# Why hate the Dallas Cowboys so much? **URL:** \ **Category:** The Game Room\ **Created:** [October 22, 2007, 9:18pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-hate-the-dallas-cowboys-so-much/423622 "2007-10-22T21:18:39Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![Bearflag70](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/8e7dd6/32.png) [@Bearflag70](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Bearflag70)\ **Post date:** [October 22, 2007, 9:18pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-hate-the-dallas-cowboys-so-much/423622/1 "2007-10-22T21:18:39Z")
A lot of the hate goes back to the 1970’s, but I was too young to pay attention then. Dallas won a lot in the 1970’s, but so did other teams. Why hate the 1970’s Cowboys? The 80’s Cowboys were pretty good up until about 1987. Why hate the Cowboys then? I think the “America’s Team” thing started in the 80’s. If I’m not mistaken, it’s a self-anointed. I can see where that might ruffle a few feathers, but … venomous hate? I can see hating pushy money bags Jerry Jones and the wins in the 90’s. However, other teams have annoying high profile owners. Just look at … well … ok. So far, I see the following: 1. Winning a lot. But the Packers, Steelers, 49ers, and Patriots are not so hated. 2. Self-proclaimed America’s Team. Annoying, yes. Again, the hate goes back farther than this, and nobody really uses the America’s Team thing anymore. 3. Annoying current owner (but he didn’t come along until 1989). 4. Some Cowboys have had some legal troubles, but so have other teams. The Vikings sex boat thing isn’t lingering anymore. Other NFL players have had similar problems on other teams without drawing so much ire. Is there more to it? When did the hate really begin and why does it persist now? Why do YOU hate the Cowboys? The answer is kinda obvious if you are a fan of another NFC East team, but I don’t think Redskin / Eagle / Giant fans share as much hate for each other as they all do for Dallas. ---
**Author:** ![Enright3](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/enright3/32/2897_2.png) [@Enright3](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Enright3)\ **Post date:** [October 22, 2007, 9:39pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-hate-the-dallas-cowboys-so-much/423622/2 "2007-10-22T21:39:30Z")
[QUOTE=Bearflag70] Why do YOU hate the Cowboys? The answer is kinda obvious if you are a fan of another NFC East team, but I don’t think Redskin / Eagle / Giant fans share as much hate for each other as they all do for Dallas. [/QUOTE] I’m a Cowboys fan and have been all my life. There’s hate for a ton of different reasons. One I hear most frequently is how Jerry Jones handled the dismissal of Tom Landry. Landry is an icon. They could have easily let the spin be that Landry decided to retire. The “America’s Team” pissed off a LOT of people too. It was seen as arrogant. Even though the Dallas Cowboys had nothing to do with that nickname. ---
**Author:** ![jk1245](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/49beb7/32.png) [@jk1245](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/jk1245)\ **Post date:** [October 22, 2007, 9:42pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-hate-the-dallas-cowboys-so-much/423622/3 "2007-10-22T21:42:06Z")
The America’s team thing goes back to the mid 70’s and they still use it (I heard it on their Monday night game vs. Buffalo a couple weeks ago). In addition to what you’ve said, from what I’ve seen, Dallas also has a lot of front runners as fans (similar to the Yankees in baseball). That’s an always irritating trait, though not really the fault of the team. ---
**Author:** ![silenus](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/silenus/32/166_2.png) [@silenus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/silenus)\ **Post date:** [October 22, 2007, 9:45pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-hate-the-dallas-cowboys-so-much/423622/4 "2007-10-22T21:45:06Z")
They’re from Texas. What more do you need to know? ---
**Author:** ![Bearflag70](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/8e7dd6/32.png) [@Bearflag70](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Bearflag70)\ **Post date:** [October 22, 2007, 9:47pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-hate-the-dallas-cowboys-so-much/423622/5 "2007-10-22T21:47:48Z")
[QUOTE=jk1245] The America’s team thing goes back to the mid 70’s and they still use it (I heard it on their Monday night game vs. Buffalo a couple weeks ago). [/QUOTE] OK, but did the Cowboys start that? Also, I realize some folks in the media throw the term around, but the Cowboys themselves don’t use it AFAIK. ---
