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Stray Black Cat Star of Monday Night Football

How did a stray black cat running onto a football field in New York City on a prime time Monday night football game cause so much excitement? If you are a superstitious fan of the Cowboys or Giants then seeing a black cat come out of nowhere and stop the game can have your emotions running wild.

Monday night football is one of the best things to watch, especially when my team the Dallas Cowboys are playing their division rival the New York Giants in New York. When these two teams play it’s usually one of the highest rated games of the year. The two teams don’t like each other which intensifies the rivalry. It’s no surprise as a Cowboys fan I enjoy seeing the Giants lose and struggle on the football field.

The Cowboys were predicted to win this game but were losing early in the second quarter. The score was Giants 9 and Cowboys 3, when out of nowhere a black cat appeared, running all over the field stopping the game. I was thinking are you kidding me, a black cat, how much worse can this get for the Cowboys luck in New York? Security was chasing the black cat, but nobody could catch it. It eventually ran under the stadium and is still on the loose.

After the black cat disappeared the game continued. The Cowboys woke up from their ‘catnap’ and found a way to ‘claw’ their way to victory – outscoring the Giants 34 to 9 after the black cat made its appearance. This moment was trending on social media with tweets spiking about the black cat.

As die-hard sport fans, we all have some level of superstition towards our team. I will not watch a Dallas Cowboys game wearing any colours from the opposing team as I want nothing associated with the other team during the game. I have a friend who always watches Toronto Maple Leaf games at his home, sitting in the exact same spot during the game. As fans, we feel like we can be part of the game and have some kind of control over it. When you think about it, it’s most likely not gonna really help our team win, but we still cannot help ourselves. These divisional games can be exciting to watch and seeing this black cat was another superstitious sign that I thought would impact the game in the Giants favour, fortunately it did not. Lastly, I think I have become a fan of black cats and may look into hanging out with them more often.

Superbowl Slipping Through Their Fingers

I would often hear the phrase ‘take advantage of the opportunities you’re given because you may not get another opportunity like this again’. A golden opportunity may not come around until next year, 25 years from now, or never.  In the case of the Dallas Cowboys they have not won a Super Bowl in 23 years and have only won 4 playoff games since then. The Cowboys have not had many opportunities in the last 23 years of having a good team with the talent they assembled this year things were supposed to be different, so why aren’t they taking advantage of this opportunity?

The Cowboys have assembled arguably the best football roster of players in the NFL this year. Before the season started many predicted they would win the Superbowl and obviously as a Cowboys fan I was thinking this was the year they win it all. You would think after 13 games the Cowboys would have lost maybe two or three games. Nope! The Cowboys actually don’t even have a winning record, their record is 6 wins and 7 losses – yet they’re winning their division.

So you’re probably asking yourself how can the Cowboys be leading their division with a losing record? The NFC East Division they are in is the worst division in football this year with all the teams stinking it up. By rule no matter what the record of a division winner they automatically earn a playoff spot and will host a home playoff game. If the playoffs ended today which they don’t but let’s pretend the Cowboys at 6-7 would host the San Francisco 49ers who have 10 wins and 2 losses. That doesn’t make sense and neither does the way the Cowboys are playing this year.

I think the Cowboys are not playing to their potential and are a mess this year. It starts at the top, the head coach Jason Garrett is not inspiring the team and putting his players in a position to succeed. The Cowboys players seem to have all the talent individually but can’t play together as a team to win games. The team looks like they have no fight in them and anytime adversity in the game hits them they look miserable. Their posture and expressions look flat in games. They need a shake to wake up as their opportunity is in front of them to take. Even Cowboys owner, Jerry Jones looks like he has lost all patience with the team in a recent radio interview after another Cowboys loss.

For as long as I could remember, each year from September to February, Sundays and some Mondays were spent watching football. As I have gotten older this tradition I enjoyed so much as a kid with my brothers, has carried through to today. What is even better is that friends and family continue even now to enjoy this tradition with me. It is great to see how a sport can bring people together. I just wish the 2019 Dallas Cowboys can figure out a way to come together as a team because it feels like they are trying to mess this season up along with this golden opportunity to make history which has eluded them for the past 23 years. I have never been so frustrated to see a Cowboys team play with such little fight in them which is disappointing to see as a Cowboys fan when everything is right in front of them to be achieved. 2019 Cowboys don’t let this opportunity go by because as a Cowboys fan it doesn’t come by too often.

Photo credits: usatoday.com, amazon.com

What good are you doing?

Dallas Cowboys along with the NFL have supported many causes in their history. For almost 10 years the NFL focused on breast cancer, and this year they expanded their efforts to tackle multiple types of cancer with the Crucial Catch campaign.  This week’s games include the launch of the MyCauseMyCleats campaign where players express a cause that’s close to their hearts on their cleats. It’s so great to see football organizations use their platform for the greater good. The Cowboys also do their part in supporting causes that are important to them. At the Dallas Cowboys annual Thanksgiving games the famous Salvation Army’s Red Kettle Campaign kicks off.

Can you imagine negotiating your next pay increase or contract negotiation in the news media? And then feel like your boss insulted you in front of millions of people?  All this in the end was for a good cause as it helped support The Salvation Army.

