Cowboys Country

Taylor Swift at 'Jerry World': Which Cowboys Best 'Rep' Her 'Eras Tour' Albums?

As Taylor Swift's "Eras Tour" wraps up at AT&T Stadium, some of its regular Dallas Cowboy inhabitants personify her iconic discography.
Geoff Maggliocchetti|
Taylor Swift at 'Jerry World': Which Cowboys Best 'Rep' Her 'Eras Tour' Albums?
Taylor Swift at 'Jerry World': Which Cowboys Best 'Rep' Her 'Eras Tour' Albums?

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Will Taylor Swift bring a championship to Arlington before the Dallas Cowboys? Considering the city is partaking in a "friendly competition" to determine which American city fields Swift's biggest fans, it's certainly possible.

AT&T Stadium became downright enchanted over the weekend, switching its normal shades of navy for a lavender haze in hosting the lauded singer/songwriter Swift for three nights as part of her ongoing "Eras Tour" that kicked off on Mar. 17 in Glendale.

The final leg of her North Texas visit landed on Sunday night, capping off her fifth temporary residency at the Cowboys' dwelling since its 2009 opening. Set to complete its domestic run in August, "The Eras Tour" is a cumulative look at Swift's musical career to date, separated by structural acts based on aesthetics generated by her 10 studio albums. The stop at AT&T Stadium set history for the establishment, as she became the first artist to sell out the facility three times on a single tour. 

After Arlington hosted a different kind of star, a look back at Swift's musical output hints she has more in common with her most recent gridiron hosts than would be commonly thought ...

CeeDee Lamb=Taylor Swfit

Swift's self-titled debut album, released shortly before she turned 17, was a mere hint at what was to come but a strong introductory outing nonetheless. Seeking to make her mark as an outsider to Nashville's cutthroat world of country music, Swift engaged in youthful feelings based on her own experiences. 

The opening track sees her introduce herself to the mainstream music world through a hint of familiarity with "Tim McGraw," named after the long-established country artist of the same name. Like Swift, the young Lamb's professional career began with iconic names attached to his debut as he inherited the No. 88 from the big gainers of Cowboys past like Drew Pearson, Michael Irvin, and Dez Bryant. 

While the debut album's popularity perhaps pales in comparison to her later work, it was an early hint that Swift was more than capable of being a headliner. Lamb quashed similar concerns last season when he was granted the Cowboys' No. 1 target duties: whereas Swift rewards such faith her backers placed in her with sold-out stadiums, Lamb silenced doubters with an All-Pro season that was anything but a "Picture to Burn" that yielded 1,359 yards and nine scores.  

Micah Parsons=Fearless

Considering his play and social media prescience that serves among the busiest of active major athletes, the title of Swift's second album perhaps broadly defines what the Cowboys have gotten in Parsons.

As with her debut, the still-teenaged Swift uses colorful imagery to describe youthful experiences and feelings, albeit with a more elaborate, more personal. Invading the backfields of the NFC East is obviously far from her mind, but there are hints from Swift as to how she's adjusting to her changing world and leaving her teenage years behind, similar to the third-year man Parsons navigating his way through an NFL world dominated by offense. Such symmetry in Dallas could be gathered through realizing a seemingly-eternal relationship established in "Love Story" isn't meant to last in "White Horse" or going through the end of a close platonic friendship in "Breathe" (which would perhaps represent the Cowboys' severing ties with running back Ezekiel Elliott). 

Like Swift (and his offensive teammate Lamb), Parsons has likewise spent the early young stages of his career with a sense of healthy reckless abandon that has set the tone for what promises to be a lasting career in North Texas. 

Tony Pollard=Speak Now

Whereas "Fearless" focuses on the concept of happily ever after, a good bit of "Speak Now" turns the spotlight to the trials that come during or in the epilogue (on display in the matured version of romance in the opening track "Mine") Other themes include unrequited infatuation or wondering what went wrong in such connections, the tracks "Last Kiss" and "The Story of Us" coming to mind in the latter department.

