News: Sturm: Why Cowboys Fans Are Victims of Their Own Memories

[WoodysGirl]

Me, too. I also don't think any fans think the last few years have been successful, for just that reason. The question is, how do you go about building a successful team and, ultimately, what's your tolerance for that process.

Idgit, it comes down to how energized do you feel about this team? Change for change sake does no one any good. The change to Romo energized the fan base. Fans were excited about the core and then the bottom fell out in 2008. In 2009, the team rebounded and re-energized the fan base...and then 2010 happened.

I think the fans have been more than tolerant. I also believe fans, in general, want something to grab onto for hope. Right now Dez and Lee are that hope, but that's about it. Little tidbits here and there are not enough to sustain that hope. The fan base is looking for something to re-energize it...either via wins, some modicum of postseason success, or organizational change. But something has to happen to re-energize the fandom.

For example, Case Keenum replaced Matt Schaub in Houston. Team hasn't won any more games with him than they had with Schaub at the helm, but he's re-energized the fan base. Fans need something and right now they're not getting it.

 

[movaughn88]

Same exact feeling here. I don't think being upset with our team stuck in mediocrity for the past 18 years is unreasonable either. The most frustrating thing is our team has no direction!

Well I think you are both actually making his point. I don't think he's criticizing your expectations, in fact he is rationalizing them. But if you have those expectations with nothing else being acceptable, it's hard to enjoy many wins in the season.

Thus, not being happy with a win against Vikings team that you say we should have dominated, when I'm not sure coming into this season anyone should have expected this team to dominate anyone.

 

[Idgit]

I agree with Sturm to a point. In fact, I was discussing this with a couple of friends of mine in trying to explain the difference between Cowboys vs. Commanders fans.

Many Cowboys fans are unhappy when the team wins. There is this big need to always point out how Jerry is bad and will fail. It's one thing when the team loses, but it's another when the team wins. The '07 season made me realize this when the team went 13-3 and in the middle of the *regular season* the media and many of the fans were miserable over it. And the growing sentiment started to be that 'well, they'll get killed by the Patriots in the Super Bowl' and they were giddy over that prospect. Even when the team does win, there are fans that are upset about it because they don't want to admit that they were wrong and they were more or less sheep for the media's lazy nonsense.

Commanders fans can get crapped on by Daniel Snyder every way possible and will be irate during losing. But once they have a glimmer of even perceived success, they start proclaiming that they are going to win the Super Bowl.

It's really a unique dichotomy of two rival fanbases.

Where I disagree with Sturm is that we haven't seen a lot of 13-3 or even 10-6 seasons lately.

I think there's a blend here of past success, Jerry taking over and firing Landry, Jerry's personality, Jerry firing Jimmy and media's desperation in attempting to draw in readers, Web site clicks and viewers that bring all of this to the forefront. A lot of fans aren't really fans of the team. They are just marks for Jerry and the media. They remind me of the pro wrestling fan that says 'this was the worst Pay Per View ever and I'm never going to buy another PPV from Vince McMahon' and then there they are...purchasing Summerslam.

YR

Redsk*ns fans have battered spouse syndrome. Things were good, once, and they got committed. They'll love any positive attention they get, and they'll never leave, but most of the time they're just getting beat up by the current organization.

Cowboys fans are in a long-term marriage where most of the love and affection is gone, but things were outwardly so good and they had so much prosperity that their pride now won't let them leave. They're going through their closets for things to hock to keep up appearances. They are openly jealous of the success of other teams and allow that success to reflect negatively on their own marriage, making things worse. They resent their organization, but there's nowhere for them to go. And, largely, they're unwilling to acknowledge the actual problems and be supportive in any meaningful way because their own resentment won't allow them to do so. The little things are fixable, and it's possible to walk the marriage back to what it once was, but that would require actually dealing with the problems when it's easier just to blame everything on the spouse.