Ezekiel Elliott (the Dallas Cowboys running back) was in an offseason dispute over his contract and withheld from showing up at the beginning of the season until he got a new contract that he thought he deserved – and instead trained away from the team in Mexico. Jerry Jones (the owner of the Cowboys) was asked during an interview how the negotiations with Elliott were going. Jones responded in a joke “Zeke who?”, while smiling. Elliott and his representatives weren’t happy about Jones’ response. Eventually right before the start of the NFL season the Cowboys agreed on a new contract making Elliot the highest paid player at his position in the NFL. At the news conference to announce the new contract both Elliott and Jones held up a t-shirt that said “Zeke Who?”

The T-shirts were sold with all proceeds going to The Salvation Army. At this year’s Thanksgiving game the Dallas Cowboys donated $150,000 from the sold T-shirts and Elliott added another $100,000 donation from his new contract to The Salvation Army. Elliott is no stranger to The Salvation Army as in 2016 he jumped into the Red Kettle after scoring a touchdown which created a lot of publicity for The Salvation Army.

With an organization as large as the NFL and a team as popular as the Dallas Cowboys it’s important that they both use their popularity for a greater good. There are millions of fans that tune in every week to watch an NFL game so the league has a responsibility to set a good example and do what is right. That is why it’s inspiring to see the NFL and the Dallas Cowboys support these important causes, and use their platform to help spread the message to millions of fans.

Photo credits:

http://www.sportsonearth.com/article/62332742/

https://www.dallascowboys.com/photos/mycausemycleats-2019#e8ac87b9-c036-474d-b26e-65a09c21f673

https://www.dallascowboys.com/news/how-zeke-watch-wrapped-up-with-a-big-laugh

https://www.star-telegram.com/sports/nfl/dallas-cowboys/article237766044.html

https://www.star-telegram.com/sports/nfl/dallas-cowboys/article220936535.html

CBSDFW.com

It Is All About Who You Know

Sometimes it’s who you know that gets you a job. What type of relationship you have with the boss or owner that keeps you in that job no matter if you are qualified or not. As a Dallas Cowboys fan, I am tired of their head coach Jason Garrett who has had the job since 2011 with little success and the only reason he continues to have the head coach job is because of his relationship with the owner Jerry Jones. Fortunately the owner Jones is realizing that Garrett is being outcoached in games this year that the Cowboys should be winning. I think Jones will finally make a decision to help move the team in the right direction by not renewing Garrett after his contract expires this year.

The Cowboys played the Patriots this past Sunday in what was supposed to be a game the Cowboys will prove that they are a legitimate Super Bowl team. For the past 20 years the Patriots have been the best team with the best head coach in Bill Belichick. Cowboys came out unprepared which is a reflection on Garrett. Knowing the forecast was calling for rain Garrett had the Cowboys practicing in their indoor facility. Even I look at the weather and plan my day accordingly. Good coaches like Belichick simulate the game conditions by practicing outside and dunking the football in water before the quarterback throws the ball to get them prepared for the game. So as the game started the quarterback for the Cowboys Prescott couldn’t throw the wet ball well because he did not practice with a wet ball. By the second quarter after an interception and realizing he couldn’t throw a wet ball well, Prescott put on a glove. Why is Garrett not checking whether Prescott can throw a wet ball before the game?

As I am watching the game I see the rain and wind is making the ball fall short in certain situations on kickoffs. The first time the Patriots kicked off it fell short so the Cowboys had to scramble to get the ball. Second time the Patriots kicked off you would think the Cowboys coaches would bring their players closer, nope. Third time I am yelling at the TV before the Patriots kick off, “get closer it’s gonna fall short”. What happens, it falls short again and the Cowboys had bad field position and almost lose the ball again. There were so many bad plays that were a result of bad coaching contributing to the Cowboys losing 13 to 9.

I know I am not qualified to be an NFL coach but if I can tell something is going to happen in a game shouldn’t the Cowboys coaches?  Garrett is the only employed head coach with the same team since 2011 to not reach the Super Bowl, he hasn’t even reached the NFC Championship game. The owner Jones finally saw that Garrett was outcoached badly and Jones decided to call out the coaching staff’s poor performance in an interview after the game. The owner Jones sees Garrett as a good, loyal guy that used to play for the Cowboys in the 90’s which I get, but at some point the Cowboys players and fans deserve a coach that delivers results. It just proves that it’s not what you know but who you know. The Cowboys have a talented potential Super Bowl roster that is being wasted by Garrett who has shown time and time again that he is not the coach to get a team to the Super Bowl.

About me

BORN A COWBOYS FAN

As most kids growing up I liked playing sports – basketball, baseball, and football. Then as I got a little older I liked watching these sports on TV. This was when my love for football and the Dallas Cowboys started to form.

As a Dallas Cowboys fan every Sunday, and the occasional Thursday and Monday nights, I am watching my team play. I have been through the high moments of Super Bowl wins, to the low moments of not even making the playoffs.

So come along with me as I share my two cents on all things NFL and Dallas Cowboys.

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