Root For Dallas?

I've never been able to watch more than 15 minutes of the movie Napoleon Dynamite so I never got as far as the Vote for Pedro scenes in the movie. Napoleon Dynamite has some sort of cult following and those who enjoy it strike me as odd.

The Dallas Cowboys have some sort of cult following and fans of the team strike me as, um, heathen savages. It's so odd that I will be cheering for the Cowboys (1-4) against the New York Giants (4-2) tonight.

The Redskins intercepted their way in Chicago to a 4-3 record. If the Giants lose to the Cowboys, the Beast will be knotted in a three-way tie for first place, with the 'Boys a game and a-half behind.

The Giants are playing as if they are serious about winning the conference. They sacked Jay Cutler nine times in the first half of the Chicago game, a 17-3 win, but have yet to face a Beast team.

The Giants are ranked seventh in the Bloguin.com NFL Week 6 Power Poll. The talented but inept Cowboys are ranked 26th in the same poll.

In the idealized world of sports competition, the better teams win out. The Redskins need work, so any back door help is appreciated. I don't want the 'Skins to chase the Giants before they face them on December 5. New York plays Dallas twice and Philadelphia once before then.

Washington already has wins against Dallas and Philadelphia. A division loss by New York helps the cause. It won't hurt the Eagles or Cowboys, either. The best chance for a Giants division loss is tonight in Dallas, or November 21 at The Linc in Philly.

So just for tonight, I'm for Dallas even though it will feel as odd as watching Napoleon Dynamite. I'm going to do it alone, in the dark, very quietly with beer.

If the Cowboys win, I'll vote for Pedro. I promise.

Redskins Hold Off Cowboys in 13-7 Thriller

The Mike Shanahan era is off to a good start with a game plan that was not brilliant, but an astute use of the talent on the team, especially the defense. Dallas gained 282 passing yards and a touchdown, and 103 rushing yards, but the Redskins brought pressure to kill drives (five of 13 third downs converted) and disrupt plays. The Skins front seven exploited the Cowboys offensive line. Tony Romo handled that pressure to give Dallas its first lead as time ran out, only to see it evaporate when back-up OT Alex Barron couldn't handle Brian Orakpo.


Read the rest of this post at Redskins Hog Heaven

Soooooo Close

The Washington Redskins have had their share of ugly wins and nasty losses. Today's game against the Cowboys was not one of them. It was a good loss.

A good loss is the kind where you played at your best, executing a good game plan, but lost to a better team playing a better game.

While the Redskins were not perfect, they were in the game until the last 90 seconds. That's better by far than I expected. Would Terrell Owens, that emotionally needy man-child [used to call them sissies], have made four touchdown passes over the middle if Sean Taylor was lurking in the secondary?

Taylor and Fletcher-Baker are the two defensive players who cannot be replaced. The team showed they could cope with other injuries.

Al Saunders showed that his offense can work here. Joe Gibbs showed that he could trust it to win games. Jason Campbell showed his growth as a quarterback running that offense. That's something to build on for the rest of this season and in the future.

Campbell has shown that he can run the offense. Now he has to learn how to win!

I feel good about that.

Oh yeah, you only get one "good loss" per season. No more moral victories, guys.

Cowboys most valuable, FedEx doomed

So, Forbes Magazines ranks the Dallas Cowboys as the most valuable franchise in sports, thanks to their soon to be completed stadium. At an estimated $1.5 Billion, that's a mere $33 Million more than the value of the Washington Redskins [at $1.467 Billion]. Chump change. This is like saying you are wealthy because of the equity in your house.

Skin Patrol at Hogs Haven points to a story posted at footballguys.com that ranks NFL teams in real money. As the story puts it:

Washington absolutely demolishes the rest of the league in total revenues ($312mm) and has a fantastic 21% operating margin. In other words, for all that money Daniel Snyder wastes, er, I mean spends on big ticket free agents, he’s got more profits to spare than anyone else in the league.

Daniel Snyder is a prideful guy. I don't think he will sit still at being No. 2 to the Cowboys. If a new stadium is all it takes to make the Cowboys the most valuable team, then Danny will want a newer, bigger one. FedEx Field is still a teenager, but it's doomed. Or, domed, whichever comes first.

