When did the National Media begin to hate the Cowboys?

[tyke1doe]

I don't think the national media hate the Cowboys. They like talking about the Cowboys because the Cowboys fuel ratings and drive clicks. (More as to why later in my post.)

This has always been the case.
I think the general hate from fans of other teams is because of the "America's Team" label - one that the Pittsburgh Steelers rejected (but now they're mad because Tex Schramm had the foresight to appropriate for the Cowboys).

The Cowboys were ALWAYS on television, either on Thanksgiving or the second game of a double header and always in prime time.
Many non-football fans would have to watch the Cowboys games because they were waiting for "60 Minutes" to come on television. And, in time, some of them became Cowboys fans.

So because of national exposure in a time when you had only three dominant networks (ABC, NBC, CBS - and CBS was more popular because the NFC Conference was more popular and better established as the AFC was formed from the old AFL), the Cowboys cultivated a huge following. So ...

The media know that the Cowboys SELL, good or bad. People will tune in to watch them get beat or watch them win. Also, when we have off-the-field issues, they get magnified because of who we are.

If Greg Hardy is playing for the Cleveland Browns, you wouldn't get the same national reaction to his situation that you are because he's a Cowboy. Few would care if he were assigned to the NFL's equivalent to Siberia. But because he's with the Cowboys, the NFL's equivalent to Hollywood, then he's going to attract more attention.

And if you doubt this, do a little experiment in the offseason. Monitor a sports show in the off-season and notice how many times they mention the Cowboys and how much time they devote to a Cowboys-related issue.

It is funny to me that First Take will almost always have something to say about the Cowboys when they talk about football in the offseason.

The Cowboys get attention. Either their fans will call in droves or take to Twitter to dispute something Steve A. Smith says or they will do the same thing en masse if someone praises the Cowboys.

And that's why many in the media will criticize the Cowboys. I think it's more for show, ratings and clicks than it is actual hatred for the Cowboys - though some media folks actually do hate the Cowboys and are more freer to say it because we're living in those days where you can be extra opinionated thanks to social media.

 

[DallasCowboys2080]

I would prefer being a little less exposed and not having the target on our backs each and every game.

We have not won much in 20 years, yet we still fill the primetime schedule because in general the brand is driven as much by animosity as it is fan support.

I would rather have someone else be the overexposed bad guys for a while.

The pressure to play for this franchise is intense. That is not just a perception, it is pretty much a fact if you listen to former players.

i hear ya man. i really do. but unfortunately it's not going to happen. that was over a long time ago. if you want to be a Cowboy fan now or continue to be you have to deal with this new layer to the STAR. if you don't than by all means do whats best for your sanity.
anyways, it's a part of the gig. every team has things you have to deal with as a fan. things that you probably could do away with. granted none are as heavy as what the Cowboys are dealing with. although an argument can be made that Lions fans have to deal with some heavy stuff from another angle (dumpster team for most of the franchise at least since the NFL was the NFL). Cowboys are essentially in a new frontier. Trail blazers, if you will, in this new layer of a franchise. No mans land. No other team and or franchise has been here. Name any team... ANY TEAM... that has been bad to mediocre for 20yrs and still be more exposed and relevant (clicks, ratings, money etc.) than the Cowboys. No one can't. I've decided to embrace it. I would rather do away with somethings but I know its futile. So we've become a team that everyone tunes in to either watch us lose or win. That other teams fans can't wait to watch to see us lose. Fine so be it! We are more important, or just as important, than your team that your attention is diverted to the point you tune in because you care so much about us losing? Whatever power this franchise has claimed on you that you have to go that route so be it! Go Cowboys! I wear that STAR proudly because its a book with many layers and chapters to it. It's a dense book if you care to read it all and not just go by those chapters written by the media or Jerry Jones because there are other chapters and lot more to be written still.

 

[JohnsKey19]

My sense is the mid-90s when Jerry starting making it about him more than the team.

Yeah. i would have to agree with this...

 

[Yakuza Rich]

Observant stuff, but add in the fact that Dallas is an extremely, I mean extremely, media friendly environment. The team encourages it because of the exposure.

About the only time it has changed in the post-Johnson era was with Parcells. He would shut it down because it got in the way of football. The media would just have to take getting boxing stories and ice chewing in his weekly press conferences and like it.

Absolutely.

But, there's a lot of things that the media in general had with Dallas well before Jerry came along.

Take ESPN's 30 for 30 Pony Excess film. You heard from people like Bayless, Dale Hansen, Galloway, etc. brag about how great and talented the writers were in the Dallas metroplex area. Really bragging about how great they were and acting like they almost performed near martyrdom for going after SMU. Yet, they readily admit that Texas and Texas A&M were doing it, but never go into why they never went after Texas and Texas A&M. The real reason why they didn't go after those schools is that they would probably have been ran out of the state of Texas and never gotten a job again in the state. They pick and choose their targets carefully and have an overinflated sense of self worth. And that is when they actually don't make up stories or any other sketchy journalism practices because SMU was indeed cheating.

