rarely change their opinions about things when those opinions were formed over several years.

The thing is though that most fans are not that emotionally wrapped up in their favorite teams. Yes, they like them. Yes, they own a lot of their favorite team's gear. Yes, they visit sites like CowboysZone and read NFL news like crazy throughout the day. However, their daily lives are not greatly impacted or reliant on the success of their favorite teams.

Do most fans hate that the Cowboys have been average at best the last 17 years? Absolutely! Should fans be happy about how the team has done in the last 17 years? Absolutely not! The difference is that most fans look at each new season as a chance to right the ship and win a Super Bowl. Are they naive? Maybe, but who would you rather be .. the pessimistic/cynical fan who dwells on the past and is miserable every day of his life or the optimistic fan who looks forward to next season and enjoys life?

/reality

Very well said.

 

[birdwells1]

Neither of those teams have had the rich history the Cowboys have had and Buffalo and Denver don't have much else to cheer for other than their NFL teams. Buffalo is doing everything they can just to keep the Bills in Buffalo the Bills are all they have. Everyone became spoiled by all the success the Cowboys had throughout the 70's and early 90's and the last 17 years have been the leanest in franchise history.

Everyone from the fans to the local media has become frustrated with the team. When the Cowboys started as an expansion team in 1960 it took them 10 years to reach their first SB. It's been 17 years and counting since their last SB appearance which is the longest SB drought in team history. The Cowboys had more playoff wins their first 11 years in the league than they've had the past 16 years.

The Cowboys haven't made the playoffs in 3 years and as dysfunctional as the team has been under Jason Garrett the Cowboys look like a joke. From what you've seen from the team especially the past 3 years what positives do you expect the Dallas media to come up with? What positives have you seen with the team over the past 3 years? I'm not from Dallas so I don't read what their media writes but I don't know what some of you expect from them with the way the team has looked over the past few years. For the Dallas media to be taken seriously and not look like a bunch of homers they have to be honest and straightforward about the current state of the team.

Their mission isn't to appease FANS like you who complain everytime someone says anything critical about the team. It's hard to build up a team and find positives with the issues the Cowboys have had. I try and find positives but it's difficult to find any with a team that hasn't had a winning season in 3 years and keeps missing the playoffs. It would take a great imagination to come up with a feel good article about the current state of the Cowboys as mediocre as they've been the last 3 years.

Crickets!!!!

 

[dogberry]

Denver has four major league teams.

I live in OKC and the local sports reporters are grateful to have one major team. Plus having the former owner of the local paper also be the lead owner of the team could have an impact on the paper's coverage.

Right now I see the Dallas Cowboys and the New York Jets with the most dysfunctional relationship with their local media in the NFL sub category.

 

[Red Dragon]

It seems that the New York City and Dallas sports media are bizarrely harsh on their own teams. I don't quite understand it.


Other cities are often positive on their own teams.

 

[birdwells1]

Denver has four major league teams.

I live in OKC and the local sports reporters are grateful to have one major team. Plus having the former owner of the local paper also be the lead owner of the team could have an impact on the paper's coverage.

Right now I see the Dallas Cowboys and the New York Jets with the most dysfunctional relationship with their local media in the NFL sub category.

Where would you these two rate in dysfunction as teams?

 

[GimmeTheBall!]

The Steelers and Packers have earned positive press. And the Cowboys have earned the skewering that they receive.

Some homers around here just can't come to terms with it.

Very well put. Does the fanbase expect poetry about 8-8 seasons? c'mon, reality isn't good but we half to live with it.