I am a Dallas Cowboys fan. I have been all my life, unapologetically. In my family changing team affiliation is like changing church denominations… actually as someone who has done just that, it may be bigger. But I was raised to understand that the name on the helmet was (or should be), more important than the one on the jersey. I remained a Cowboys fan when Tony Dorsett went to the Broncos, and Emmitt Smith to the Cardinals. I still loved Tony and Emmitt, but when they came to Dallas, I cheered for the defense. Likewise, I was crushed when Terrell Owens came to Dallas and I cheered when he left, but I also cheered when he caught four touchdowns against the Washington Redskins in 2007.
Now all this is not to say I’m allowed no other football interests. Given their name I feel obligated to pull for the Texans despite the one way rivalry some Houston fans feel compelled to create. And I have always had a soft spot in my heart for the New Orleans Saints, due to the fact that they were so bad for so long, (also due to my many fond remembrances of that great city). But at the end of the day, when the conflicts arise, there is no conflict for me. I am a Cowboys partisan through and through, in good years and bad. And while there has been more of the later in recent years, I will continue to pull for my team no matter who is at the helm, and who is backing up Brian Hoyer in Cleveland.
As my readers may have guessed I’m responding to a series of billboards that have gone up in Tyler recently declaring that our town is now “Cleveland Browns Country,” and urging Tylerites to begin supporting this out of state team based solely on the name sown on the second string quarterback’s jersey. I hate to break it to the young man’s supporters but the quarterback’s road to the Pro Football Hall of Fame doesn’t exactly run through Cleveland. The Browns have left a trail of potentially productive QBs, broken in their wake in recent years and while I’m not a close follower of that organization, I see no reason for that to change. Make no mistake; I’ve nothing against the Browns per se. I just find the suggestion that Tyler should now support them over the Cowboys because of one player, who has yet to take a single snap, and who may not all season, to be a ridiculous notion.
So fine, go for the Browns as a back plan or a second team. I doubt we’ll see great things from the Cowboys this year, (please Lord let me be mistaken). There’s nothing wrong with diversifying interests, provided they’re not conflicting interests. My honest advice to Manziel fans is this: think of the Browns as his first NFL team. And to the rest of us, don’t worry Tyler will always be Cowboys country, regardless of what some billboard says.