Scotman
Well-Known Member
- Messages
- 4,612
- Reaction score
- 6,303
I know that a lot of the fan base is too young to remember what it is like to field a championship team. While I'm sure it varies from fan to fan, I'd like to share what it was like from my perspective. I'll try and relate it to some of the things we still experience
I've seen every championship the Cowboys have ever played in. I've seen virtually every game they've ever played. The championship years felt different. Is the difference in feeling simply hindsight based on the outcome? Possibly. But, even during the regular season those years, you could feel it coming.
You know how it feels winning the off season every year? You get a player you wanted...or a coach. The draft falls just right. The news coming out of practice or camp is exciting. A championship year starts like that. There's a lot of hope. But that feeling doesn't die when the games start. The guys begin to look like you hoped they'd look.
When the games begin, you start to see a lot of the "what-ifs" come to fruition. We still do this...still play the what-if game. What if we can stay healthy? What if so-and-so lives up to his potential? Even more than the what-ifs, you start to accumulate a few surprise contributors along the way. A good example of this was Larry Allen having to step in for an injured Mark Tuinei in his first start. "What if you could replace a great guy like Tui with a hall-of-famer?" That would have been a ridiculous hope before his first start. Tuinei's loss, even if temporary that first time, was met with someone with even greater potential taking his spot.
In a Championship season, the guys stepping up don't just become role-players, they actually help. You get a couple that wow you along the way. Rookies like Darren Woodson show something that hints at greatness even from a back-up position.
More than anything else, in my opinion, is that you begin to develop momentum. As the what-ifs become reality and the good games are followed by good games, you can feel it. The season starts and you don't feel the hope slipping through your fingers...potential being crossed off the list one lackluster play at a time. You don't feel the down-turns or missteps repeating and building. They happen, but they don't slow things down.
As a fan, the sense of urgency slowly becomes promise. You eventually feel like there isn't anything that can get in your way. Even having to go to Candlestick Park and take on an actual dynasty on their home turf feels like destiny. Your best players play their best games. Guys like Staubach, Aikman, Dorsett and Smith on offense make the plays that you know will become highlight reels. Guys like Renfro, Lilly, Woodson and Haley on the defensive side of the ball make the plays that kill the spirit of the opposing team.
Championship years feel like a run-away train ride. There is the raw power of the engines as it leaves the depo. Momentum builds as raw power becomes pure speed. You eventually know that anything that gets in your way is going to be simply pushed aside. And, when you finally hoist that trophy, you know that that was the only way that season could have possibly ended.
THAT is what you have missed the last 25 years.
I've seen every championship the Cowboys have ever played in. I've seen virtually every game they've ever played. The championship years felt different. Is the difference in feeling simply hindsight based on the outcome? Possibly. But, even during the regular season those years, you could feel it coming.
You know how it feels winning the off season every year? You get a player you wanted...or a coach. The draft falls just right. The news coming out of practice or camp is exciting. A championship year starts like that. There's a lot of hope. But that feeling doesn't die when the games start. The guys begin to look like you hoped they'd look.
When the games begin, you start to see a lot of the "what-ifs" come to fruition. We still do this...still play the what-if game. What if we can stay healthy? What if so-and-so lives up to his potential? Even more than the what-ifs, you start to accumulate a few surprise contributors along the way. A good example of this was Larry Allen having to step in for an injured Mark Tuinei in his first start. "What if you could replace a great guy like Tui with a hall-of-famer?" That would have been a ridiculous hope before his first start. Tuinei's loss, even if temporary that first time, was met with someone with even greater potential taking his spot.
In a Championship season, the guys stepping up don't just become role-players, they actually help. You get a couple that wow you along the way. Rookies like Darren Woodson show something that hints at greatness even from a back-up position.
More than anything else, in my opinion, is that you begin to develop momentum. As the what-ifs become reality and the good games are followed by good games, you can feel it. The season starts and you don't feel the hope slipping through your fingers...potential being crossed off the list one lackluster play at a time. You don't feel the down-turns or missteps repeating and building. They happen, but they don't slow things down.
As a fan, the sense of urgency slowly becomes promise. You eventually feel like there isn't anything that can get in your way. Even having to go to Candlestick Park and take on an actual dynasty on their home turf feels like destiny. Your best players play their best games. Guys like Staubach, Aikman, Dorsett and Smith on offense make the plays that you know will become highlight reels. Guys like Renfro, Lilly, Woodson and Haley on the defensive side of the ball make the plays that kill the spirit of the opposing team.
Championship years feel like a run-away train ride. There is the raw power of the engines as it leaves the depo. Momentum builds as raw power becomes pure speed. You eventually know that anything that gets in your way is going to be simply pushed aside. And, when you finally hoist that trophy, you know that that was the only way that season could have possibly ended.
THAT is what you have missed the last 25 years.
