Hostile
The Duke
- Messages
- 119,565
- Reaction score
- 4,544
One of the things that is great and at the same time infuriating about the NFL is that it is never easy. Even in the Super Bowl years there have been struggles and nail biting drama. In 1993 when you just knew the Cowboys were going to run away with it, you had Emmitt holding out and the Cowboys starting 0-2. That prompted Charles Haley to throw something at Jerry Jones in the locker room to get his attention. Haley then demanded Jerry quit sititng on his wallet and get Emmitt on the field. He only went on to lead the NFL in rushing and the Cowboys to back to back Super Bowls.
After the dynasty of the early 90s has come the lean years. You feel like the team is on a treadmill sometimes and going nowhere. Sort of like George Jetson walking Astro in the cartoon and the cat jumps on the treadmill so that Astro takes off dragging George along for the ride. The Cowboys sort of do that to us. They chase the cat and get us all off balance and then with the cat jump off the treadmill and watch as we get caught in it and beg for someone to come stop this crazy thing.
When you love something as much as we love the Cowboys, you pour emotion into it. Every emotion across the broad spectrum of them. Over the years I think the Cowboys have caused me to feel elation, relief, disgust, joy, anger, love, hatred, longing, sadness, gladness, and just about any other one you can come up with. I doubt very much I am unique to that broad band of emotions. As I said, we are all emotionally invested.
That is why we are here on this website. It is a place for us to vent, celebrate, laugh, cry, and experience all of those emotions. We make friends, enemies, and hopefully learn stuff along the way. I appreciate the love you folks have for this football team. Even when we do not agree on topics, I always know that you, like me, are emotionally invested in this team.
I am so thankful for the friendships I have made on this forum. There are some that I truly cherish. Like many of you, I lost one of those friends earlier this year when Cbz40 passed away. Without a doubt the hardest thing I have ever had to do on this forum was to pass along the information to the staff here that he had died. We had been worried for so long and he was so private about his illness. I learned so much from Weldon and his passing truly hurts. It hurts worse than the losses by the team, and I think we all know how painful those are.
As thankful as I am for the friendships I have made I regret the enemies I have made. A lot of people take me very seriously on this site. I apologize to any and all of you whom I have offended over the years. Disagreements lead to hard feelings sometimes.
I have enjoyed this site more than most can even imagine. I must have to have hit 75,000 posts with this post. I have treated this site as a hobby. It is addicting. My favorite thing has been researching the History of this team as it relates to the other NFL squads. I do enjoy the banter with all of you as well. You have pushed some of the emotions I listed above, but I am happy to say laughter has been the most common one you have brought me here. I appreciate the trust the members here have in me when we raise money for something.
I would like to say I have always handled every situation here right, but that is not possible. I believe in this site, the way it is run, and the people who volunteer their time to do it. I marvel at times at the abuse they take behind the scenes and never take it personal. This can be evidenced in how many times someone gets a 2nd chance here.
This year's team, and your reactions to them, are going to drive me crazy. There is nothing you can do about it. There's probably nothing the team can do about it other than to suddenly become invincible. I'm glad the seasons are roller coaster rides. It makes the highs higher. Unfortunately it also makes the lows lower. The Internet feeds this and the media stirs it. Back here on this forum we sit here and drink it up. Even the so called realists who talk about not drinking the Koolaid. They drink it. If they didn't, they wouldn't be emotionally invested in the team. They just don't like the flavor and enjoy the reactions their spitting out the Koolaid brings. Meanwhile they swallow some like a fish. Hook, line, and sinker.
As I contemplated what this post would be about, I kept thinking about the article about Joe DeCamillis yesterday. It prompted me to think also about Rich Behm. It is inspiring that instead of wallowing in their misery both of these men have chosen to try and move forward and do the jobs they love. In the early stages of the news of that collapse on May 2nd we all heard that everyone was all right. That the injuries were only minor. Oh how I wish that was true. You read that article and you know that this team could have easily been without this inspiring coach.
That collapse has become kind of symbolic for me. I am glad the team pulled themselves out of that wreckage. I hope the Cowboys do the same and end this decade pulling themselves out of the wreckage of the post Super Bowl dynasty of the early 90's. I don't expect us to win it all. I'm not sure whether we will win in the Post Season or not. I think we will. I actually believe this team has the pieces in place to win the NFC East and face a Wildcard team. With a little luck perhaps we could get a bye in the first round.
Pride will play a role in that. I think this team right now is playing on that emotion most of all. I believe they are tired of the naysayers predicting they will collapse and people like DeCamillis, Behm, and even players like Brooking are constant reminders that you have to keep getting up and swinging for the fences when the pitch comes inside and knocks you down.