All of it is to say is that if the Cowboys' running backs room was looking for a theme, it could do far worse than the tracks of "Speak Now," especially when dealing with the changing of the guard from Elliott to Pollard. Optimism carries an overarching, if not subtle, aura in the album and that's exactly what the Cowboys see in Pollard, brought back in favor of the staple Elliott on an expensive yet necessary franchise tag. 

Swift left indirect warnings to Cowboys fans about instant infatuation, which many are now doubt feeling after Pollard broke out once handed the primary rushing duties  ... look no further than the aforementioned "Enchanted." But the Cowboys, armed with a strong support system in the form of a long-standing (Zack Martin/Tyron Smith) yet developing (Tyler Biadasz/Tyler Smith), might've taken inspiration from "Long Live:" a dedication from Swift to both her bandmates and fans, the latter having since adopted the title of "Swifties." 

Brandin Cooks=Red

"Red" is hardly an acceptable color for Cowboys fans to wear, as their rivals in both Washington and Houston. While Swift let it dominate her aesthetic during the album's 2012 release, she hinted it wasn't so much of a color discussion but rather the intense emotions brought about by "the kind of tumultuous, crazy, insane, intense, semi-toxic relationships." 

Cooks was a former wearer of red with the Houston Texans and it's safe to he's not interested in "Ever, Ever Getting Back Together." The offensive face of the post-Deshaun Watson Texans, Cooks flourished despite constant renovations at quarterback ... which, despite the Texans' lack of a Watson successor, didn't reach "22" but nonetheless proved frustrating. 

Finally out of a brutal union with the Texans, it's time for Cooks to prove he's "All Too Well:" Dallas was desperate for receiving production beyond Lamb and already opted not to "Stay Stay Stay" with the names behind him, Dalton Schultz and Noah Brown. Only adding to Cooks' plight is the fact that his streak of four-digit yardage season was interrupted by tension in Houston.  

Mike McCarthy=1989

Alas ... or perhaps fortunately, considering the team's dread one-win mark ... for any fans stuck in the middle of the Cowboys/Swift Venn diagram, "1989" is not a documentation of Troy Aikman's draft and rookie season amidst the first season under both Jerry Jones' ownership and Jimmy Johnson's coaching but rather her birth year and the late 1980s-style liveliness characterized by a prevalent synthesizer. 

Instead, the album that Swift considers her official move from country to pop is perhaps an (obviously unintended) adept metaphor for the current Cowboys' head coach into playcalling. Opening with a hint of change ... "Welcome to New York" celebrates exciting opportunities ahead despite prior success, which Dallas is apparently hoping to reobtain by moving on from Kellen Moore ... energetic beats are countered with documentation of exciting, if not unsuccessful, relationships (the satirical "Blank Space" notwithstanding). If that theme hasn't defined McCarthy's time at the helm of the Cowboys, nothing will.

"Bad Blood" would perhaps be the perfect tune to describe McCarthy's highly publicized collaborations with Aaron Rodgers in Green Bay, but Swift's self-proclaimed defining track of the album, the unstable, tumultuous relationship tale "Out of the Woods," is perhaps where McCarthy currently stands. The quest to guide the Cowboys to their "Wildest Dreams" has led both him and management to take drastic measures. Time will tell if each side emerges "Clean." 

Dak Prescott=Reputation

Swift left the public eye in 2016, with critics referring to her as a "snake" due to an incident where she reportedly lied about her approved inclusion in a Kanye West single. While she has since been vindicated, Swift embraced such barbs in the creation of the electropop album "Reputation," particularly through a bass-heavy first act headlined by the tracks "...Ready For It?" and "Look What You Made Me Do."

A "Reputation"-style run is exactly what the Cowboys need from Prescott, especially if he could channel the vengeance-seeking top half. Adored during the early stages of his career in one of the most dangerous if not rewarding spots in professional sports ... the small but accomplished brotherhood of Dallas Cowboys quarterbacking being one of the few comparative settings to the American pop music scene ...  Prescott has had some sour on him as the franchise quarterback after he led the league in interceptions and once again failed to move the team past the NFC Divisional round last season.

