America’s Team

By Ashley Leis

January 2nd, 2009

When it comes to the Dallas Cowboys, you either love ’em or you hate ’em. What is unquestionable is the devotion of the football team’s fans. Through player trades, unforgiving seasons and questionable management decisions, Cowboys fans remain true to that Dallas star.
Perhaps this unequaled passion is behind the label “America’s Team,” bestowed upon the team in 1978 by NFL Films editor Bob Ryan. A journey through the team’s history, an analysis of its management and players and a dissection of what accompanies America’s Team will lead to a discovery of whether the name is justifiable.

Rocky Start
Pressure from the emerging rival league, the American Football League (AFL), in 1959 forced the NFL to expand beyond the 12 team franchises that were part of the league. The AFL had secured profitable network television deals that would aid in the successful running of the rival league. Also to their favor, the AFL had established teams throughout the corners of the United States where the popular NFL did not have a presence. Thus the Dallas Cowboys were introduced.
The original team owners of the Dallas Cowboys, Clint Murchison Jr. and Bedford Wynne, battled opposition to become appointed as the first NFL expansion team in 1960. Murchison and Wynne quickly introduced their management team. The team’s general manager would be former Los Angeles Rams General Manager Tex Schramm. The team’s coach would be former New York Giants defensive coordinator Tom Landry. Schramm and Landry would play significant parts in the establishment and growth of the Dallas Cowboys during the next three decades.
When it came time for Landry and Schramm to assemble their first team, the Dallas Cowboys had missed the draft and the enormous benefit of building a team from young college stars. The Cowboys approached the NFL and other team owners with a plea for aid in building their team.
Each team in the NFL allotted three players to the Dallas Cowboys. That method of forming the first Dallas Cowboys lineup did not create a quality team. “We got all the bad players,” Landry explained in the documentary “The Dallas Cowboys: The Complete History of America’s Team.” “You can imagine there could not have been any teams lower than we were.”
The rag-tag band of football misfits making up the Dallas Cowboys ended their first season with a record of 0-11-1, only a tie with New York offering the team any glimmer of hope. Former Dallas quarterback Don Meredith, a member of the original team, spoke of the team’s beginnings in the Cowboys documentary. “Deep down we all like to pull for the underdog too so I think there was a spark of interest that started there for that first year,” said Meredith.
Perhaps the first evidence of the Dallas Cowboys’ fighting spirit evolved through the ’60s. The team bounced back from the inaugural season to post four victories in 1961, the franchise’s first victory coming in the season’s opening game against the Pittsburgh Steelers. Throughout the decade, the Dallas Cowboys continued to improve, with the team posting their first winning season in 1966, coinciding with their first appearances in the playoffs. The Cowboys would go on to the NFL championship game that season, losing to the Green Bay Packers 34-27.
Into the late 1960s, the Cowboys built a player foundation that would launch a record 20-consecutive winning seasons, starting from their victorious 1966 season. Their acclaimed first star player, defensive tackle Bob Lilly, joined players such as Lee Roy Jordan and Chuck Howley, becoming what would be known as the “Doomsday Defense.” Repeat losses to the Green Bay Packers in the 1966 and 1967 NFL championship games seemed to ignite a strong desire in the team to perform well – and to build a formidable force with their growing supports. However, it was with the insurgence of new faces rolling into a new decade that the Cowboys’ will to win really began to shine.

Restructuring
What better way to earn the title of America’s Team than to recruit a clean-cut, all-American poster boy? Roger Staubach had enormous success playing quarterback for the United States Naval Academy. Upon winning the 1963 Heisman Trophy, as a junior, Staubach was a 10th-round selection by the Dallas Cowboys in the following year’s NFL draft. Staubach did not start his career with the Cowboys until 1969 due to his military commitments.
The ultimate prize for the Dallas Cowboys came during the 1971 season, as Staubach led his team to their first Super Bowl championship. A disappointing loss in the championship game the previous year had left supporters questioning their team’s ability to win the big games. However, the substantial victory over the Miami Dolphins, 24-3, catapulted the Cowboys to new heights. Staubach earned the nickname “Captain Comeback” after bringing the team from behind for many significant victories during his tenure with the Cowboys. The fighting spirit of the Dallas Cowboys, combined with Staubach’s never-say-die attitude, helped lead to the label of America’s Team being bestowed upon the Cowboys.

By the end of the ’70s, the Cowboys had appeared in five Super Bowls, adding to their victory in 1971 a win over the Denver Broncos 27-10 at Super Bowl XII, in 1978. The team had become synonymous with hard-fought battles, pushing favored teams to the limit. Their three championship losses (to the Baltimore Colts in 1971 and to the Pittsburgh Steelers in 1976 and 1979) were never by more than four points.

Changing the Game
Through the ’70s, Landry, Schramm and Staubach revolutionized the way football teams were coached, managed and played. From Landry, the Cowboys developed strategic defensive patterns, such as the 4-3 defense, that would eventually become the standard for most NFL teams. Landry was also credited with creating the “flex defense,” a pattern that could alter according to the opposition’s offensive strengths. Among Landry’s offensive innovations were regular formation shifting, to upset defense, and a resurgence of the shot-gun formation.
Forming a dynamic duo, Landry and Schramm created a new style of football team. Schramm’s creative eye for sports entertainment led his direction for the team. He established the team’s appearances in Thanksgiving Day games to generate more national exposure. The Cowboys installed an aggressive and advanced recruitment program, headed by talent scout Gil Brandt, who was credited with implementing new and innovative scouting programs. However, it was Schramm’s marketing initiative with the purpose of driving up game attendance and fan support that broke new ground for NFL teams: the introduction of the Dallas Cowboys Cheerleaders.
The cheerleading squad came to prominence in the early ’70s when Schramm looked to add glitz and glamour to his team’s sideline, employing the help of top American dancer Texie Waterman. The cheerleading squad would perform choreographed routines on the sidelines, but would also become prominent as a Dallas Cowboys corporate showpiece. Their appearance in social settings away from the football field through community service and USO tours would add to the appeal of the talented, attractive cheerleading squad, building the fan base of the Dallas Cowboys football team even further. (Two popular television movies based on the cheerleading squad, plus a reality show, “Dallas Cowboys Cheerleaders: Making the Team,” have cashed in on the popularity of the cheerleaders.)