And all of that doesn't excuse a professional sports writer calling Wade Phillips 'fat' and a '******'. It doesn't excuse them from calling Terrell Owens by his middle name (Eldorado) only. They can make the argument for how they report and interpret stories, but resorting to ad hominem attacks on a player and coach is just inexcusable.

When I used to write my Cowboys blog and did criticize the media, I had a few well know local Dallas media members e-mail me and berate me. But, I also had one that I became good friends with and he told me that the worst kept secret is that Jerry will always give more access to his critics than he will his supporters. So, I think Jerry absolutely plays a part in this, but the seeds were planted long before he became an owner of the team and some actions of the media against the Cowboys cannot be defended.





YR

 

[chicago JK]

Ha. Comical. Dallas has an owner that loves to open his pants and show the world what he has and loves doing it. Publicity good or bad is what he likes. As long as people are talking about Dallas, he is fine.

Also, people have opinions on Dallas. There are very few franchises that capture the same type of attention. If Dallas loses to go 2-6, they are on the first block of SC or national radio with people questioning what is wrong with Dallas. If Dallas wins and goes to 6-2, they are also on the first block with the question of is Dallas a super bowl contender. That doesn't happen to Buffalo, Kansas City, Houston or most of the NFL. Dallas moves the needle. It is not hate or love. People are going to bring strong opinions to the table. It may be for ratings or it just may because Dallas is so visible. I would recommend not getting upset if some media person gives an opinion you may not like or agree with. Sometimes I think the opinions may not hold any traction. Other times, even if I were to disagree with it, I think it may be an interesting take. No need to think everyone hates Dallas. Because that is not the case. I would guess Dallas has more pro friendly media members previously tied to the team than any team in the league.

For a team that has been pretty much a .500 team since their last super bowl, I would argue they have received much more favorable press than they have deserved.

 

[DandyDon1722]

It goes back to the 70s ...7 NFC championship games....5 super bowl appearances....on prime time TV every WEEK...Captain America was QB and we had gods coach. Innovative offense and defenses....using computers to evaluate talent....stealing first round picks to acquire too tall and dorsett. The 1975 draft..... Tex Shramm bringing cheerleaders and a major power in the NFL.

The Hollywood Henderson Era and the name America's Team name incensed the hatred. And just being good year in and year out.....the cowboys were everyone's SB every sunday.

So the hate goes way back....although media wasn't like it is now ...the media still made the cowboys dirt front page...hollywood, Bob hayes, Lance rentzel, Septien, Duane Thomas.

True - and even early 70's. When Pete Gent's book and subsequent movie "North Dallas Forty" came out a mostly very conservative country was shocked. Their sports heros would never act like that (although they all did going back to Ruth and Mantle) and Gent really exposed the underbelly of pro football.

The resentment of being on national television every week and the America's Team moniker also rubbed people the wrong way. Then came Jerry in the 80's and his handling of an American Institution but the real turning point came in the 90's with the advent of Jimmy's team and talk radio. Much like how Rush Limbaugh really injected venom into politics, shock talk radio hated the Cowboys and they had plenty of ammunition with those 90's teams. Guys like Papa Joe Chevalier (a Steelers fan) and Tony Bruno (an Eagles fan) stoked the fires of hate on the Cowboys day in and day out on national broadcasts.

Then a series of former players came onto the television scene who got their *** kicked by us most of their career, guys like Tom Jackson and Ron Jaworski and Marshall Faulk and the internet has taken it over from there. Funny, but if you look at Cowboys who currently have a public forum, Aikman, Moose and Woody, they are all class. Michael Irvin is the one true outlier and homer of all national analysts and good for him because he must take a lot of crap all day long.

There's no turning back now so you better get used to it because every poll that says we're still the most watched and most popular breeds just as much contempt. Obviously what makes it tougher to swallow is not having the championships recently to throw it back.

It'll never be fair - it is what it is and if it bothers you better find a new team because it's never going away.

As Hostile says "Embrace the Hate."

 

[DallasCowboys2080]

There's no turning back now so you better get used to it because every poll that says we're still the most watched and most popular breeds just as much contempt. Obviously what makes it tougher to swallow is not having the championships recently to throw it back.

It'll never be fair - it is what it is and if it bothers you better find a new team because it's never going away.

As Hostile says "Embrace the Hate."

 

[BringBackThatOleTimeBoys]

It was the Kennedy killing...

