Super Bowl XLV: A Visitor’s Handbook to the Dallas/Fort Worth Metroplex

As we inch towards Super Bowl XLV, I felt it would be nice to start a series aimed at those who may coming to the Metroplex for the “big game.” A lot of the articles I have read about Dallas have focused on the usual tourist hot spots–the Sixth Floor Museum, Southfork Ranch, the West End, etc. If those areas interest you, by all means go and enjoy, but I want to give you a guide that will provide you with a little deeper look and allow you to experience Dallas as a native.

First, let’s clear up some of the “geographic confusion.” Inevitably, you will hear people refer to the area as the Metroplex, North Texas or just Dallas. The Super Bowl will be played in Arlington; Fort Worth will host ESPN as well as other festivities and Dallas will feature the NFL Experience and tons of parties. If you want to experience the true Super Bowl experience, you will have to venture outside the Dallas city limits. Over the past few years, it’s become common to refer to the Dallas/Fort Worth metropolitan area as “North Texas,” which is a bit inaccurate considering there are certainly areas much further north in the state. One local sports media personality  has gone so far as to label our land as the “Chicken Fried Nation,” but that too fails to adequately describe the D/FW area. Personally, I prefer the term “Metroplex”.

While we’re at it, let’s clear up some other common misconceptions. First, boots are optional, even though, in the Metroplex, they are permissible even in business formal environments.  Second, we have a lot more to offer in the way of nightlife than gentlemen clubs, as I will attempt to describe in more detail in another post in this series. Finally, you’re going to need something other than a horse to get around. The Metroplex encompasses over 9,000 square miles; D/FW airport alone is larger than the island of Manhattan. This is not a city where you can survive without a car.

With that out the way, let’s get down to business.  First, as you pack for your trip, remember to pack for changing weather conditions. It might be in the 70′s one day and the next you’ll wake up to a foot of snow, so you’ll want to prepare. If you haven’t already booked your trip, a few things to keep in mind. Consider flying into Love Field, as opposed to D/FW. More than likely this means flying with Southwest, but you avoid the hassles of heavily-congested D/FW and you’re just a few minutes from the heart of the city. Even though the Metroplex  is spread out and events will be taking place all over, Dallas is going to be your best bet for a home base. Indeed, the bulk of the posts in this series will begin with the assumption you will be lodging in Dallas during your stay.

So what makes Dallas such a great place for the Super Bowl when compared to more exotic locales like Miami and New Orleans? Everywhere else, it’s just football. Here it is a way of life. It’s not just the Cowboys we love. Yes, they have provided us with many great Super Bowl memories, but Texans, and Dallas-ites specifically, love football on all levels, whether it’s Pee Wee football, the Friday night lights of high school football, the great rivalries on the college level or, of course, the NFL.  You would be hard pressed to find another city in  America where football is ingrained more in the DNA of its citizens than Dallas.Combine that with the greatest stadium the world has ever seen and you’re in store for a once-in-a-lifetime spectacle.

So, come on down. Order yourself up a skillet of sizzling fajitas, get a frozen margarita (invented here) or a cold Shiner Bock beer, and let’s start with a look at your dining options while in the Metroplex.  Just remember, when you “cross that ol’ Red River hoss, Bob Wills is still the king!”

Super Bowl XLV: A Vistor’s Handbook to the Dallas/Fort Worth Metroplex

Part I:  Dining in Dallas

Part II:  Downtown and Beyond

Rules for being a fan…

Last night the Dallas Mavericks recorded their 336 straight sell out. A couple of things made this game stand out from the rest. One, Dirk Nowitzki became the 34th player in NBA history, and the first not to have played college or high school ball in the U.S., to top the 20,000 point mark in his career. But what really made this night stand out was the large size of the crowd for the opposing team. The Los Angeles Lakers were in town and their t-shirt fandom was out in full force.

It goes without saying that 99% of the Lakers fans in attendance last night have never been to L.A. They have no real connection to the team, but they like to be associated with winners, so based on the past success of that franchise they buy the team’s merchandise and tickets to the game when the Lakers swim through Dallas. The Chicago Bulls attracted a similar following in the 1990′s and the New York Yankees, Boston Red Sox, Detroit Red Wings and, yes, my beloved Dallas Cowboys attract similar followings in their respective sports.