Such pecuniary topics obscure the really important things about football. Tuesday Morning Quarterback on ESPN Page 2 has this to say:

"Back-to-back summer-weather nationally televised games hosted by Washington and Dallas confirmed beyond doubt what NFL observers have been thinking for several years -- the Redskins cheerleaders are now the league's hottest dance team, leaving the Cowboys cheerleaders in their aesthetic dust. Twenty years ago, the Cowboys' pep squad may have been the best-looking and best-dancing in the NFL. Now, it's not even close -- the Redskins cheerleaders are No. 1 in looks and in choreography. Here they are, and here's their warm-to-the-touch swimsuit calendar. At this point, the Broncos cheerleaders tie the Redskins cheerleaders in beauty and the Eagles cheerleaders tie them in choreography, but Washington finishes first overall, including for game-day professionalism."

Roger that.

Photo: Washington Redskins

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You have to scroll waaaay down in the column to get to the cheerleader quote. Gregg Easterbrook, the Tuesday Morning Quarterback, opens with a lengthy story about the growing use of the shotgun spread offense in NCAA football. It's a fad that becoming a trend. Easterbrook's description is a particularly good read.

When reading the story, I understood the Redskins drafting QB Jordan Palmer, who played exclusively from the shotgun formation at UTEP. Until now, I never understood why the Redskins would take a guy who never took a pro style snap from under center.

Drafting Palmer was a flyer, but not so much because of the shotgun offense.

Deal with that, Daniel Snyder

Two things I think I know about Daniel Snyder:

1. He's unpopular among NFL owners


2. He want to host a Super Bowl (in addition to winning one)

So it must gall our man Dan that the NFL will host the 2011 Super Bowl in Dallas, in Jerry Jones new Cowboys [insert corporate name here] stadium; a new 100,000 seat stadium. The new cowboys stadium is under construction and will be complete for the 2009 season. It will supplant FedEx Field as the NFL's largest venue.

Now I get it. Now I understand the underground discussions with District officials to build a super large [I've heard capacity of up to 125,000] stadium. Owner egos such as they are, that's just something Dan the Man won't sit still for. Won't stand for it either.

There are still huge political and financial hurdles to overcome. One of which is that Mayor Adrian Fenty and most members of the DC Council opposed the baseball deal. Another is that Snyder might not get the NFL owner votes. Jerry Jones is no favorite among owners, either. He got the vote. Business and marketing is the thing that Mr. Snyder is good at. He could get this done, if he puts his mind to it.

[We won't go into what he's bad at, like getting the team in the Super Bowl. Oops, I mentioned it. My bad.]

The irony is that one obstacle to Washington hosting a Super Bowl is that the team owns FedEx Field. I suspect a future Super Bowl is one of those things the NFL dangles in front of governments to extract public funding for stadiums. The NFL is really good at extracting money and the Super Bowl is a unique property. In baseball and basketball, championship games are home & home series between the contending teams. There is only one Super Bowl. In sports, there's nothing like it except the Olympics.

For an online tour of every NFL stadium, including those under construction, see Stadiums of the NFL.

Image: www.stadiumsofthenfl.com

The hand of WHO?

The rivalry with the hated Cowboys has risen to Heavenly heights according to the authoritative Wikipedia no less. The November 2006 miracle come-from-behind win by the Redskins over the Cowboys is now referred to as the "Hand Of God" game in the Wikipedia article Significant rivalries in the NFL.

"The 'Hand of God' game occurred on November 5, 2006 at FedEx Field when the Redskins won through a most unusual series of events. With the game tied 19-19, Redskins kicker Nick Novak missed a 49 yard field goal attempt, turning the ball back to Dallas on downs. The ensuing plays, in turn, set up for Dallas' Mike Vanderjagt, the most accurate kicker in NFL history, to try for a 35-yard field goal with 6 seconds remaining. The kick was blocked by Redskins’ safety Troy Vincent and picked up by the Redskins' Sean Taylor. Taylor returned the kick to the Cowboys' 44-yard line with no time left on the clock. However, the Cowboys' Kyle Kosier committed a 15-yard facemask penalty on Taylor during the return, which caused the game to be extended by one untimed down. From 47 yards out, Nick Novak made the game winning field goal to send the Cowboys back to Dallas with an unexpected loss."

By Divine intervention, the Redskins were saved from a 4-12 season, but lost out on the fifth pick of the draft.

