The burden of 10,000 days and counting.
The Dallas Cowboys are in a perpetual cycle of nothingness. Is there any way out?
This isn't solely a story about Mike McCarthy or Dak Prescott. Well, not entirely. It currently involves them, but it's much more expansive. It existed as a narrative before their time, and given the current trajectory, it will likely persist beyond their involvement.
The Cowboys find themselves at an impasse once again. As of today, 10,218 days have passed since Super Bowl 30 in January 1996. In the interim, there have been 28 seasons of Cowboys football and 13 playoff campaigns. Each year concludes in a familiar manner, with heads bowed, eyes fixed on shoes, responding to the same inquiries.
"What went wrong?"
"Why the sluggish start?"
"What lessons can be learned to ensure improvement next time?"
I've covered this team for 26 of those 28 years, but I assure you it's not my doing. I've merely borne witness to an era of Cowboys football that some of you younger readers are all too familiar with.
All hat and no cattle or some other trite way of saying that it has now been over a generation since this team has been championship relevant. I will spare you with the full rundown, but if you wish to travel with this link, you can review on your own. Just know, its been a long lonely, lonely, lonely, lonely, lonely time to be a Cowboys fan.
I hope you don’t take this the wrong way, but I actually find it fascinating. It is an amazing story that we are experiencing in real time. I am certain that the story will end well, with a Dallas Cowboys coach or quarterback holding up a Lombardi Trophy in a way that will make you want to find a frame and hang it immediately in a place you will see every day.
The question is whether we will live to see it? And, if we do, how long must you wait to get to that parade?