While I am a die hard fan of the Cowboys, I grew up in the Dallas area to a family of Cowboys fans. Simply put, I am a Cowboys fan because they are the home town team and I have never turned my back on them, regardless of how tough times might have been. Similarly, I’ve been a Mavs fan my entire life–yes, even during the 90′s when the team was historically pathetic, and while I still haven’t got to celebrate a NBA title, I have had the opportunity to see the Mavs make it to the Finals, win 67 games in a season, see Dirk win the MVP and enjoy one of the most successful decades in NBA history (9 straight 50 + win seasons & 9 straight playoff appearances). With the Rangers, there hasn’t been much payoff for my loyalty, but even those gray skies seem to be clearing up.

It’s impossible for me to fathom rooting against any of the Dallas area teams. When the Lakers come to the AAC or when the Yankees visit the Ballpark, I see thousands of people who live in the same metropolitan area as me turn their back on their hometown teams and I’m left scratching my head, just as I’m sure fans in other cities wonder where all the Cowboys fans come from on Sunday afternoons. Shouldn’t there be some rules to being a fan? I think so…

1.) Live or Lived in the City – You live in Dallas; you root for Dallas teams. You live in Dallas and move to Boston; you can still root for Dallas teams. However, if you are born and live in Philly you should probably root for the Eagles instead of the Cowboys.

2.) Live in market for the franchise – This rule mainly applies to those people who live in areas without professional sports franchises. I grew up in East Texas. Dallas was the nearest city with a professional sports franchise. However, the local sports affiliates carried games for New Orleans, Houston & San Antonio teams in addition to the Dallas franchises. It’s acceptable for someone in this situation to be a fan of any of those teams.

3.) Family Ties – This is similar to rule #1, but allows for generational gaps. Your grandfather moved to Dallas in the 1940′s from Brooklyn. He was a die hard Dodgers fan, raised your father to be the same and your dad raised you the same way. It’s understandable and acceptable for you to be a Dodgers fan.

It is unacceptable to be a fan of a team simply because you like their star player, you like their team colors, or you like the fact that they have won numerous titles.

The Real Reason for the Cowboys’ Struggles

Cowboys fans, including myself, expect “greatness.”

Over the years, we have been spoiled by one of the most successful sports franchises. We are not accustomed to being mediocre and we have a hard time accepting it when that may really be the case. So, we look for excuses.

The coach sucks. The quarterback isn’t serious enough. The owner’s ego gets in the way. We run too much. We throw too much. Etc.

Some of those statements may be true, but none of them address the team’s real issue–talent.  Simply put, the Cowboys are what their record indicates, a slightly better than .500 team.

Depending on how you look at it, this team is in the bottom portion of the top quarter of teams in the league or the top of the second quarter of teams in the league. To expect “greatness” out of this team, as presently constructed, is foolish.

Could another coach get more out of this team? Perhaps, but not much. Even Coach Landry or Jimmy Johnson would have struggled to win 10 or 11 games with this unit and as much as I love those two coaches, neither of them would have won a Super Bowl with this roster.

Even in the watered down version of today’s NFL, depth is vital to a title run. While the starting 11 on both sides of the ball match-up well with the top tier teams, it’s the lack of depth that brings this roster down. No where was this more evident than when DeMarcus Ware suffered his injury and was forced to leave the game. It’s impossible to fully replace Ware, but the gap between starter & backup at outside backer is so extreme on this team that it’s almost impossible to make any sustainable compensation for the loss.

We see this disparity at almost every defensive position. Without a doubt, the biggest difference between the Cowboys and the serious contenders is this disparity.

The good news is that the Cowboys are close enough to the contenders that they can enter the conversation with one good off-season. This begins with compiling a list of your core players to keep and a list of expendable parts and suitable replacements.

Let’s end the debate right now, Tony Romo is a legitimate championship caliber quarterback and Miles Austin and Roy Williams are your #1 & #2 receivers respectfully. It would be nice to add another great receiver through free agency. All is well on the tight end in front, Jason Witten is the best in the league and I’m convinced that Marty B will continue to develop.

On the offensive line, Flozell Adams’ skills as a lineman no longer outweigh the liability of his mental issues–he needs to go. I would recommend turning to free agency to find a suitable replacement and use our first round draft pick to add some depth behind the rest of the line.

In the backfield, I like what Marion Barber and Tashard Choice bring to the table, but I don’t believe either one can handle the load on their own. In spite of his ability to make “big plays,” I have not been that impressed with Felix Jones. Sure, he is fast, but the “big plays” have been few and far between. I think that his stock around the league is still high enough that you could snag a third or fourth round pick away from some unsuspecting team for his services and turn that draft pick into more offensive line depth.

