Rinse, Repeat, Remorse: New Cowboy Dante Fowler Joins Old Super Bowl Refrain
FRISCO - Here we no again?
Once upon a time, Dallas Cowboys owner Jerry Jones was so spooked about invoking the S-word - Super Bowl - that he comically camouflaged it as the "glory hole." But these days his franchise's coaches and players just cannot help themselves from irrationally raising the bar to ultimate expectations despite a quarter-century of failure and disappointment.
"This is about winning the Super Bowl. Period."
"Need It!"
"It's a team contending to be a Super Bowl champion."
Whether it's coach Mike McCarthy, defensive end DeMarcus Lawrence or even newcomer Dante Fowler, the Cowboys seemingly can't talk about goals without mentioning the loftiest of destinations.
A year ago at training camp in Oxnard, California, McCarthy kicked off HBO's Hard Knocks with a motivational speech to his team:
"F*ck last year. Charlie F*ckaround? He doesn't work here. High School Harry? Get his ass out the f*cking door. This is about winning a world championship. Nothing else. Winning season? Not good enough. Playoffs? Not good enough. Getting to the conference championship game? Not good enough. This is about winning the Super Bowl. Period."
But even a heart-wrenching loss to the San Francisco 49ers in the Wild Card playoff game that extended Dallas' Super Bowl-less drought to 26 seasons wasn't enough to permanently dampen enthusiasm at The Star. Fans may cringe at the team's annual seemingly unrealistic goals, but Spring has sprung in North Texas and - like clockwork - the Cowboys are again ramping up the expectations.
Lawrence this week re-tweeted a photo of the Cowboys last Super Bowl victory in 1996 that featured Michael Irvin and Deion Sanders celebrating the Lombardi Trophy with then-NBC TV NFL voice Greg Gumbel. Lawrence added "NEED IT" with the hashtag #ChampionshipOnMyMind.
Again, all this in-house hope and hype from a team that hasn't won two playoff games in a season since 1995. Mired in the longest dry spell in franchise history, the Cowboys absence from the conference championship game is topped by only the Miami Dolphins and Cleveland Browns (29 years), and the Detroit Lions and Washington Commanders (30).
In short, "Super Bowl" should be shushed.
But even outsiders-turned-insiders are prone to the hyperbolic assessment of America's Team.
Fowler, who signed with Dallas as a free agent this offseason as a replacement for Randy Gregory, played in the AFC Championship Game with the Jacksonville Jaguars in 2017 and a year later was a pass-rushing force on the Los Angeles Rams squad that beat the Cowboys in the playoffs and advanced to Super Bowl LIII.
He should know a Super-Bowl contender when he sees one.
"This is a great opportunity for me. It's a team contending to be a Super Bowl champion," Fowler said. "I'm happy to be a Dallas Cowboy. I would love to be a Cowboy long term. But right now, I just want to come in here and contribute and do what I have to do for the team so we can get these wins and get to the Super Bowl.”
One of these years, the Cowboys performance might actually meet their predictions. Until then ... here we no again.
