At What Price?

We all want our local sports teams to bring home a championship trophy. I, for one, have not forgotten the thrill of watching our beloved Dallas Cowboys win the Super Bowl. Aikman, Irvin, Smith, Charles Haley, Nate Newton and Darrel Johnson were the gridiron heroes that we rallied behind during the 90's. A generation earlier it was Staubach, Drew Pearson, Tony Dorsett, Too Tall Jones, Randy White and Harvey Martin that we cheered on to victory. We could point, with pride, to the Landry Era and say, not only were our Cowboys winners on the field, but they were, for the most part, winners in life too.

In the 90's, we learned that sometimes the price of victory is too high as we watched that "Star" we all love get tarnished by Irvin's drug and sex scandals. We looked on in dismay, as Nate Newton was arrested, tried, convicted and Jailed for selling drugs. We shook our heads in disgust as "America's Team" mutated into the "Cocaine Cowboys". Even the Head Coach brought shame on the proud tradition when he was "detained" for "forgetting" that he had a gun in his carry-on bag at the airport.

Sales of merchandise fell off, ticket sales slumped and for the first time in over twenty years, there was the possibility that the games would be blacked out here in the "Dallas area" because they did not sell out in time. Finally, the owner got the message. The bad apples were cut, traded or shipped off. We didn't try to sign the problem players just because they could run like the wind or catch the ball. We also started losing a lot, not because of the players that we didn't keep, but because the team had grown old and our drafts were filled with lousy players.

Then the Tuna came to Dallas. Once again we started talking championships. A quarterback was cut because of his drug problems and we all said "Good for you Jerry, you finally understand". Slowly our Cowboys were making the Star shine again. The Tuna started building a team with players that could play and would not tarnish the star. Last year we came close to returning to the playoffs. If our kicker had been up to the standards of the rest of the league, we would have made the playoffs. Unfortunately Mr Jones has gotten impatient.

Our Dallas Cowboys, that shining sports "Star", America's Team has signed the single worst locker room poison to wear a uniform in my lifetime. I have not forgotten what "Mr." Owens did on our Star when he played for the Forty-Niners. Nor have I forgotten that he left San Francisco after smearing their starting QB when things didn't go his way. Last year, I am willing to bet we all shared the smug satisfaction of watching "Mr" Owens destroy the Eagles. I will admit, I did! I can't think of any team, besides the Redskins, that I despise more than the Eagles. Now he is bringing his own brand of poison to our community. I suspect that we will all live to regret this signing.


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