 

[Miller]

I love Sturms writing and work but I disagree here. I disagree because that isn't what we are being sold. Let's start with one premise. 1 playoff win in 16-17 years when parity now rules is horrendous. Only 3 other teams in the league have 1 or 0 playoff wins in that same span. Yet Jerry still sells this team as if it is a championship team yearly. He makes excuses for his action. Also, when you claim to have talent and you can see talent, then 8-8 shouldn't be accepted. That goes on a coach or GM or someone. But there is no accountabilty compared to old regimes. Overall it's frustration built on the idea that Jerry now believes in moral victories vs. excellence. The reality is that if 8-8 wins a division and gets to the playoffs where a loss happens, Jerry sells that as acceptable vs seeing the 8-8 for what it is..mediocre and a bad division. We have a core, a coach and an owner/GM that is one big ball of "meh." What fun is that? One of my favorite teams in almost 40 years of watching is the 1-15 team of 1989. They lost a lot but I saw hustle and hard work from a lot of scrubs. They stayed in games. Guys that were back ups played their tails off. To me it was ground work for bigger things. I have a hard time seeing ground work with Jerry, JG or anything going on now. It is more of a treadmill of the same. Jerry of the 90s and Jerry of now are two different men. Jerry of 90s to early 00s...when things weren't right I knew we would see a little shake up or one was allowed. I think he believed in that mythical "Cowboy Way." Jerry now...."we are fine, that drubbing is no big deal. Ship is on course. Did we sell 1000 tshirts tonight?" I miss old Jerry at times.

 

[OhSnap]

It's quite possible to be optimistic and enjoy watching this team while seeing it's flaws at the same time. No they don't look like a SB contender but I'll be optimistic about it as long as I can this season or any other and I don't have to lower my standards to do it.

 

[Stash]

Idgit, it comes down to how energized do you feel about this team? Change for change sake does no one any good. The change to Romo energized the fan base. Fans were excited about the core and then the bottom fell out in 2008. In 2009, the team rebounded and re-energized the fan base...and then 2010 happened.

I think the fans have been more than tolerant. I also believe fans, in general, want something to grab onto for hope. Right now Dez and Lee are that hope, but that's about it. Little tidbits here and there are not enough to sustain that hope. The fan base is looking for something to re-energize it...either via wins, some modicum of postseason success, or organizational change. But something has to happen to re-energize the fandom.

For example, Case Keenum replaced Matt Schaub in Houston. Team hasn't won any more games with him than they had with Schaub at the helm, but he's re-energized the fan base. Fans need something and right now they're not getting it.

A truly awesome post!

 

[movaughn88]

I think there's a blend here of past success, Jerry taking over and firing Landry, Jerry's personality, Jerry firing Jimmy and media's desperation in attempting to draw in readers, Web site clicks and viewers that bring all of this to the forefront. A lot of fans aren't really fans of the team. They are just marks for Jerry and the media. They remind me of the pro wrestling fan that says 'this was the worst Pay Per View ever and I'm never going to buy another PPV from Vince McMahon' and then there they are...purchasing Summerslam.

YR

I think you are very correct here- it's all rooted in Jerry hate. Which I just don't understand all the teeth-gnashing about. Not because I think he's a good GM - I don't think he really runs the team well. Of course he's not as great a football mind as some other young smart guys out there. But he's been an enormously successful owner who rakes in cash so why should he change? This a sport for entertainment. Your McMahon analogy is spot on. He knows that aspect of the promoting and selling, and nails it every single year. And guess what? He's not going anywhere. So I try to just enjoy his shenanigans and laugh along with him, realizing the game he's playing. Doesn't mean I like the results.

It's like living in the US and loving this country, and raging against the democratic system that keeps bringing in presidents (coaches) that you don't like. Democracy isn't going anywhere, and neither is Jerry.

 

[Idgit]

Idgit, it comes down to how energized do you feel about this team? Change for change sake does no one any good. The change to Romo energized the fan base. Fans were excited about the core and then the bottom fell out in 2008. In 2009, the team rebounded and re-energized the fan base...and then 2010 happened.

I think the fans have been more than tolerant. I also believe fans, in general, want something to grab onto for hope. Right now Dez and Lee are that hope, but that's about it. Little tidbits here and there are not enough to sustain that hope. The fan base is looking for something to re-energize it...either via wins, some modicum of postseason success, or organizational change. But something has to happen to re-energize the fandom.

For example, Case Keenum replaced Matt Schaub in Houston. Team hasn't won any more games with him than they had with Schaub at the helm, but he's re-energized the fan base. Fans need something and right now they're not getting it.

