America's Team


America's Team

    Labeled as "America's Team", the Dallas Cowboys have been a nationwide fan favorite of Americans since the creation of the franchise in 1960. Largely due to the franchises success throughout the 70s, 80s, and 90s, the Cowboys have produced some of the NFLs biggest legends the league has ever seen. The Cowboys have created a die hard following throughout the last 60 years. With such success comes a massive following. Amassing 4 million followers on Twitter and 3.8 million followers on Instagram, the Cowboys fandom holds the record for the largest social media following in the NFL. 

     The cowboys fandom consist of a very diverse and unique group of individuals. With the team being located in conservative Dallas Texas, the fandom consist of real Texas cowboys, but also has a wide and diverse group of supporters as well. In a world of hate, your ethnicity or upbringing seems to not matter while wearing the star logo. When the ball kicks off, the 80,000 fans in the stadium all have one thing in common, and that's the love for their football team. While every individual in the stadium may look different, they are all dressed in the same white and blue jerseys. Making the fandom bond between everyone in the stadium even closer. 
    Knowing that Cowboys nation is a very large and diverse group of individuals, the team has plenty of fan pages, podcast, radio shows, and sports talk shows. The owner of the Dallas Cowboys Jerry Jones is often viewed as the teams biggest fan ironically. He makes weekly appearances on 105.3 The Fan, a Dallas radio station based around the Cowboys. Jerry Jones is often criticized for his over involvement in the team, but that just goes to show the dedication and support that people have for this football team. Coming in at a close second for the teams biggest fan would be sports journalist and television star Skip Bayless. Skip stars in Fox's sport talk show show "Skip and Shannon: Undisputed" according to the shows Wikipedia page, the show averages 155,000 views per episode. (Skip and Shannon: Undisputed) The two discuss the Dallas Cowboys daily on their two hour show. 


    Cowboy nation also has another unique aspect to their franchise. The team is the only football team to have a yearly show dedicated to the teams cheerleaders tryouts. Starting in 2006, "Dallas Cowboys Cheerleaders: Making the Team" has had 16 full seasons displaying the teams cheerleaders tryouts. The fan support and desire to tune into anything Cowboys related shows the dedication and interest in the organization. To have a show on air for 16 years straight is a huge accomplishment for the cheerleaders, but also for the fans of the team. The support that Cowboys nation shows to everyone involved in the organization, and not just the players is truly unique and special. 

    The saying "everything is bigger in Texas" relates to football as well. To the average person who doesn't follow football, they might think that the dedication that the Cowboys fandom shows is over the top and unnecessary, but to the real fans football is everything to them. This football team not only allows fans to have a hobby to follow, but gives people hope and a dream to follow. Athletes across the league often talk about their love for the Cowboys as a child growing up with dreams of playing for the team. As a child myself I spent every Sunday glued to my television watching and dreaming of one day playing for the Cowboys. Obviously that dream didn't pan out how I would have liked, but being apart of this fandom has given me a lifelong connection and bond to the team like millions of other people around the country. 
    
    With a following like none other, Cowboys fans are often scrutinized and hated on social medias. With such a die hard fanbase, they seem to become blind to the teams weaknesses every year and are often made fun of for it. One of the teams biggest haters would be ESPN's own Stephen A Smith. Stephen A is the biggest sport journalist in America who has never shied away from laughing at Cowboys fans during their struggles. Whether it's on his show First Take or on his social medias he loves to rub the Cowboys disparities into their fanbases face. One of his most recent and most popular shots at the fanbase is a social media video posted last year laughing at the fact that they missed the playoffs in a must win last game of the year. Stephen A is just one example of the millions who enjoy when the team and their fanbase struggles, which makes this fanbase extremely unique. The diehard fandom that the team has attracts so much hate that seemingly never seems to bother them. 
    
    Through the teams highs and their lows, the constant support shown by the teams die hard fandom is unmatched in American sports. A group that is often criticized and laughed at for their constant support for their Dallas Cowboys, fans across the country show no shame for the bond that they have for their football team. The pride shown by this fanbase for the past 60 years is unique and special to American sports. As a personal life long fan and like many others, I will constantly show my love and support for this organization and will pass my fandom down to my children. 





Work Cited: 

Espn, https://www.espn.com/nfl/team/_/name/dal/dallas-cowboys. Accessed 28 Nov. 2021.

Golf Digest , https://www.golfdigest.com/story/stephen-a-smith-dallas-cowboys-rant-video. Accessed 28 Nov. 2021.

McMillen, John, and Rebecca McMillen. “Sport Slogans and Trademark Law: Are the Dallas Cowboys Really ‘America’s Team’?” Sport Marketing Quarterly, vol. 20, no. 1, Mar. 2011, pp. 53–55. EBSCOhost, search-ebscohost-com.proxy-bloomu.klnpa.org/login.aspx?direct=true&db=bth&AN=59830629&site=eds-live&scope=site.


Orr, Conor. “WHAT’S IT WORTH TO WEAR THE STAR? (Cover Story).” Sports Illustrated, vol. 130, no. 26/27, Sept. 2019, pp. 66–71. EBSCOhost, search-ebscohost-com.proxy-bloomu.klnpa.org/login.aspx?direct=true&db=asn&AN=138680453&site=eds-live&scope=site.

“Skip and Shannon: Undisputed.” Wikipedia, Wikimedia Foundation, 19 Oct. 2021, https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Skip_and_Shannon:_Undisputed.

 (n.d.). the big lead. Retrieved November 29, 2021, from https://www.thebiglead.com/posts/skip-bayless-celebrating-the-cowboys-win-by-dancing-to-c-c-music-factory-is-a-mood-01eqsgjbzah4.


Visit Dallas, https://www.visitdallas.com/meeting-planners/plan/venue/view/17868/ATT-Stadium.html. Accessed 28 Nov. 2021.





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