On the defensive side of the ball, the most glaring weakness is at linebacker. When the Cowboys turn in their helmets and shoulder pads at the end of this season, I pray to God we don’t ever see Bobby Carpenter in a Cowboys uniform again. I have yet to hear anyone who covers this team justify his existence on the roster. In an ideal world, I would love to see us use our first round draft pick and get Alabama’s Rolando McClain. However, I doubt he will be around when the Cowboys pick and that’s why I recommended going for offensive line depth. I’m convinced that either in free agency or in the draft, we can find a more capable back-up and nickle backer than Carpenter. I think Brooking, Spencer, James and Ware are more than capable of being part of a championship caliber defense. The same goes for the front three.

In the secondary, depth is the biggest concern. Orlando Scandrick has taken a step back this year and Alan Ball, God love him, just doesn’t have what it takes to play the position at a high level in this league. This is another area I would focus on in the off season.

Finally, Wade Phillips has done about all he can do here. It’s time Jerry showed him to the door and thanked him for his service. On the way walking Phillips out of Valley Ranch, Jerry needs to stop by Jason Garrett’s office and hand him his walking papers as well. He is not the coach this team needs.

If you really want to find a common thread between the recent Cowboys teams that have struggled during the month of December look at the system. The Dallas Cowboys have NEVER won a playoff game playing a 3-4 defense. The fact that this team still uses it is blasphemous. Until they win a playoff game with the 3-4 defense, the possibility of a “3-4 curse” must be considered legitimate. Though it might set the franchise back another year in building towards a legitimate championship threat, I really do think Jerry Jones should consider courting a 4-3 coach and return this franchise to its defensive roots.

Be prepared to be beaten down by the sports media in this town continuing to talk about the “December swoon.” Be prepared to listen to them pour all the blame on Wade Phillips and question the toughness of this team. Be prepared to answer back with, “you know what, this team is playing just about the way they should.”

The TCU/Boise State Problem

For all your BCS related questions, click here.

For the next month, football will dominate water cooler and cocktail chatter. A lot of that talk will center around the BCS games. This year’s slate of BCS bowl games features Ohio State and Oregon in the Rose Bowl, Georgia Tech and Iowa in the Orange Bowl, Florida and Cincinnati in the Sugar Bowl, Boise State and TCU in the Fiesta Bowl and Alabama and Texas squaring off in the BCS National Championship Game. While Alabama and Texas will play for title, the Fiesta Bowl match-up of TCU/Boise State seems to be generating the most discussion.

Both teams enter the game undefeated and ranked in the top 10. The two teams faced each other last season in the Poinsettia Bowl, which turned out to one of the most exciting games of the 2008-2009 season. By all indications, this will be one hell of a game. However, most Fiesta Bowl talk focuses on the controversy rather than the game itself.

Both teams play in non-automatic qualifying conferences and both had much bigger aspirations heading into the BCS selection. As members of the non-automatic qualifying conferences, the knock against both TCU and Boise State is that they lack the strength of schedule of the teams from the six BCS affiliated conferences. Never mind the fact the Boise State posted a dominating victory over Oregon, who plays in BCS bowl game this season, and TCU posted three wins over three top 25 teams.

TCU and Boise argue that they are willing to play any team, any time, any where, but many traditional powers refuse to play them for fear of losing. They felt that the in the BCS they would be afforded the opportunity to play one of the traditional powers, at a neutral site, in a prime-time, made for national television environment.   TCU even had faint hopes that they could be selected to play for the national title, but at worst given a shot to play Florida, Georgia Tech or Iowa. Instead, TCU and Boise State were paired together–two non-automatic qualifiers squaring off in a meaningless game.

It reminds me of jobs where they require you to have experience before applying, but there is no way to get the experience when all the related jobs require experience. For example, in order for an actor to make a living, he or she must be a member of Actors’ Equity Association. Almost all professional theaters in the United States are Equity affiliated and you must be a member of the union in order to perform. In order to join the union, you must have performances in Equity houses under your belt. Of course, there are exceptions to these rules, just like TCU and Boise State are the exceptions in the BCS, but in most cases the rule apply.

In order for schools like TCU and Boise to prove that they are worthy of BCS bids and legitimate national title contenders they need to prove themselves against BCS schools. The BCS denied this opportunity to these two schools out of fear of the BCS affiliated schools being embarrassed by the non-automatic qualifiers.