I see it as two, largely unrelated problems. There's definitely an enthusiasm gulf we're going through. I feel that, too, without a doubt. Our key players didn't get it done, and they're at the point in their careers where they're getting worse and not better, and our cap is not in shape for any meaningful change to come. Our key positions are all filled, and nobody wants to see high picks going to replace those positions, but that's the only place where meaningful change can come. You can only get so excited about a top-10 Safety, or a new RG.

On the flip side, the things that are causing us to lose games are not, and have not been, the players in those key positions. We've got very specific holes, we've got a recent history under Garrett of filling them wisely, and we've got more work to do yet, and we're 3 years into the project. It's a long, tough slog that's not fun for anybody. That doesn't mean, though, that we shouldn't go through the slog. Or that bulldozing and rebuilding from the ground up with the same architect is the smart thing to do.

Against that backdrop, though, is the fact that the team really has been a middling team recently. Neither good, nor bad. That sort of performance merits disappointment, I agree. But that's not the same thing as the abject despair we get after close victories around here some weeks. Fans *should* be feeling dissatisfied. It's the extend of the dissatisfaction and the way it's expressed without context of what's going on around the league, and why, that I usually react to, if that makes any sense.

 

[WoodysGirl]

A truly awesome post!

See... occasionally, I can post something you agree with.

 

[Idgit]

A truly awesome post!

It really was.

 

[Stash]

See... occasionally, I can post something you agree with.

And that's why it's awesome!



But, in all seriousness, you summed up many of our frustrations very well. At this point, we need something to believe in and simply don't have it.

Again, very well said.

 

[TheFinisher]

I can't speak for how the older generation of Cowboy fans feel, but a large demographic of today's fans (myself included) were either not alive for those glory years or not old enough to really enjoy it. 2 Decades is an entire generation of fans, and having experienced 1 playoff win within this span of mediocrity is maddening. To today's generation (and I'm talking league wide), the Cowboys are a joke. No one respects the star or cares for what it may have once stood for.

Everyone says how the Jones' won't change until people stop going to games or buying merchandise, but I imagine much of the revenue comes from the older generation. I feel my gen has for the most part become disinterested waiting around their entire lives for this team to turn the corner, definitely not interested enough to spend the money on tickets or apparel.

 

[PA Cowboy Fan]

Blame the fans for the Cowboys poor showing the last 2 decades. Maybe we just want to have the same success that other fans have enjoyed. Right now I'd be happy with a few playoff victories. Outside of Cleveland and Detroit no franchise has had more futility during that time. Even the Cardinals have made a SB. Some of us actually remember when the organization was respected around the league. Maybe we wish we had that again too.

 

[Doomsay]

I like a lot of Sturm's articles, but this is misconceived at best. First of all, the premise that we shouldn't expect more from our organization than say, fans in Buffalo, is comical. Texas is one of the primary football states in the nation from grade school through college and the storied Cowboy organization should be a draw for players and coaches alike, all things being equal.

The other bottom of the barrel organizations that Sturm compares the Cowboys to are primarily located in economically compromised rust-belt cities and don't generally have anything close to the market share or team history that Jerry can tap into.

Since Super Bowl 30, the average number of playoff victories per team has been almost 6, the Cowboys are in the bottom quartile with 2 playoff victories. There are more than 21 teams that have doubled our playoff victory total (including expansion teams) over that period and there are only 5 teams that have fewer playoff wins than the Cowboys do, all of which are located rust belt area cities. The top quartile teams have averaged over 12 playoff wins during the same time span and NE has 10 times the number of playoff wins that the Cowboys do. Ten times! And most teams in this era didn't have anything close to the franchise QB that was essentially gifted to this team as UDFA.

This is not about fans being spoiled, it's about gross negligence in the front office.

 

[visionary]

It's a reasonable expectation for one's team to be at least average in terms of playoff success. The Cowboys are one of only three NFC teams who haven't played in an NFC Championship in 17 years. That's not even average. That's poor.

agreed

there are many posters who long for mediocrity and will be quick to latch onto this article by Sturm as somehow supporting their otherwise indefensible position

 

[Wood]

Sturm keeps coming back to this poor angle on the situation. Does anyone in the right mind feel 1 playoff win in 17 are fans being victim of their own memories? I don't think so. I think is horrible no matter what fans past memories are.

