'He Meant It!' Troy Aikman Lauds Jimmy Johnson's 'No Joke' Cowboys Halftime Speech
Jimmy Johnson's viral tirade might not have influenced the modern Dallas Cowboys, but it sure got to Troy Aikman.
The only Cowboy who truly showed up for Sunday's Wild Card clash, a 48-32 shellacking at the hands of the Green Bay Packers, was Johnson, who embarked upon a fiery rant that doubled as a halftime speech during the halftime report of Fox's game coverage. It was enough to get co-analyst Michael Strahan to line up in a three-point stance and join the Dallas pass rush.
His tirade perhaps offered viewers an admittedly tame version of his halftime speeches from his time at the helm of the Pokes, which yielded two Super Bowl titles between 1989 and 1993. That's how one of Johnson's proteges, former Cowboys quarterback Aikman, viewed it, claiming it harkened back to dour Dallas locker rooms during their shared North Texas tenure.
“A lot of times on television, as we know, we see analysts that will react, and it’s really for show,” Aikman, currently calling "Monday Night Football" games on ESPN said during an appearance on "The Stephen A. Smith Show." “This was as upset as I’ve seen Jimmy since I played for him.”
Johnson, who implored the current Cowboys to get their "rear end(s) in there and play the way (they) know to play," was well-known for his excitable sideline personality, during his lauded coaching career. Aikman implied that some could claim that a few years on television might've taken the edge off, but Johnson proved that he's still capable of verbal, if not brutally honest, persuasion on Sunday.
“I always kid him for the fact that he’s changed over the years, and he’s not as intense,” Aikman declared. “But that intensity that we saw as players when he was our coach, that’s what America saw in his halftime talk to the team. He meant it."
“When Strahan reacted to him the way that he did, thinking Jimmy was half-joking, I could tell there was no joking about it,” Aikman continued. “He was serious, he was as embarrassed ... by the performance up to that point in that ballgame as any one of those coaches would have been.”
Alas for Johnson and the Dallas faithful, it appears that his words didn't make it to the Cowboys' locker room. The Cowboys trailed 27-7 at intermission and that lead expanded to as bad as 48-16 before the Packers, anticipating their coming victory, loosened up their defense and allowed Dallas to create its final margin. Sunday's loss brought about another disappointing end to the Cowboys' season, as their NFC title game drought now stands at 28 consecutive seasons.
Though the Cowboys are eliminated, Dallas alumni will be one the mikes for AFC Divisional round action over the weekend: Aikman will call the Baltimore Ravens' postseason debut against the Houston Texans on Saturday (3:30 p.m. CT, ABC/ESPN) while fellow former Dallas thrower Tony Romo will narrate the Buffalo Bills' tilt against the Kansas City Chiefs (5:30 p.m. CT, CBS).