Some experts feel that TCU and Boise State deserve each other. Colin Cowherd, one of ESPN’s generic radio personalities, made the statement on his Monday program that TCU and Boise State should be happy to just be invited to the BCS, that TCU had “cankles” and didn’t deserve a big time BCS bowl game because they didn’t sell out all of their home games.

This is obviously flawed logic. A team’s fan support is not an indicator of the quality of their program. If we extended this logic to the NFL then the New Orleans Saints and Minnesota Vikings, the top two teams in the NFC, should not be allowed the right to play in the Super Bowl even if they win the NFC. Both the Saints and Vikings are small market teams and have had trouble selling out home games over the years. Indeed, the Vikings feared they would have to blackout home games this season until they signed Brett Favre.

The BCS fears schools like TCU and Boise State having success, because the more success these programs have, the more irrelevant the BCS becomes.

Thank you Cowboys fans!

You’ll recall that last week I urged all Dallas Cowboys fans to rush over to the website for the Fox affiliate in Shreveport to vote in a poll asking which NFL game they should show on Sunday. As mentioned, the Shreveport media market contains parts of Northeast Texas and Southwest Arkansas, which is solid Cowboys country. There was the thought the  Saints fans might be able to cast enough votes to get their game shown instead.

I’m happy to announce that the Cowboys game won and now our East Texas, Southwest Arkansas and Northwest Louisiana fan bases will get to the Cowboys/Redskins game on Sunday.

Just another reminder of the greatness of our fan base! Thanks to all the Cowboys fans who went to the website and voted.

Top 5 Sports Moments from Weekend

I realize that I’ve been on a top 5 kick lately, but it’s just the mood I’m in. Let’s keep it rolling with the Top 5 moments from a busy sports weekend:

1.) SMU Becomes Bowl Eligible – For whatever reason, I’ve been a SMU fan from my earliest days. I have never attended school there and they haven’t had the on field success that elicits t-shirt fans, but I’m a fan of the Pony Express. I went to several SMU games as a kid, pre-death penalty, and I was at the first post-death penalty game, a win over UConn. To see this team rise from the depths, become bowl eligible and sit in the driver seats for the Conference USA title is great indeed.

2.) TCU Sends a Message – There are two legitimate national title contenders in Texas–the one in Austin everyone expected and then the one in Fort Worth that’s been battling for national respect for a decade.  While it will still take a miracle for TCU to earn a spot in the BCS National Championship Game, if they run the table and win their BCS bowl game they will provide yet another example of how the BCS is the biggest fraud in all of sports.

3.) Mavs Continue to Play Strong – In spite of a recent rash of injuries and illnesses, the Dallas Mavericks continue to play as well as anyone in the NBA. Over the weekend, they took games at Minnesota and Detroit and tonight won on a last second, OT buzzer beater in Milwaukee. While this may not be the Lakers, Celtics & Cavaliers, three straight road wins is always a feat in the NBA. Plus, the Mavs got these 3 wins without Josh Howard, Tim Thomas, Erick Dampier and Shaw Marion.

4.) Colts beat the Patriots – I’ve always said, every time the Patriots win, somewhere a little puppy dies. To see the look of failure and utter dejection on the face of Bill Belichick walking off the field last night actually helped ease the pain of the Cowboys loss (see #5).

5.) Wade Phillips is one step closer to being fired – In the “desperately-seeking-a-rainbow-after-the-storm” category, the Cowboys loss to Green Bay on Sunday means this franchise is one step closer to ridding itself of its final obstacle in the race to win a Super Bowl–Wade Phillips. I’m convinced that if this team does not make it to the NFC Championship game this year, Jerry Jones will fire Wade. While I will always support fellow Texans, Wade is just not the right fit in Dallas. In keeping with the “support my fellow Texans” theme, I’m also glad that the Packers win ensures that their GM, and former Atlanta Rabbit great, Ted Thompson’s job is safe for at least another week.

Calling all Dallas Cowboys fans…

As a lifelong Cowboys fan, I like to think of our fan base as one big family. As such, we come together to help our family members out, especially when it involves watching and rooting on our beloved Cowboys. I’ve been given a message from a loyal Cowboys fan in East Texas that a part of our family may be denied that opportunity. Now East Texas is strong Cowboys country; however, this portion of East Texas is actually in the Shreveport media market.

