Eight is Enough?! Ranking DFW's Pro Sports Championships; Dallas Cowboys No. 1?
WHITT'S END 11.3.23:
Whether you’re at the end of your coffee, your day, your week or even your rope, welcome to Whitt’s End …
*We only had to be patient for 51 years for all four DFW pro sports teams to own a championship. And only had to twiddle our thumbs a mere 4,525 days in between our two most recent titles. So, of course, let’s hurry up and rank ’em.
Thanks to the Texas Rangers’ shocking World Series clinched this week, the Metroplex now has eight trophies on its modest mantle. Which one is the shiniest?
8. Dallas Stars, 1999 – By far the most dramatic of the eight, thanks to Brett Hull’s Stanley Cup-clinching goal in the triple-overtime wee hours in Buffalo. But, in the end, it’s just hockey.
7. Dallas Cowboys, 1978 – Winning ugly, they committed 12 penalties, two turnovers and allowed Roger Staubach to be sacked five times – and still won in a 17-point blowout over the Denver Broncos in Super Bowl XII.
6. Cowboys, 1994 – In another expected cakewalk against another overmatched Buffalo Bills’ team, Dallas trailed at halftime but dominated Super Bowl XXVIII’s second half, 24-0.
5. Texas Rangers, 2023 – DFW’s longest wait would’ve earned a higher ranking, but their biggest hits (Corey Seager), best pitches (Nathan Eovaldi) and pivotal playoff decisions (Bruce Bochy) were produced by hired guns rather than home-grown talent. Other than radio voice Eric Nadel and public address announcer Chuck Morgan, few long-time sufferers are still around the organization to enjoy this vindication.
4. Cowboys, 1996 – “The Triplets” swan song in Super Bowl XXX got payback on the Pittsburgh Steelers for those 1970s heartbreaks. But Barry Switzer’s coaching and Larry Brown’s MVP dulled the sensation.
3. Cowboys, 1993 – Garth Brooks, Michael Jackson and Troy Aikman starred in the Rose Bowl, as Dallas came within a Leon Lett gaffe of setting a Super Bowl record for most points in a 35-point romp over the Bills in XXVII.
2. Cowboys, 1972 – Our first will always be special. Devastating title-game losses to the Green Bay Packers were finally diluted by a dominating defense and Bob Lilly’s epic 29-yard sack of Bob Griese in Super Bowl VI. “Next Year’s Champions” no more, punctuated by a Tom Landry ear-to-ear grin.
1. Dallas Mavericks, 2011 – It’s the best because it exacted revenge from the Miami Heat franchise that beat them in 2006. Because it silenced Kevin Durant, Russell Westbrook, Kobe Bryant, Dwyane Wade and LeBron James along the way. And, mostly, because it was single-handedly orchestrated by the GOAT of DFW sports that in 21 years refused to play for any other team – Dirk Nowitzki.
*Yeah, yeah we know. Lincoln Financial Field in south Philly is a zoo. The fans are as boisterous and intimidating as any in the NFL. Yadda, yadda and more yadda. Since 2010 the Cowboys are 9-5 in Philly, including a loss last year quarterbacked by backup Cooper Rush. Dak Prescott is 8-3 all-time against the Eagles. Cowboys owner Jerry Jones says his team is in some “serious (bleep)” come Sunday at 3:25 p.m.
Look, the 7-1 Eagles are a good team. But let’s not ratchet it into an impossible environment when the facts say otherwise.
*Mavs are off to their first 4-0 start since 2004. How’s that? Because Grant Williams is better than expected. And, hard as it is to believe, Luka Doncic is better than ever.
*On Oct. 1 the Rangers were shut out in Seattle, 1-0. Their next road loss won’t come until April 2024. In between, they won a World Series. Texas went 11-0 on the road this postseason, capped by a three-game sweep of the Arizona Diamondbacks. Let’s see, they beat the Rays, Orioles, Astros and D-backs. Hey, that acronym is ROAD!
*You want more wonky? I got your wonky. From Sept. 25 to Nov. 1 – spanning 38 days – the Rangers won only two home games. They are World Series champs.
*Sometimes it pays to be old as dirt: Only those of us 51+ have been alive for all eight DFW championships.
*Went to a “Celebration of Life” a couple weeks ago and there was one of those “In Loving Memory of … ” posters featuring a photograph of the deceased. Got me to wondering if my signature photo has already been taken and, if so, which one it is. Or, if not, I better start combing my hair every morning.