**Author:** ![Kid\_A\_1](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/ed8c4c/32.png) [@Kid\_A\_1](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Kid_A_1)\ **Post date:** [October 22, 2007, 9:52pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-hate-the-dallas-cowboys-so-much/423622/6 "2007-10-22T21:52:15Z")
I’m 24 years old and a Green Bay Packers fan. I guess I started to really follow football when I was 10 or 11 years old. Once I became a Packers fan, the Cowboys (and 49ers) were standing in their way. In three straight years, (1993-1995), the Cowboys knocked the Packers out of the playoffs. The hate flowed easily from there. Also, I hate Michael Irvin. And my father is a Cowboys fan. And they’re from Texas. ---
**Author:** ![jk1245](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/49beb7/32.png) [@jk1245](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/jk1245)\ **Post date:** [October 22, 2007, 9:57pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-hate-the-dallas-cowboys-so-much/423622/7 "2007-10-22T21:57:07Z")
[QUOTE=Bearflag70] OK, but did the Cowboys start that? Also, I realize some folks in the media throw the term around, but the Cowboys themselves don’t use it AFAIK. [/QUOTE] Yeah, I think NFL films actually came up with that, though Dallas doesn’t actually _discourage_ it. IIRC, one (or more) of their yearly highlight films has used that moniker. ---
**Author:** ![Hal\_Briston](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/h/a9a28c/32.png) [@Hal\_Briston](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Hal_Briston)\ **Post date:** [October 22, 2007, 9:59pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-hate-the-dallas-cowboys-so-much/423622/8 "2007-10-22T21:59:35Z")
From my standpoint, it comes down to two main factors: 1. They’re in the NFC East. 2. They’re not the NY Giants. In summation: Fuck the Dallas Cowboys. Fuck them up their stupid asses. ---
**Author:** ![GargoyleWB](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/gargoylewb/32/199_2.png) [@GargoyleWB](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/GargoyleWB)\ **Post date:** [October 22, 2007, 9:59pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-hate-the-dallas-cowboys-so-much/423622/9 "2007-10-22T21:59:51Z")
It’s that stupid custom pre-snap offensive line bob/shuffle that they did in the 80’s. I still hate them for that. ---
**Author:** ![Snooooopy](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/ee7513/32.png) [@Snooooopy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Snooooopy)\ **Post date:** [October 22, 2007, 10:06pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-hate-the-dallas-cowboys-so-much/423622/10 "2007-10-22T22:06:18Z")
Roger Staubach killed my family. ---
**Author:** ![garygnu](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/garygnu/32/2924_2.png) [@garygnu](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/garygnu)\ **Post date:** [October 22, 2007, 10:17pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-hate-the-dallas-cowboys-so-much/423622/11 "2007-10-22T22:17:21Z")
I’m a 49er fan, so the Cowboys were a conference rival for a long time, so I have an actual reason to root aginst them. The “America’s Team” thing, though, really, really pissed people off, and it still bugs me. (The 49ers aren’t anybody’s rival right now, except for maybe rivalling a block of swiss cheese for number of holes.) ---
**Author:** ![Frank](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/3d9bf3/32.png) [@Frank](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Frank)\ **Post date:** [October 22, 2007, 10:24pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-hate-the-dallas-cowboys-so-much/423622/12 "2007-10-22T22:24:09Z")
Moved from IMHO to CS. ---
**Author:** ![Cowboy8467](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/b5e925/32.png) [@Cowboy8467](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Cowboy8467)\ **Post date:** [October 22, 2007, 10:28pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-hate-the-dallas-cowboys-so-much/423622/13 "2007-10-22T22:28:20Z")
As people have previously said, the Cowboys didn’t come up with the America’s Team nickname, it was coined as the title of their 1978 season highlight film by somebody at NFL films. I am a huge Cowboys fan, and since I live in Washington I mostly hear it from skins fans who are still bitter that we whupped their asses from 98 to about 2005 every year 😉 ---
**Author:** ![Sophistry\_and\_Illusion](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/b3f665/32.png) [@Sophistry\_and\_Illusion](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sophistry_and_Illusion)\ **Post date:** [October 22, 2007, 10:35pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-hate-the-dallas-cowboys-so-much/423622/14 "2007-10-22T22:35:09Z")
I’m from Dallas and so used to be a big fan. But in the mid-90s they started hiring a bunch of pretty boys and assholes, so it became progressively more difficult to wish good things for them. Finally, I just gave up. I don’t watch football much anymore. ---