The Shreveport Fox station, KMSS, is running a poll to see which NFL game they should show at noon on November 22, 2009. Of course, we play the Redskins, but the Saints play Tampa Bay during that same time slot. As part of the Cowboys fan base, we need to do everything possible to make sure our “family” in East Texas, Southwest Arkansas and Northwest Louisiana get to watch this game on their local television station. Please visit the station’s website and click on the icon on the right to get to the voting screen. You’ll have to register for a free account, but it’s worth it to help out fellow Cowboys fans.

As you might imagine, the Shreveport area has a strong Saints fan base as well and the Shreveport Fox station (and CBS back in the day) have been known to show Saints games over Cowboys games from time to time.Whenever this happens, there is an uproar from the Cowboys fan base. It seems like it would happen at least once a year when I was a kid and it was always a disappointing week. I live in Dallas now, so we’re not doing this for me. I’ll get to see the game.

Do it for the kids, the 4 or 5 year old kid who loves the Dallas Cowboys and wants to watch them with his daddy. Do it for the elderly grandmother in East Texas who only turns her TV on to watch the evening news and the Cowboys. Most of all, do it for our family.

Remember, this is Louisiana we’re dealing, a land famous for rigged elections. If we want the Cowboys to win this vote, we’re going to have to play by ACORN rules.

One giant mistake…

The day Bill Parcells stepped down as coach of the Dallas Cowboys, I celebrated.  In my mind, Parcells’ departure represented the end of a bitter reconstruction era for this franchise and the beginnings of a new Cowboys’ dynasty. Parcells served his purpose in rebuilding the roster, but he never embraced the star. The Cowboys ended the 2006 season with a heart breaking first round playoff loss to the Seattle Seahawks. In spite of yet another early playoff exit, the pieces appeared to be in place for a championship contender for years to come. All the Cowboys needed now was a coach to guide them to the “promised land.”

Parcells’ fast-talking, Jersey boy ways never meshed with the Cowboys. The arrogance of the man to replace the 4-3 defense, a defense that the legendary Tom Landry perfected, with the 3-4, a system he preferred and the audacity to invite former New York Giants greats, bitter enemies of the star, to practices rubbed many fans the wrong way. The Cowboys franchise needed another Texan at the helm, one who would embrace the legacy of this great franchise and write a new chapter in the Cowboys’ history book.

Cowboys’ owner, Jerry Jones, interviewed 10 candidates to replace Parcells. On January 30, 2007, he interviewed Mike Singletary, a Hall of Fame linebacker from Houston who grew up a Cowboys’ fan. Since his playing days ended, Singletary had made a name for himself as a well respected defensive coach in the NFL. Though he had no head coaching experience, everyone felt he had a very bright coaching future ahead of him. In the end, Jones opted for a Texas born coach with head coaching experience, Wade Phillips, son of the legendary, “Bum” Phillips. Looking back, it’s clear to see that Jones made the wrong decision.

The Wade Phillips’ era began with a bang, a 13-3 season, the NFC East title and the number one overall seed in the playoffs. However, from the beginning, it was obvious Phillips lacked the leadership necessary to lead a team to the ultimate prize. The 2007 season ended the same as the seasons of the past decade, with the Cowboys falling short of their goal and a first-round, home playoff loss to the eventual Super Bowl champions, the New York Giants, but the teams actions leading up to the game were more troubling than the game itself.

By virtue of having the best record in the NFC, the Cowboys earned a bye during the first round of the playoffs.  Instead of using that time to rest and prepare for their next opponent, many players treated the time as a mini-vacation. Tabloids ran wild with coverage of Tony Romo and Jessica Simpson jetting off to Cancun with Jason Witten, Bobby Carpenter and their significant others. Other players traveled to their alma mater’s bowl games to partake in the revelry. Clearly, this team was not focused on their job at the time. Since that time, the team has experienced several embarrassing incidents both on and off the field–the T.O. fiasco, Pac-Man Jones’ brawl at a local hotel, and games like last December in Philadelphia when it appeared that the team quit on their coach.

Wade Phillips will point to his 24-12 record as head coach of the Cowboys, but the only record that matters is his 0-1 record in the playoffs with this franchise. As coach of the Dallas Cowboys, fans expect you to win championships. Though not the most talented team in the league, the Cowboys’ roster contains enough talent to compete for championships year in and year out. A good coach bridges the gap of talent between teams, this coach has failed to do that.