But similar to Swift's prescience itself ... as hinted upon in "This Is Why We Can't Have Nice Things"... Prescott's multi-faceted talents might be taken for granted by some Dallas fans, who have enjoyed constant contention since he took over in 2016. Embracing the idea of turnovers like Swift embraced snakes when she took the "Reputation" brand on tour would obviously be frowned upon, but duplicating the vengeful energy she carried would help restore faith in his continued supervision of the Dallas offense. 

Tyron Smith=Lover

If one's bringing the Cowboys into a conversation about Swift's self-proclaimed "love letter to love," it'd be foolish not to bring up Smith, by far the longest-tenured current Poke on the roster at a dozen seasons. It's perhaps a simple choice, but perhaps the most appropriate considering the album status as one of Swift's most personal outputs to date.

Whereas "Reputation" was a vengeance-seeking, narrative-defying rollercoaster, "Lover" opted for the lighter, more relatable side of relationships. It's an album of self-reflection and assuming responsibility (as defined in "The Archer" and "Afterglow"), partly mirroring Smith's duties of accountability as the Cowboys' offensive leader. The titular track, detailing an eternal, lasting relationship. could also reflect Cowboys fans' feelings on Smith, one of the few consistent silver linings in the up-and-down affairs that have defined modern Dallas football. 

Trevon Diggs=Folklore/Evermore

The height of the COVID-19 pandemic did nothing to stop Swift's momentum, even if her notes weren't accompanied by the usual upbeat tones, pomp, and circumstance. With the world at a relative standstill, Swift kept plugging and plucking to the tune of the soft-toned, folk-inspired Folklore, which became a source of comfort to many in lockdown. Swift and her collaborators, such as Bon Iver, had so much packed into one album that couldn't limit their output to a single playlist. Thus, "Evermore" followed up as a de facto sequel to "Folklore" five months after the latter's release, with Swift referring to the pairing as "sisters." 

Like Swift, the Cowboys provided their fans navigating through the pandemic with another brand of delightful surprise in Diggs, a second-round pick out of Minnesota. Diggs' arrival didn't come with the instant relief and gratification the prior pairing provided: supporters had to wade through an ugly six-win season (one where the Cowboys somehow remained in contention for the NFC East crown until the final hours of the regular season), the 2020 arrival paid almost instant dividends. After forcing four turnovers in his rookie year, he'd go on to enjoy a breakout sophomore campaign to the tune of 11 interceptions, leading the league. Diggs is now well-regarded as one of the most-feared ball hawks in the NFL, serving as an inspiration to incoming secondary defenders much like Swift's couple from quarantine inspired several others from both the professional and amateur levels to follow in her footsteps. 

Ironically enough, "Folklore" features a track entitled "Seven," a time-jumping song of childhood that indirectly references the digit that appears on Diggs' Cowboys jersey. 

Michael Gallup=Midnights

Swift's newest album, which debuted in October, is one built on "sleepless nights" and explores a variety of themes. Her usual staples like revenge and romance linger but a new look emerges through the universally-pondered query "what might have been," an aura firmly planted in the "Red"-inspired track "Maroon."

That question seems to define Gallup's Cowboy career, one constantly interrupted by injuries. For every instance of greatness ... Gallup has created lengthy highlight reels when he does take the field ... there's another ailment waiting to stifle any momentum. He has thus been unable to build on a breakout sophomore season, perhaps giving both him and the team a dreadful case of "Would've, Could've, Should've." 

Self-reflection is the name of the game in the "Labyrinth" of the NFL Draft, but the case surrounding Gallup multiplies fortyfold when observers realize that the Cowboys missed out on names like Orlando Brown Jr. and Mark Andrews within the immediate five picks after. There's plenty of time for Gallup to get things right but midnight's quickly approaching, especially considering the fact that he's working on a $62.5 million contract extension. 

Geoff Magliocchetti is on Twitter @GeoffJMags

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Geoff Maggliocchetti
GEOFF MAGGLIOCCHETTI

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