Dear Football Gods,
When I was on the verge of my sixth birthday, the Dallas Cowboys defeated the Pittsburgh Steelers 27-17 to win Super Bowl XXX. At that moment, without a fully functional brain and no understanding of consequences, I became a diehard Cowboys fan! Not realizing that my dad (a New Yorker) was a religious Giants fan, and my mom’s whole family were Steelers lifers. It’s basically all been downhill since then…
I live in North Jersey, went to the same high school as Dave Tyree, and went to college at Virginia Tech with tons of Redskins fans. It’s a combination of these factors, along with almost a decade’s experience in food service that I’ve grown some pretty thick skin over the years. I mean, as a fan of the Boyz you’d have to right? So much heartbreak and letdown over the years. Don’t get me wrong, there are fanbases that have experienced more heartbreak than myself and my Cowboy chronies (the Bills, Browns, Vikings, etc.), but let’s cover the bases of the past 10 years starting with a notoriously unforgettable Wild Card game taking place in Seattle circa January 2007.
The Cowboys are inside the five yard line, down 21-20, the clock is almost finito and all we need to do is kick an extra point sized field goal to win it. Romo fumbles the snap, Cowboys lose 21-20. 16 year-old me drunkenly punched a tree. I did not win that fight.
Here comes the Boyz’ 2007 season, which was historic in many ways as far as stats and wins in the regular season go, but after a first round bye in the playoffs, the Cowboys fell victim to Eli and the Giants’ amazing playoff run that culminated in a Super Bowl win for Big Blue over the then 18-0 Patriots. Insult to injury, Mr. Helmet Catch in Super Bowl XLII was Dave Tyree (also a Montclair High alum). The following day at school there are at least a dozen news crews on the grounds, and hundreds of students and faculty celebrating the win and Tyree’s now kick-ass one play legacy (or two, he did catch a TD in that game as well). A security guard pulls me out of class and says “since I can’t arrest you, I guess this’ll do!” He handed me some newspaper with the G-Men holding the Lombardi trophy, laughed, and strolled away down the hall. I would’ve skipped the rest of the day but tickets to The High’s biggest hockey game went on sale at lunch…
Let us not forget that in 2008, 2011, 2012, and 2013 we missed the playoffs by losing week 17 “win and you’re in” divisional match ups. 2008 especially hurt, I did things that night that are almost unprintable. Nothing too bad but Tucker Max would be proud.
I will say, I have witnessed some very inspirational moments from Tony Romo during this same span. I’ll never forget how he architected a fourth quarter/overtime comeback on the road in San Fran against a ferocious Niner defense in 2011, with a broken rib and punctured lung. Won the following week against a Redskin defense that Lo Hall said was trying to further injure Romo. Flash forward to week 16 of the 2013 season and one of the gutsiest performances I’ve ever seen. With a herniated disc in his back, Romo architects yet another fourth quarter comeback on the road in Washington. Down 23-14, Romo willed the Cowboys back for a 24-23 win which kept playoff hopes alive. Except that Tony would be placed on IR that week and Kyle Orton would come up short in week 17 against Philly with a late game pick.
Now, it’s January 11, 2015, I’m sitting at bar, dead center, with half a dozen Packer fans on my left, half a dozen on my right. Dez’s non-catch happens, the heartbreak of 2006 comes back to me in an instant. The very kind Packers fan next to me looks over, we shake hands and as nicely as possible he says “it’s ok dude, you’ll get there next year!” My response “I don’t want to bleepin talk about it,” was not very kind but hey when you’ve been taking shots of the finest rail tequila for four quarters, sh*t happens. The non-catch call still stings but that’s not why we lost the game. Demarco’s fumble doesn’t help, although we wouldn’t have been in position to win without him (frequently the case with scapegoats, save that for another time though), and Bailey’s missed field goal, had he made it, would’ve allowed for us to kick another FG on that particular 4th and 2 instead of throwing deep to Dez. Nonetheless, another heartbreaking playoff loss.
But nothing could’ve prepared us for the 2015 season, aka the most depressing season of my life. To start the season 2-0 and finish 4-12 due greatly in part to Romo and Dez’s injuries was enough to make me want to cry at times. Week 1’s fourth quarter comeback was the season’s highlight, and it was followed entirely by pain and heartache. Six losses by one score or less, two of which happened in overtime following promising comebacks to force the OTs. Romo breaks his collarbone twice! It was all just so embarrassing and depressing. Trying to find a silver lining in all of this would be to suggest that perhaps Cowboys fans are being strongly tested by the Football Gods themselves. And if that’s the case, then allow me to quote Jason Biggs’ character in American Pie right before he blows it with Shannon Elizabeth’s character, “please God(s), let this (2016) be it!”
Sincerely,
Chern
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