A New Generation
The Dallas Cowboys galloped into the ’80s coasting off the success of five successive playoff appearances. Although their headlining star Staubach had announced his retirement, the player ranks were still strong with the likes of Randy White (defensive tackle), Ed Jones (defensive end) and Tony Dorsett (running back). However, toward the middle of the decade the Cowboys changed ownership and at the same time their performance began to slide. Harvey Bright’s taking the reins of the Dallas Cowboys in 1984 coincided with the team’s first non-appearance in the playoffs in nine years. Their record consecutive winning seasons came to an end in 1986 after the Cowboys finished with seven wins and nine losses. The team’s performance would only get worse over the next few years.
Current Dallas Cowboys owner and Chief Executive Officer Jerry Jones bought the team on Feb. 25, 1989, for a reported $150 million. Jones made immediate changes to the Cowboys’ infrastructure, replacing the 29-year coaching veteran Landry with University of Miami coach Jimmy Johnson. Schramm vacated his position as general manager, leaving for a post as commissioner of the World League of American Football. Changes were also taking place on the field, when Jones and Johnson signed UCLA quarterback Troy Aikman as the first-round first pick during the 1989 college draft. Perhaps the most daring of shake-ups in Jones and Johnson’s first year was the infamous Herschel Walker trade.
Walker, the 1982 Heisman Trophy recipient, had signed with the Dallas Cowboys after the 1985 draft. Coming off a highly successful but shortened college career (Walker opted to play only three years of college football), he signed with NFL rival United States Football League (USFL). The short-lived USFL folded in three years, after which time Walker headed to the NFL and the Dallas Cowboys.
Walker’s talents shined through a struggling football franchise during his three full seasons with the Cowboys. His worth as a player was a bargaining chip for Johnson when the coach elected to trade his star running back to the Minnesota Vikings. The subsequent trade for players and early draft choices over the next three seasons would result in key players such as Emmitt Smith, Darren Woodson and Russell Maryland joining the Dallas Cowboys posse.

The New Cowboys
The deep fighting spirit emerged in the Dallas Cowboys after Jones’ first two disastrous seasons, with a record of eight wins and 24 losses in 1989 and 1990. Johnson continued to tweak his team until he found a combination that won Super Bowl XXVII after the 1992 season. With this punishing victory, 52 – 17, over the Buffalo Bills, the Cowboys returned to former glory.
The Cowboys maintained their resurgence by following their Super Bowl XXVII victory with subsequent victories in the 1993 season (Super Bowl XXVIII) and 1995 season (Super Bowl XXX). The latter victory gave the Cowboys their fifth championship, tying them for most wins with the San Francisco 49ers and the Pittsburgh Steelers.
Offensive tackle Flozell Adams, entering his 12th season with the Cowboys, emphasized his passion for the Cowboys. “This team is awesome,” said Adams. “I can’t imagine being anywhere else. It just gets better and better for me each year.” The 32-year-old signed again with the Cowboys toward the end of last season, ensuring at least six more years with the team.
The Cowboys also boast the emergence of a new lineup of superstars leading the charge for more championships. Tight end Jason Witten, playing in his sixth season with the Cowboys, has emerged as a leader. “I enjoy the responsibility that [the Dallas Cowboys] place on me as a leader,” comments Witten on his role within the team. “The team management places these responsibilities with a purpose to encourage and develop young players.”
The Cowboys also hold appeal for veteran players. With 13 years in the NFL (12 with the Miami Dolphins), linebacker Zach Thomas joined the Cowboys for the 2008 season with a desire to finish his career with a Super Bowl victory. Thomas experienced his first taste of the Cowboys’ fan base during the preseason training camp. “I’ve never experienced anything like this before,” commented Thomas while signing numerous autographs for the thousands of supporters in attendance. “We landed at the local air force base and were bombarded with support. There are so many supporters here every day all day. It just shows what this team means to so many.”
The support for the team shined through when the Dallas Cowboys were ranked as the favorite team in the NFL for 2008 (according to Harris Interactive Poll). Since 1998, the team has been ranked in the top five of favored teams each year, five times at No. 1 and three times at No. 2. Proactive marketing, instilled from the days of Schramm, has built the image of the Dallas Cowboys to become popular among NFL fans. Current quarterback Tony Romo wears the most sought-after jersey in merchandise sales (No. 9) among NFL fans.

How ’Bout Them Cowboys
The Dallas Cowboys faithful have stuck with their team through ups and downs, despite controversy and indecision and in the face of many Cowboys haters. Owner Jones leads a team that does it their own way, casting aside naysayers. “That’s what makes us America’s Team,” says Jones. “People will love the Cowboys for who we are, how we play the game and how we stand up in troubled times.”
With a $1 billion stadium set to open next season, and coach Wade Phillips now in his second season, the flamboyant Cowboys are poised to continue thrilling their fans for many seasons to come. It’s all part of the drive to live up to their name, America’s Team.