I have no illusions about this season. I know it could easily go south again when December arrives. Injuries could again derail us. Penalties and turnovers could come back. When they do I know what to expect. I'm going to get all neurotic again as the roller coaster is down. So will you. You're invested, just like me. We're not exactly alike, but we're really not all that different in the long run.
How 'bout them Cowboys?
After the dynasty of the early 90s has come the lean years. You feel like the team is on a treadmill sometimes and going nowhere. Sort of like George Jetson walking Astro in the cartoon and the cat jumps on the treadmill so that Astro takes off dragging George along for the ride. The Cowboys sort of do that to us. They chase the cat and get us all off balance and then with the cat jump off the treadmill and watch as we get caught in it and beg for someone to come stop this crazy thing.
When you love something as much as we love the Cowboys, you pour emotion into it. Every emotion across the broad spectrum of them. Over the years I think the Cowboys have caused me to feel elation, relief, disgust, joy, anger, love, hatred, longing, sadness, gladness, and just about any other one you can come up with. I doubt very much I am unique to that broad band of emotions. As I said, we are all emotionally invested.
That is why we are here on this website. It is a place for us to vent, celebrate, laugh, cry, and experience all of those emotions. We make friends, enemies, and hopefully learn stuff along the way. I appreciate the love you folks have for this football team. Even when we do not agree on topics, I always know that you, like me, are emotionally invested in this team.
I am so thankful for the friendships I have made on this forum. There are some that I truly cherish. Like many of you, I lost one of those friends earlier this year when Cbz40 passed away. Without a doubt the hardest thing I have ever had to do on this forum was to pass along the information to the staff here that he had died. We had been worried for so long and he was so private about his illness. I learned so much from Weldon and his passing truly hurts. It hurts worse than the losses by the team, and I think we all know how painful those are.
As thankful as I am for the friendships I have made I regret the enemies I have made. A lot of people take me very seriously on this site. I apologize to any and all of you whom I have offended over the years. Disagreements lead to hard feelings sometimes.
I have enjoyed this site more than most can even imagine. I must have to have hit 75,000 posts with this post. I have treated this site as a hobby. It is addicting. My favorite thing has been researching the History of this team as it relates to the other NFL squads. I do enjoy the banter with all of you as well. You have pushed some of the emotions I listed above, but I am happy to say laughter has been the most common one you have brought me here. I appreciate the trust the members here have in me when we raise money for something.
I would like to say I have always handled every situation here right, but that is not possible. I believe in this site, the way it is run, and the people who volunteer their time to do it. I marvel at times at the abuse they take behind the scenes and never take it personal. This can be evidenced in how many times someone gets a 2nd chance here.
This year's team, and your reactions to them, are going to drive me crazy. There is nothing you can do about it. There's probably nothing the team can do about it other than to suddenly become invincible. I'm glad the seasons are roller coaster rides. It makes the highs higher. Unfortunately it also makes the lows lower. The Internet feeds this and the media stirs it. Back here on this forum we sit here and drink it up. Even the so called realists who talk about not drinking the Koolaid. They drink it. If they didn't, they wouldn't be emotionally invested in the team. They just don't like the flavor and enjoy the reactions their spitting out the Koolaid brings. Meanwhile they swallow some like a fish. Hook, line, and sinker.
As I contemplated what this post would be about, I kept thinking about the article about Joe DeCamillis yesterday. It prompted me to think also about Rich Behm. It is inspiring that instead of wallowing in their misery both of these men have chosen to try and move forward and do the jobs they love. In the early stages of the news of that collapse on May 2nd we all heard that everyone was all right. That the injuries were only minor. Oh how I wish that was true. You read that article and you know that this team could have easily been without this inspiring coach.
That collapse has become kind of symbolic for me. I am glad the team pulled themselves out of that wreckage. I hope the Cowboys do the same and end this decade pulling themselves out of the wreckage of the post Super Bowl dynasty of the early 90's. I don't expect us to win it all. I'm not sure whether we will win in the Post Season or not. I think we will. I actually believe this team has the pieces in place to win the NFC East and face a Wildcard team. With a little luck perhaps we could get a bye in the first round.
Pride will play a role in that. I think this team right now is playing on that emotion most of all. I believe they are tired of the naysayers predicting they will collapse and people like DeCamillis, Behm, and even players like Brooking are constant reminders that you have to keep getting up and swinging for the fences when the pitch comes inside and knocks you down.
I have no illusions about this season. I know it could easily go south again when December arrives. Injuries could again derail us. Penalties and turnovers could come back. When they do I know what to expect. I'm going to get all neurotic again as the roller coaster is down. So will you. You're invested, just like me. We're not exactly alike, but we're really not all that different in the long run.
How 'bout them Cowboys?
