"THROUGH THE EYES OF A FAN"
THE LONG ROAD BACK TO THE TOP
FOR THE DALLAS
As the 1993 Dallas Cowboys walked off the field after winning Super Bowl XXVIII, they were back-to-back Champions and on top of the world. Just five years earlier they were 1-15 and the worst team in the league and now they were the very best. Jerry Jones and Jimmy Johnson had built the Cowboys organization up again to where it was back in the 1970’s.
The 1993 season was not picture perfect by any means. The Cowboys had injuries to key players like Troy Aikman, Emmitt Smith, Mark Stepnoski, Charles Haley, Russell Maryland, Ken Norton Jr. and an assortment of others. They also had to deal with the long contract holdout by Emmitt Smith at the start of the season. They lost the first two games of the season to Washington and Buffalo. Rookie running back Derrick Lassic started for Emmitt Smith and did fairly well for a rookie. After that second defeat even Jimmy Johnson seemed helpless and on the verge of crying during a press conference. Jerry Jones knew he had to get a deal done before things got worse and signed Emmitt Smith to a four year contract. Lassic started week three against the Cardinals before giving way to Smith, who seemed to spark the Cowboys. With Emmitt Smith back they put together winning streaks of seven and five games during the 1993 regular season and finished with a 12-4 record and won the NFC East. They came together as a team during all the hard times and never gave up.
The very first time I watched the Dallas Cowboys play was in Super Bowl XII in 1977 when they beat the Denver Broncos 27-10 in the Superdome. I really didn’t understand what football was all about back then, but I knew they had won the game. By the start of the 1981 season I was hooked on football and the Cowboys were my team.
The decade of the 1980s will not go down in Dallas Cowboys history as one of the best. It was not a time to remember for the most part. In 1980,'81 and '82, the Cowboys made it to the NFC Championship game and lost all three times. After the 1982 season the Cowboys only played in two more playoff games the rest of the 80s and lost both to the L.A. Rams. They only won two NFC East Championships in the 1980s as well. The players I grew up watching started to retire like Danny White, Randy White, Tony Dorsett, Harvey Martin, Drew Pearson and many others. The Cowboys started losing and their "America's Team" label was fading.
The only coach the Dallas Cowboys had ever had, Tom Landry was fired in 1989 after 29 years when Jerry Jones bought the team. Jones was not liked much for firing Landry even though some people believed the game had passed Landry by. Landry was still the face of the franchise and not seeing him on the sidelines was something Cowboys fans were not use to. Jones hired old friend Jimmy Johnson away from the Miami Hurricanes to coach the Cowboys. Johnson took control from the very start and made the Cowboys world Champions in 1992.
The 1980 season started with one major question. Could Danny White take over for the retired Roger Staubach? From 1969 to 1979 Roger Staubach led the Cowboys to four Super Bowls, winning two of them. He was named MVP of Super Bowl VI in 1972 as the Cowboys beat the Miami Dolphins 24-3 to capture their first World Championship. Staubach meant so much to the Dallas Cowboys during his years. Now the team was handed over to backup quarterback Danny White who had been behind Staubach since 1976.
It was up to Danny White to lead the Dallas Cowboys. I don't really remember that much about the 1980 season. I was becoming a fan, but I didn't follow the team intently. I did get involved during the playoffs that year. I remember that Danny White led the Cowboys to a 12-4 regular season record, but came up short for the NFC East title to the Philadelphia Eagles. The Cowboys finished with a perfect 8-0 home record for the first time since 1969. One particular game from the 1980 season I remember was on Thanksgiving Day, when the Cowboys crushed the Seattle Seahawks 51-7 to clinch a playoff berth.
The Cowboys hosted the NFC Wildcard game against the L.A. Rams in 1980. Only two weeks before the Wildcard game, the Rams had destroyed the Cowboys 38-14 on Monday Night Football. It was Danny White's first ever playoff start and he did not disappoint. The first half was very conservative by both teams as they went into halftime tied 13-13. The Cowboys opened up their attack in the second half. White threw three touchdown passes and handled himself with the kind of confidence that Staubach did when he was playing. Tony Dorsett led the way with 160 yards rushing and scored twice. With the Cowboys defense harassing Rams quarterback Vince Ferragamo all afternoon, the Cowboys won easily 34-13.
The next week the Cowboys traveled to Atlanta for the divisional finals. This game I remember very well and to this day it's one of my all time favorites. Maybe it's because of the way they won and how the team never gave up. The 1980 Atlanta Falcons had an explosive offense and an excellent defense. The Cowboys played catch-up all afternoon with the Falcons. Going into the fourth quarter they found themselves down 24-10. It was the kind of game that Roger Staubach had come back to win many times in his career. Now Danny White had a chance to show everyone what he was capable of doing for the Cowboys. He led the Cowboys to three fourth quarter touchdowns. The last two were late touchdown passes to Drew Pearson, or "Mr. Clutch" as some people called him. The Cowboys beat Atlanta 30-27 to advance to the NFC Championship game against the Philadelphia Eagles at Veterans Stadium. Danny White became my favorite player in that win over the Falcons. He threw for 322 yards and three touchdown passes. But the good times were about to end for the Cowboys in 1980 as they moved on to Philadelphia.
The NFC Championship game against the Eagles was not exactly the kind of game I want to store in memory. The Cowboys had the game tied at 7-7 at half time, but that's where the good news ended. The Eagles overpowered the Cowboys in the second half as running back Wilbert Montgomery ripped through the Cowboys defense for 194 yards. The Eagles held Tony Dorsett to only 41 yards rushing and Danny White to 127 yards passing. The offense also turned the ball over four times and the Eagles won easily, 20-7. It was a horrible loss, but the Cowboys would be back knocking on the door again in 1981.
To be continued...
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