In a June 1977 issue of Sport magazine, writer Robert Ward's story quotes Reggie Jackson saying, “(Thurman) Munson thinks he can be the straw that stirs the drink, but he can only stir it bad.”
Jackson denies he said it, Ward stands by his story. The truth? No one will ever know.
But when it comes to the NFL, there is one team that is without question “the straw that stirs the drink.” That's the Dallas Cowboys.
We'll pause for a moment to allow the fan bases of the other 31 teams to scream it out…
Okay, now that they have that out of their system, let me tell you why.
Destination Dallas
Whenever a big-name player is cut, or demands a trade, or becomes a free agent whose the first team mentioned as a destination? The Dallas Cowboys.
Just this year alone we've seen stories – yes, even on this site – bringing players like Dalvin Cook, DeAndre Hopkins, Deion Jones, and most recently, Cordarrelle Patterson to the Cowboys.
Never mind the salary cap hits that make most of those moves suicidal, would all of these players fit on the team? In the pre-salary cap days, these moves might have happened.
Without the cap to keep Jerry Jones in check, the Super Bowl would have turned into an annual “Which AFC will lose to the Cowboys in this year's Super Bowl?” contest.
Yet, despite not even playing in an NFC Championship game in nearly 30 years, the Cowboys remain the topic of conversation. The straw that stirs the drink.
America's Team
Hold up, they're screaming again…
Okay, let's continue now. The moniker “America's Team” wasn't created by anyone directly connected to the Cowboys. But it sure did stick.
Following the 1978 season, Bob Ryan, of NFL Films, was editing the Cowboys 1978 highlight film. He noticed that at every road game you saw the stands filled with Cowboys' fans.
The first game of the 1979 season saw the Cowboys playing the St. Louis Cardinals in the nationally televised game. CBS announcer Pat Summerall used the moniker. “America's Team” was born.
And it has stuck despite the lack of titles. Even the success of teams like the Patriots, Steelers, and 49ers have failed to wrest the title from the Cowboys.
The Chiefs recent run of championships have left the team as nothing more than “the team that used to play in America's Team hometown.”
Judging by the stories whenever a big name player hits the market, none of those teams get mentioned as a destination before Dallas.
Philly Has No Chill
Clearly the worst of the cope and seethers comes from the “City of Brother, We Love To Boo Santa.” Sorry, Mike from Philly, not sorry.
And lest we forget, the Philadelphia Flyers nearly kicked off WW3 during an exhibition hockey game back in 1976. On this day as we celebrate the last good thing to come out of the city of Philadelphia we are left with one conclusion:
Philadelphia, you have no chill.
If there is one fan base that hates the Cowboys more than all the others it is the Eagles. To be fair, if my team was dead last in the division in Super Bowl wins, I'd hate the team that leads the division in that category too.
In addition to the 5-1 lead in wins, the Cowboys have played in eight Super Bowls to the Eagles four. Dallas' three losses are by a combined 11 points, less that a field goal per game.
By contrast, the Eagles lost their first Super Bowl by 17 points alone. They blew a 10-point lead in the second half to a one-legged quarterback last February.
Inferiority Complex
Since the NFL-AFL in 1970, some 53 years, the Cowboys have won the NFC East division 21 times. By contrast, the Eagles have won the division 12 times, followed by Washington (10), New York (8), and St. Louis (2).
In that same span, the Cowboys have won eight NFC Championships and five Super Bowls. Both Washington and New York have five NFC titles. The Giants have four Super Bowl wins, the Redskins have three.
The Eagles? Four NFC championships and one lone Super Bowl win. Dead last in the NFC East in both categories.
Judging by the comments here and on social media, the Cowboys clearly stir the drink across the NFL. With an extra-large straw at that when it comes to Philadelphia.
Happy Independence Day everybody. I've already lit off the fireworks.
