The worst thing for me is how there is just this great desire to make the Cowboys the butt of the joke.
As a Yankees fan (born and raised in NY), I get the 'bandwagon jumper' label. I think the difference is that on some level, fans respect the Yankees and respected George Steinbrenner.
I think their anger towards the Yankees is really more of their anger against their favorite baseball team who doesn't spend the money (Steinbrenner was actually one of the league's least wealthy owners, he was just a marketing genius who demanded to buy the very best). I am fully confident that if the Yankee Haters team out-spent the Yankees, they would love every minute of it.
With the Cowboys, there is no respect on any level for Jerry Jones.
And again, a lot of it ties with the media. Particularly ESPN. Anytime something happens, ESPN has to present it as a way to take a shot at the Cowboys. And sports fans jump right in.
As far as the bandwagon part goes, I think the Harris Interactive polls show quite clearly that the Cowboys are one of the least bandwagon teams in the NFL. Meanwhile, they show that the Steelers and Patriots have largely a bandwagon fanbase. It's kind of that nasty truth that nobody wants to acknowledge.
YR