What has Mike Singletary done during this time period? On October 20, 2008, Singletary took over head coaching duties for the San Francisco 49ers, a team with a 2-5 record and a perennial cellar dweller . Singletary made clear from the beginning the way things would work with him in charge. In his first game at the helm, Singletary sent star tight end Vernon Davis, arguably the best player on the team, to the locker room during the game because of the player’s attitude. After the game, Singletary issued a passionate response to the press where he said, “I will not tolerate players who think it’s about them, when it’s about team.” Makes you wonder how many players he would send to the showers early if he was coaching the Cowboys.

Shocked with his move and his speech, critics began to question how long Singletary would last as a coach. He ignored the critics and led his teams to a 5-4 record to finish out the season. During that time, the 49ers played an inspired brand of football rarely seen in the NFL. While the Cowboys led the league in penalties last year with almost 60 yards a game, Singletary’s team averaged a mere 36 yards a game in penalties. Defensively, the 49ers looked impressive as well, especially against the run, given up only 94 yards a game on the ground. The Cowboys, on the other hand, gave up 106 yards a game on the ground, and it was the lack of a rushing defense that led to collapses against Baltimore and Philadelphia in the final two games of the season, eliminating the Cowboys from the playoffs.

Then you see video clips like this, and you see how Singletary deals with adversity during the course of a game. Is there any doubt that the mentality of the Cowboys team would different under Singletary? What would the Cowboys look like without the mental errors?

In the book The Catch, author Gary Myers explains in detail how the Dallas Cowboys almost drafted Joe Montana. Coming out of college, not many NFL teams placed a very high value on Montana. However, Tom Landry loved the kid, as did Gil Brandt. However, the Cowboys thought they had their quarterback of the future in Danny White and felt taking Montana would be wasting  a draft pick. They passed and the 49ers took Joe Montana. In 1982, Joe Montana would lead the 49ers to a victory over the Dallas Cowboys in the NFC Championship game, with a play that has become known simply as “the catch.”  The 49ers would go on to win the Super Bowl that season and three more times under Montana’s leadership. Danny White never won a Super Bowl and the Cowboys sank into the futility. As a Cowboys fan, I can only hope that this odd connection between the Cowboys and 49ers repeat itself with Mike Singletary.

This cheered me up…

Today was a terrible, horrible, no good, very bad day. It’s the type of day when you search for any sort of news story that will bring a smile to your face. I stumbled upon this story on the Tyler Morning Telegraph’s website. Initially, I was struck by the by-line that mentioned something about a homeowner holding a robber at gun point with his pants around his ankles. Once I got into the story, I learned that it was actually members of Earl Campbell’s family. I applaud the Campbell family for their heroic stand against this criminal low life.

What’s your problem with Jerry?

First, I’d like to apologize to my loyal readers. I’m using August as a vacation of sorts, to regroup and reset my blog. I’ll have some very exciting news to share regarding a new blog I’m launching within the next few weeks, so stayed tune.

Until then, football season is upon us and we need to talk some football. A couple of quick questions I thought about over my lunch break:

1.) I’m a life long Dallas Cowboys fan. I was 11 years old when Jerry Jones bought this team and fired my childhood hero, Tom Landry. During the past 20 years, I’ve experienced the highest highs and lowest lows with my team. Through it all, I’ve remembered not to give Jerry too much credit for the glory days and not to throw too much blame his way for the lean years.

I realize that Jerry’s personality rubs some people the wrong way, but I also realize that many of those same personality traits are traits necessary to building a winner. Jerry wants to win and will spare no cost in the attempt to reach his ultimate goal.

Why then do so many Cowboys fans despise Jerry so much? Do they not realize that the Cowboys owner wants to win more than any other owner in the NFL?

Does he make some bone headed decisions? Yes, but we all make mistakes.

2.) There is a small, but vocal, contingency of Rangers fans out there who complain about the amount of attention being placed on the Rangers wild card chase compared to Cowboys preseason action. They seem to be offended that more people want to watch a Cowboys preseason game than a Rangers regular season game.  At this point, ”baseball hubris” kicks in.

“Baseball hubris” is a trait possessed by some hardcore baseball fans who feel that baseball is the only true sports and all others should be ignored. They’ll berate the other leagues and belittle the fans of sports.  

I love baseball, but I don’t get “baseball hubris”. I think football, basketball and golf all have something to offer as well.  In the professional ranks, my love for the Cowboys has never caused me to hate the Rangers or Mavericks. In fact, I find that my love for these teams compliment one another.

Why is it that some Rangers fans HATE the Cowboys (and the NFL) so much?