Troy Aikman EXCLUSIVE: Advice for Dak Prescott, Dallas Cowboys Shock - VIDEO
DALLAS - Troy Aikman, one of the best players to ever wear the star on his helmet, had plans for the NFC Championship Game. He thought he'd be attending it in San Francisco - and expected his Dallas Cowboys would be playing in it.
"The end was sudden," said Aikman on Tuesday after walking the red carpet at the George W. Bush Presidential Center to celebrate Dallas being crowned as America's No. 1 Sports Business City. "I've been on those teams when you lose and you're not expecting to lose and your season is over. It's hard. There is a post-mortem that goes with it.''
The Cowboys were ousted in the first round of the NFL Playoffs by the underdog Green Bay Packers, leaving the Hall of Famer Aikman stunned, as he detailed in an exclusive interview.
"The fans are shocked, the organization is shocked, I'm shocked," Aikman said. "I was planning on going to the championship game this week in San Francisco and I was planning on the Cowboys playing in it. It gets harder every year when you come up short like that ...
"You are the No. 2 seed with the opportunity to have two playoff games at home and then you lose the first one... This is a big disappointment for them. They will lick their wounds for a few months."
The three-time Super Bowl-winning quarterback Aikman knows better than anyone that Dak Prescott is - fairly or not - shouldering the brunt of the blame.
Troy Aikman, Bri Amaranthus
"I am a big fan of Dak. I still believe his best days are ahead of him," Aikman said. "I know from experience that until you win, the questions of whether you can win will always exist. People who say you can't - (and) they are right, until you do it. And then you don't have to hear about it anymore.
"I know it is important to him. One of the reasons I have so much respect from his is that he doesn't shy away from that. He's been very open that all that matters is Super Bowls... I am hopeful that he is able to do it and I believe that he will. But this was a missed opportunity this year."
And, with a chuckle, some advice for Dak? "Get away! Get away from everybody and regroup.''
Aikman, the lead voice on ESPN's Monday Night Football, is also on a break after his final broadcast of the season. He joined the exclusive reception presented by the Dallas Sports Commission to celebrate a newly-crowned champion he holds close to his heart...
Dallas is America's No. 1 Sports Business City, according to a seven-month study by Sports Business Journal. Aikman has a first-hand experience into how Dallas has developed into the nation’s premier sports business market because when he arrived in 1989, the scene was vastly different.
"I'm proud to be in Texas. I've been here 35 years and love it. I've been proud to see what this city has been able to accomplish and the events we have been able to host.''
Just as the Cowboys built three three-time Super Bowl powerhouse in the 1990s, Dallas built gorgeous venues (26 sports venues currently) to feed passionate fanbases (31.8 million people attended a DFW-area sporting event over the past five years) and now has more hotels under construction — 173 projects and 20,707 rooms — than any market in the world.
Aikman, a prominent charity and civic leader in Dallas, is also a founder of Eight Beer, so he also gets business from a personal angle.
"There was a time when I first got here when (Dallas) did not have those kinds of facilities to host,'' Aikman said. "It took lot of effort by a lot of people and to receive this recognition is a big deal."