 

[WoodysGirl]

I see it as two, largely unrelated problems. There's definitely an enthusiasm gulf we're going through. I feel that, too, without a doubt. Our key players didn't get it done, and they're at the point in their careers where they're getting worse and not better, and our cap is not in shape for any meaningful change to come. Our key positions are all filled, and nobody wants to see high picks going to replace those positions, but that's the only place where meaningful change can come. You can only get so excited about a top-10 Safety, or a new RG.

Sure you can when it's one of the biggest holes on the team. Folks would love JJ Watt, but are glad to have Tyron Smith. Folks wanted Shariff Floyd, but love T-Fred. Safety is THE biggest hole on the team... They fill it with a top 10 player, that guy better produce or he'll get the side eye like Jenkins and Claiborne. Top picks who have not been Deion-dynamic to date.

On the flip side, the things that are causing us to lose games are not, and have not been, the players in those key positions. We've got very specific holes, we've got a recent history under Garrett of filling them wisely, and we've got more work to do yet, and we're 3 years into the project. It's a long, tough slog that's not fun for anybody. That doesn't mean, though, that we shouldn't go through the slog. Or that bulldozing and rebuilding from the ground up with the same architect is the smart thing to do.

I think this view is all relative. There's rebuilding and then there's the bottom dropping out of a defense for the 2nd straight year is causing the team to lose. Romo & Co. playing HS level offense is causing the team to lose. Injuries cannot be predicted and you can't blame those on Garrett. But if the buck stops somewhere sans Jerry, then it goes on JG's desk.

I can appreciate the job Garrett has done in player acquisition. I actually think that's where excels. However, his on-field job has not been as stellar and that's where he needs to produce.

Against that backdrop, though, is the fact that the team really has been a middling team recently. Neither good, nor bad. That sort of performance merits disappointment, I agree. But that's not the same thing as the abject despair we get after close victories around here some weeks. Fans *should* be feeling dissatisfied. It's the extend of the dissatisfaction and the way it's expressed without context of what's going on around the league, and why, that I usually react to, if that makes any sense.

Well, that's the nature of fans around the league. The extent in which fans on here express themselves is right on par with those around the league. We laugh at Commander fans after a loss and call them delusional or whatever... and CZ to an opposing fan probably provides the same entertainment.

 

[CowboyFan4Eva]

I wanted so bad for JG, Romo, Witten, Ware, etc etc even JJ to Win this year. To win the East dominantly, win a playoff game, and give that second round playoff team all they could handle......

I posted about it and talked up all of them and this team. I said it was different this year. That this team was responding to JG. This is the year. They are moving forward. !!!!! It's working.....

Then I watched the Lions game and then the Saints game......and I realized i was a fan who couldn't look at it objectively......

We are not a good football team. We can't play with the top 5 or 6 teams in the NFC. We get beat , we get "blown out".

It's been one excuse, reason, justification, for 20 years now. ---- I'm done.....I don't beleive anymore. I don't accept the reasons. But I will watch. I know what is going to happen. You all know it too.....last game must win...we lose. We know it, the media knows it, the league knows it, and especially the 24 year old Dallas Cowboys fan knows it. They don't know anything else.

We need a change. "Sell" us something else Jerry......


Watch the boys rip off 6 straight wins.....u never know!!!!!!

 

[Wolfpack]

I enjoyed rooting for the hopeless Dave Campo teams as much as anything. They looked overmatched in many ways but they generally played hard.

The post -tuna teams really haven't felt like they play hard like that. Seems very complacent, mistake prone and without any sort of attitude or killer instinct. Add-in sub-par coaching blunders and a below average GM and you get .500 football. All sizzle no steak. You just know they are going to find a way to play equal to what ever team they play...up or down but no real identity of their own.

 

[birdwells1]

I didn' even read the article, but if Sturm is trying to justify just ll aroun mis-management in this era of free agency, he's got to find other buyers. If Sturm is trying to justify crappy coaching, with better talent then man of the teams across the league, I an't buying.

Is Sturm becoming a sell-out?

I'll sum it up for you, "stop crying at least we're not the Browns".