I can see it now. Susan Lucci on stage, opening an envelope and saying "and the Daytime Emmy Soap of the Year Award goes to...the Dallas Cowboys!"
Drama, suspensions, a broken pinkie, another Roy Williams, and now an alcohol treatment center. I gotta admit, it's not hard not to be intrigued by this franchise.
But for these Cowboys and the NFL as a whole, all of this publicity is taking away from what is really important - success on the field. For example, I turned on ESPN this morning, and the first game highlight was that of the Cowboys at Rams, a game that wasn't even a contest, a game that was never close, a game that was a complete whitewash (final score: Rams 34, Cowboys 14).
Sure, I could understand why there would be storylines stemming from this game. I'm not debating that at all. Steven Jackson was a beast for the Rams, scoring three touchdowns. The Cowboys looked like a mediocre JV team, while the Rams played inspired football. Those are two headline stories from the game that deserve noting.
What I'm debating is the AMOUNT of coverage the Cowboys receive in the national media. Gone are the days of "America's Team" (Cowboys haven't won a playoff game in 12 years). These Cowboys are known for hot celebrity girlfriends, disruptive receivers, and a guy named after a classic video game character that cares more about "making it rain" than making plays on the field.
Is it the classic tragedy? A "perfect" team imploding and creating their own demise? Is that what intrigues the national media? Are the 2008 Dallas Cowboys a William Shakespeare novel waiting to be written?
I can't answer that. But what I can provide are 3 storylines from the NFL that I would have rather seen at the beginning of this morning's edition of "Sportscenter"...
1. Raiders 16, Jets 13 in OT. Sebastian Janikowski kicks a 57-yard game winning field goal to give the Raiders the win. For a while, this game looked like it would end in a 13-13 tie as neither team could produce offense in overtime. Brett Favre led the Jets down the field in the final minute of regulation to give kicker Jay Feely a chance to tie the game. After a 52-yard miss that was negated by a Raider timeout, Feely redeemed himself and sent the game to OT. Bottom line: this was a tightly contested game throughout, with drama from start to finish. Brett Favre was his usual self - at times completely out of control (a few throws made me say "huh?") but he ultimately gave his team a chance to win.
2. Buffalo 23, San Diego 14. This game was back and forth, with a key Phillip Rivers interception being the deciding factor. Few people are getting on the Bills' bandwagon. It's time for that to change, and here's why: after last week's thrashing of New England, everyone began calling the Chargers one of the elite teams in the AFC that had just gotten unlucky a few times, resulting in their 3-3 record. Ok, so if those people are right, if the Chargers are an elite team, where does that leave the Bills? Trent Edwards was nothing short of brilliant, completing 25 of 30 passes for over 250 yards and a TD, but more importantly committed no interceptions or turnovers. It's been a while since the Bills were anything besides mediocre, so I can understand some national hesitation in calling them an "elite" team. But as Tom Jackson (ESPN NFL analyst) says - "you are only as good as your record" - and for the 5-1 Bills, that's pretty darn good.
3. Tennessee 34, Kansas City 10. Why is this game important? Because when it comes to the NFL, history tells us to "expect the unexpected." What made this game unusual was that the Titans were expected to destroy the Chiefs, and they did just that. No surprises. 332 yards of rushing offense. Wow, take that in for a minute...332 yards rushing (did Kerry Collins attempt a pass?) Props to LenDale White and Chris Johnson for cementing what we all thought was true - the Titans are really good, and the Chiefs are really bad. Oh yeah, and the Titans are still undefeated.
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