The Dallas Cowboys

The Dallas Cowboys are arguably the most recognizable football team in the NFL. They have been in the National Football League since 1960 and have been winning ever since. Known as America's Team the Cowboys have sold out their how and away games an NFL record 160 straight games.

The Cowboys played their home games at Texas Stadium in Arlington since 1971, but beginning in 2009 the team will play in the brand new, state of the art, Dallas Cowboys New Stadium. The New Stadium, as it is referred to, has a seating capacity of eighty-thousand and it can be re-configured to hold up to one-hundred thousand fans as needed. The stadium cost more than one billion dollars. The city of Dallas, the NFL, and owner Jerry Jones are all contributing to the funding of the stadium.

The Cowboys began their foundation of excellence in 1971 when they defeated the Miami Dolphins by a score of 24-3 which brought the first of five NFL championship trophies to Dallas. They won again in 1977, 1992, 1993, and 1995. The expectation of excellence that exists in Dallas was formed by these championship teams.

The Cowboys longtime rivals are the Washington Redskins. In fact the owner of the Redskins, George Marshall, tried to block the Cowboys from joining the NFL in 1960. Marshall's Redskins were extremely popular in Texas and he didn't want to see that diminish by having a new team Texas. The would be owners of the Cowboys bought the rights to the Redskins fight song and informed Marshall he could no longer play it at Redskins games unless he relented. He did and the Cowboys franchise was born. The rivalry was born in 1960, but is still very intense to this day.

The five NFL championships that the Cowboys won were certainly part of what gave them their national appeal, but that is not the only reason that they have become America's Team. They have won forty-one games on Monday Night Football which is more than any other franchise and has given them more national exposure than many other teams.

Of course all the exposure in the world is not going to catapult a team to the level of appeal the Cowboys have unless the team has the players people want to root for, and the Cowboys have always had those players. From Roger Staubauch to Troy Aikman, to Tony Romo the Cowboys have always had the kind of charismatic quarterback that is so important to creating national appeal for a team.

The current fans of the Cowboys have plenty to cheer about as well. Owner Jerry Jones, who bought the Cowboys in 1989 for $150 million dollars, is consistently willing to do whatever it takes help the Cowboys win. There is no player he won't sign, and seemingly no amount of money he won't spend to improve his Cowboys. Outsiders sometimes see Jerry Jones as being intrusive, but he is the steward of a one-billion dollar NFL team so if he chooses to be more hands on than some other owners then that it is certainly his right to do so.

The Cowboys are valued at more than $1.6 billion dollars which makes them the most valuable sports franchise in the United States. They also generate about $270 million dollars in revenue per season, which means they will be able to be competitive in the NFL for decades to come.

Writer and editor, Freddie Brister, is a former high school football coach of 25 years. His love of the game of football is reflected in his words and memories of growing up in the South and playing football in the back yard with his brother, cousins and neighborhood friends. His biggest thrill is watching former high school players he has coached play at the college level. His favorite pastime is watching NFL on TV and attending the games in person every chance he gets. Freddie Brister is a huge fan of the NFL and the Dallas Cowboys. Check out his Dallas Cowboys Merchandise.