*The Rangers’ championship dogpile could’ve been made better by only one thing – if it happened at Globe Life Field. Of our eight titles, exactly none of them have been clinched at “home.” The Cowboys won their five on neutral fields in New Orleans (twice), Pasadena, Atlanta and Tempe. The Stars won Game 6 in Buffalo; Mavs Game 6 in Miami. And the Rangers popped their Game 5 corks in Phoenix. Are we getting too greedy asking to witness one in our own backyard?
*Hot.
*Not.
Bob Lilly's iconic sack of Bob Griese in Super Bowl VI is one of the best sports moments in DFW history.
*Once upon a time (last July) I offered that the New England Patriots were foolish to draft a kicker because – if you shake hard enough – they grow on trees. Furthermore, I predicted Brandon Aubrey had similar DNA to grow into Dan Bailey.
Presto, after excitedly overcooking his first PAT of the season, Aubrey’s made 35 consecutive kicks including 18 field goals and 17 extra points. ... and he's the NFC Special-Teams Player of the Month.
*Are the 4-0 Mavs for real? Check in with me late Friday night after they play at the defending champion Denver Nuggets.
*Got several texts during the World Series alleging/complaining that Fox analyst John Smoltz was “anti-Rangers” and/or “pro-Diamondbacks.” To which I replied, “So?!” Announcers don’t “hate” teams. It’s as silly a concept as “games are rigged.”
I’ll worry about my team winning the game, you continue to vigilantly monitor if there is a perceived announcer bias.
*Smashing your pickup into a convenience store and pulling out the ATM filled with $20,000 seems kind of genius. But doing it with your license plate in full view of witnesses proves you are as dumb as you are lazy.
*In 1987 I covered a championship parade for the Dallas Sidekicks that basically was one lap around Reunion Arena. The Rangers’ celebration Friday afternoon won’t be that lame, but taking a trip around their old ballpark across the street and skirting Six Flags feels very Smalltown, USA.
And – hello, Jerry – the Rangers’ parade will begin and end on … Cowboys Way.
*Speaking of raining on the parade, Nadel waited 44 years to call a Rangers World Series’ clincher on the radio and he came up with … “It’s over! It’s over! … Ranger fans, you’re not dreaming!” Fantastic and fitting. Except, um, why “Ranger” fans and not “Rangers” fans? If you’re a “Ranger” fan, it singularly means you are a fan of only one individual player. I’ve also heard Brad Sham call a fumble recovery as “Cowboy football!” Maybe it’s me. (It’s not me.)
*I’ve long maintained that the most overrated aspect of professional sports is coaching. Then along came Bochy to shove a World Series in my skeptical kisser. Somehow squeezing a juicy bullpen out of what for most of the year was a dried, shriveled mess, Bochy led the Rangers to the title and won his fourth World Series. He was the difference. I stand corrected.
*Baseball is a game of analytics and numbers and stats and trends and … only one means a hill of beans to the Rangers: They finally won a game in November.
*Now that the confetti has settled, is it okay for me to say I still wish the Rangers weren’t the only team in MLB to not host a Pride Night honoring the LGBTQ community? They won a championship. Great. Doesn’t mean they can’t improve in terms of inclusivity and diversity.
*Just warning you, this space is about to get grumpier in the coming weeks. Why? Daylight Savings Time ends Sunday. While some celebrate the “Fall Back” extra hour of sleep, I dread and bemoan the fact that it will soon be dark and cold at 4:38 in the friggin’ afternoon.
*The World Series – and the Rangers’ final month – reminded us why we love sports. Unlike fake reality shows or scripted docudramas, sports is raw and real and, sometimes, down right implausible.
In 2011 the Mavs were a lightly-regarded No. 3 seed in the NBA Playoffs, destined – experts forecasted – to be easily ousted by Tim Duncan’s San Antonio Spurs or Kobe’s Los Angeles Lakers.
In 2023, the Rangers lost 16 of 20 in August and three of four in late September to choke away their division. They began the season as a 50-1 longshot and entered the postseason as No. 5 seed afterthought.
Sometimes when you least expect it, quirky, unscripted things happen in sports. If you’re lucky, every now and then those things will happen in your team’s favor. And yes, that applies to the Cowboys, too ... this weekend and beyond.
*This Weekend? Friday let’s play golf for likely the last time in 2023. Saturday let’s journey to the Dallas Zoo. Sunday let’s watch Cowboys-Eagles. As always, don’t be a stranger.