**Author:** ![Trollhaugen](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/43a26b/32.png) [@Trollhaugen](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Trollhaugen)\ **Post date:** [October 22, 2007, 10:42pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-hate-the-dallas-cowboys-so-much/423622/15 "2007-10-22T22:42:43Z")
For me it is the “America’s Team”. Many have noted that the Cowboys did not come up with that, but their fans embraced it. And when Texans embrace something it gets hated. Like: -Everything is bigger in Texas; and -Don’t mess with Texas. I hate those as well. So basically I hate Texans. Even though half my family lives down there… ---
**Author:** ![Manduck](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/manduck/32/256_2.png) [@Manduck](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Manduck)\ **Post date:** [October 22, 2007, 10:45pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-hate-the-dallas-cowboys-so-much/423622/16 "2007-10-22T22:45:08Z")
[QUOTE=Frank] Moved from IMHO to CS. [/QUOTE] 😕 For me the “America’s Team” stuff was a big part of it. Also, back in the 70’s, they were promoted to hell and back until you were sick of it. There was a TV movie about their _cheerleaders_, for fuck sake. There was a guy in my dorm who worshipped those cheerleaders. I don’t think he even watched football. Also the 70’s Cowboys exemplified the button-down, corporate, suck-the-fun-out-it type of football that I didn’t like. ---
**Author:** ![jayvius](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/9de0a6/32.png) [@jayvius](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/jayvius)\ **Post date:** [October 22, 2007, 10:52pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-hate-the-dallas-cowboys-so-much/423622/17 "2007-10-22T22:52:11Z")
I grew up as a diehard Oiler fan, and part of being an Oiler fan was to hate the Cowboys with every fiber of your being. Irrational? Maybe, but those were the rules 🙂 ---
**Author:** ![MTRG](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/71c47a/32.png) [@MTRG](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/MTRG)\ **Post date:** [October 22, 2007, 10:55pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-hate-the-dallas-cowboys-so-much/423622/18 "2007-10-22T22:55:17Z")
Becuase the Steeler are loved (good guys) And the Cowboys were their nemesis (bad guys) ---
**Author:** ![Hal\_Briston](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/h/a9a28c/32.png) [@Hal\_Briston](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Hal_Briston)\ **Post date:** [October 22, 2007, 11:04pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-hate-the-dallas-cowboys-so-much/423622/19 "2007-10-22T23:04:58Z")
[QUOTE=jayvius] I grew up as a diehard Oiler fan, and part of being an Oiler fan was to hate the Cowboys with every fiber of your being. Irrational? Maybe, but those were the rules 🙂 [/QUOTE] Might I just note that this has to be the longest gap between signing up and first post that I’ve ever seen? ---
**Author:** ![FlightlessBird](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/cdc98d/32.png) [@FlightlessBird](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/FlightlessBird)\ **Post date:** [October 22, 2007, 11:07pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-hate-the-dallas-cowboys-so-much/423622/20 "2007-10-22T23:07:25Z")
According to [wiki](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/History_of_the_Dallas_Cowboys) : > [@](#): > > ``` > * The first NFL team to win 3 Super Bowls in just 4 years. > * The first (and only) NFL team to play in at least 8 Super Bowls. They have a 5-3 record in the Super Bowl, with all three losses by a margin of 4 points or less. > * The first (and only) NFL team to lose a Super Bowl and still have a player selected as the Super Bowl MVP. (Linebacker Chuck Howley, who intercepted two passes and forced a fumble in the game, became the first defensive player to ever win the award.) > * The first team in NFC East history to sweep all of its division opponents (home and away), going 8-0 in 1998 against the Cardinals, Giants, Eagles, and Redskins. > * The first NFL team to feature both the NFL leading rusher (E. Smith) and leading receiver (M. Irvin) in the same season (1991). > * The first (and only) NFL team to post 20 consecutive winning seasons (That's a minimum of 10 wins each season; Dallas did it from 1966-1985). > * The first NFL team to have 24 regular winning seasons. > * The first NFL team to earn 27 post-season appearances. > > ``` I’ll add to it: Least amount of point scored against in a Superbowl (3 by the dolphins in SB VI) (this should stand for a long time) If success creates envy, there’s plenty to be envious of. Go Cowboys! [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-hate-the-dallas-cowboys-so-much/423622.md?page=2)