I don't know when he started the remark, but on more than one Monday Night game, Howard Cozell had the zinger: "Dallas - the city that kills Presidents"

Even for a "tells it like it is" sportscaster that is not at all an umpire, that was below the belt....the Cowboys had nothing to do with the JFK assassination or John Hinkley, this is a potshot at fans and residents of Dallas. It finally caught up when he made a racial slur about a Washington CB.

 

[dcjules]

I was hoping some of our Fans that where around in the early Landry days could give us some perspective on this subject. I've been watching the Cowboys since the early 80's When Danny White was the starting qb and I've never seen the type of hatred towards a Orginazation like I seen over the weekend from the National Media.

Was it always like this with the Cowboys? I remember as a kid some people being bothered by Jerry Jones when he fired Tom Landry and brought Jimmy Johnson in to be the coach but that was about it. When Jerry signed T.O. I definitely started seeing the hate because a lot of the media didn't like T.O.

I was watching ESPN on Sunday and the Greg Hardy stuff had some how become a we hate Jerry Jones and the Dallas Cowboys ##### session. Chris Berman says "You're Americas Team now act like it". ***?It felt like the entire country was rooting for the Cowboys to lose as if Justice was served because of it.

It really feels like there is a deep down jealousy or hatred towards this organization from the National Media. When did it begin?

its called having relevance....plain and simple the Cowboys are the NFL....the #1 sports team ($$$) in the world...we make the BIG headlines, win lose, it doesn't matter....always the lead story, always the biggest game on the calendar etc... This week media piled it on.... maybe MLB will ban Jose Reyes for life after his DV case...Lets look for the 20 minute story this evening from Ms Nix!!!

 

[JoeKing]

Jerry has made it more about him and less about football.

I don't believe that. If it were true he would have drafted JFB and not let Stephen talk him out of it.

 

[Dave_in-NC]

I don't believe that. If it were true he would have drafted JFB and not let Stephen talk him out of it.

Stephens already put Jerry to the wall. Jerry isn't that stupid. Do you think Jerry wanted JF for his superior QBing skills or to keep the circus in town?

 

[JoeKing]

Stephens already put Jerry to the wall. Jerry isn't that stupid. Do you think Jerry wanted JF for his superior QBing skills or to keep the circus in town?

To keep the circus in town of course, but Stephen talked him out of it.

 

[Dave_in-NC]

To keep the circus in town of course, but Stephen talked him out of it.

So it was more about exposer than football for Jerry, right? That's what I said the first time.

 

[JoeKing]

So it was more about exposer than football for Jerry, right? That's what I said the first time.

But he didn't pull the trigger on drafting Johnny so that's the hole in your statement... that's what I said the first time.

 

[Dave_in-NC]

But he didn't pull the trigger on drafting Johnny so that's the hole in your statement... that's what I said the first time.

What ever just do me a favor, put me on ignore. Pretty please.

 

[JoeKing]

What ever just do me a favor, put me on ignore. Pretty please.

lol, you mad bro?

 

[CanadianCowboysFan]

I know someone who hates the Cowboys more than he actually likes any team. He loves the Steelers because they beat the "..." out of us in the 1970s, but forgets we won the SB the last time we played. He loves the Packers and points out when they beat us but of course forgets the 1990s.

Anyway, he loves to whine that the media rams the Cowboys up his *** every week on national tv yet he never fails to watch them when they are on.

 

[Floatyworm]

I was hoping some of our Fans that where around in the early Landry days could give us some perspective on this subject. I've been watching the Cowboys since the early 80's When Danny White was the starting qb and I've never seen the type of hatred towards a Orginazation like I seen over the weekend from the National Media.

Was it always like this with the Cowboys? I remember as a kid some people being bothered by Jerry Jones when he fired Tom Landry and brought Jimmy Johnson in to be the coach but that was about it. When Jerry signed T.O. I definitely started seeing the hate because a lot of the media didn't like T.O.

I was watching ESPN on Sunday and the Greg Hardy stuff had some how become a we hate Jerry Jones and the Dallas Cowboys ##### session. Chris Berman says "You're Americas Team now act like it". ***?It felt like the entire country was rooting for the Cowboys to lose as if Justice was served because of it.

It really feels like there is a deep down jealousy or hatred towards this organization from the National Media. When did it begin?

The day Jerry fired Jimmy...........

The day Jerry fired Tom........

The day Jerry bought the Cowboys...........

Take your pick

 

[PA Cowboy Fan]

The day Jerry fired Jimmy...........

The day Jerry fired Tom........

The day Jerry bought the Cowboys...........

Take your pick

That could be why Cowboy fans hate Jerry. lol

 

[BringBackThatOleTimeBoys]

The things the Cowboys did to win 1966-1985 for a record 20 consecutive winning seasons is what made Jerry want to buy them in 1989.

Then we proceeded to do run things just the opposite...sensible people would expect FAIL, but Jerry somehow expects success.

Just let Stephen or somebody football-wise run things.