M'Kevon;3689808 said:
Whaaaaaa . . . . *
:thread:
AS if any of what I stated was a lie...Richard Nixon's maneuvers to maintain power included the Watergate Affair. That hit at the fabric of American life, and when Sam Baker, the Senator from Tennessee chaired the ensuing investigation of top level corruptions. He was aided by Sam Irvin on the Senate Committee conducting that investigation.
Then, Senate meetings and the television coverage were continued into the early hours of the morning. For that time, it was unheard of to extend coverage during the late hours of the night.
Dallas as well as much of that Community, was a very dark group of people. With violence and Mob activities trying to gain control of the huge cash flows springing from the oil industry and fall out from that cash cow. My statement that it almost was not safe for a woman on the streets after dark, was NO exageration and was part of the testimony received by that Senate Committee in it's search for all the facts.
At that point in time, the Viet Nam War was very unpopular. Then when John Kennedy was slain along with the Governor of Texas being shot as well, it opened many feelings of frustrations in the public at large. The Minutemen and other groups, such as the Black Panthers challenged for social support as well, in the City of Dallas. Lyndon Johnson, was then left with the chore of getting the US out of Viet Nam as graciously as he could. It literally wore him out as a person and in effect, ended his life accomplishing that task.
And yes, much of the State published articles in Sports Sections of local papers, that attacked the abilities of Tom Landry...those late years of no success. Oh, today, we as fans attempt to focus upon the long run of what, 19 winning seasons. That won't be matched, but the final days of the Landry led franchise, was of disorder, public questioning, financial disaster, and a good deal of chaos.
In an era where human base rights and equality were the cutting edge of social attention and sacrifice, the Cowboys won their advantages the old fashioned way. They earned them by huge personal sacrifice, standing up to demands on the field, and complete team unity and focus.
I remember as a teenager, the Corpus Christi Caller providing AP stories that questioned the then virility of the organization and even the franchise's financial solvency as well. That led to the intervention discussed above, about some 'power magnets' that included a foreign attempt to get a foothold in the US.
The similarity then and now, is that when Jerry seized the team then, it was during extreme social unrest...as the economy is presently. Economics painted the backdrops for both periods of time. Then, Jerry took all that he had accumulated, and with a little help, forged a new team and dynasty from the ashes of the previous team's history.
As time progressed, Jerry bought into the role and responsibility that he had inherited as the current owner of the Dallas Cowboys. He learned, as many adults living through those times, personal commitment, as well as personal responsibility to try and protect the base of high standards and level of play established under Murchison.
The metal attained by Jerry in the heat of that period of time, has driven him even unto today.
Last summer, he received Awards for forging the finished product of the New Stadium in Arlington. He did this also, during a whole collapse of current financial centers and World Wide fear and distrust. Afterwhich, Jerry was successfull in negotiating the creation and execution of a monstrosity of beauty, architecture sophistication, as well as mechanical and telecommunication improvements in the field, as Murchison had accomplished for the 'old' Stadium before him.
Not only that, but he also managed the holding together of that team through the pitfalls and short comings of both Bill Parcells and now of Wade Phillips.
No, Tom Landry will rest peacefully amid the likes of Vince Lombardi...who mutually shared an era of distinction highlighted and fueled by each other. No one attempts to discredit the merits of those accomplishments.
But as to merit also, Jerry has been a strong contributor and not only a perceived distractor of that history.
Yea, eventually, he will be judged on his overall accomplishments, but even here, NO ONE can argue that if not for HIS efforts, the magnitude of achievements within the Dallas Cowboy organization would have fallen far shorter than they are at present. Only the Pittsburgh have a sole Lombardi more than our Cowboys. Jerry achieved, on the level of GM and owner, three of those trophies AND put up a structure that propelled other somewhat similar undertakings in the NFL in a period of time when distrust and financial failure were much stronger than trust. He forced issues, as in many other areas as well, that continued to feed the further development reaching other teams in the league.
You or anyone else can hide behind the cloak of being a 'dumb jock' or someone elses, but Jerry has been a contributor. As such, he has earned my respects as well.
But my inclusions of what life was during that time, wasn't off mark, or stupid. I lived it then...