The "Hand Of God" reference is also in an eZine article Cowboys vs. Redskins - A Rivalry 47 Years Strong And Counting.

For Running Redskins' history of the Redskins-Cowboys rivalry, see -

Cowboys-Redskins Part I: It Didn't Start With Allen

Cowboys-Redskins Part II: Aces Wild

Cowboys-Redskins Part III: The Future Is Now

Cowboys & Redskins: Part III - The Future Is Now

Prominent Washington lawyer Edward Bennett Williams assumed management control of the Redskins in 1968. He, along with fellow board member Jack Kent Cooke, exerted more control over the Redskins in 1962 when they pushed owner George Preston Marshall to acquiece to the government's demand to integrate the team. Cooke and Williams felt that Marshall was on the wrong side of the issue, both because of the the threatened eviction from government-owned DC (later RFK) Stadium, and because the Skins were fielding a less competitive team without Negro talent.

After watching Tom Landry's success in Dallas, Williams pushed for an upgrade in coaching and achieved spectacular success when he lured Vince Lombardi out of retirement to coach the Skins. The Redskins were a competitive 7-5-2 in 1969, their first winning season in 14 years. The shock of Lombardi's untimely death in 1970 numbed the franchise almost as much as it did the Green Bay Packers.

When Los Angeles Rams coach George Allen became available in 1971, Williams jumped at the chance to bring him to Washington. Allen amassed a 49-16-4 record in five years with the Rams.
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"I gave Coach Allen an unlimited budget and he exceeded it." -- Edward Bennett Williams
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Over The Hill. Allen believed in veteran players and traded draft choices to get them, especially for players he had a relationship with, like Jack Pardee, Ron McDole, and Verlon Biggs. He was heavily criticized for signing aging "has beens" to big contracts. Orthodox philosophy was to build through the draft for the future. Allen countered that you never knew how a rookie would turn out. A high prospect player could get injured. Young players make mistakes. He wanted proven talent. He wanted immediate results. "The future is now" he famously said.

The results were immediate. The Redskins became periennial contenders through the '70s. Allen went 67-30 in his stay with Washington. The league was shocked that a group of "has beens" could be so successful. Pundits referred to Allens' crew as "The over the hill gang" named for a popular made-for-TV movie of the same name. That story, starring Walter Brennan, was about a group of broken down, retired Texas Rangers who brought law and order to the West.

America's Team. Ironic that the 1970s Redskins would be identified with TV Texas Rangers. The Dallas Cowboys emerged as "America's Team" and the road to the playoffs went through Dallas. Allen used that to motivate his team. To Allen, it was not enough just to beat Dallas, the Redskins had to beat Dallas' record. Every game to him was a Dallas game. Every loss was a killer.
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"Every time you lose, you die a little. Not all of your organs, but a portion of you; maybe just your liver." -- George Allen
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Everyone can see. There was a second influence that brought the Redskins-Cowboys rivalry to prominance and it was huge. NFL Commissioner Pete Rozell worked tirelessly to promote the league and by 1970 had signed national TV contracts with the networks that brought huge audiences to the game. The contract also launched Monday Night Football.

Television is all drama and stars. For drama, the networks wanted games that influenced the playoff race and it wanted identifiable rivalries. And recognizable personalities. There was eccentric, secretive, highly competitive George Allen developing a legitimate challenger to America's Team. TV maximized rivalries. Oakland vs. Kansas City (actually, John Madden's Oakland vs. anybody) and Minnesota vs. Green Bay held appeal. But Washington vs. Dallas could feed the TV beast with Allen vs. Landry, Over The Hill Gang vs. Doomsday Defense, Stauback vs. Kilmer/Jurgensen, Drew Pearson vs. Charley Taylor and an early touch of Red vs. Blue -- another irony given the Redskins history under Marshall.

The rivalry was already intense to Redskins and Cowboys followers. National TV made it famous. As the national audience tuned in to the intensity, there was Allen who was making the games meaningful to the post-season. Allen is forever tied to "making" the Redskins-Cowboys rivalry.

Redskins and Cowboys. The Redskins did not disappoint. They stunned the Cowboys 21-16 in the first meeting in 1971 and were greeted by 10,000 delerious fans who welcomed tham home at the airport. Landry won the rematch 13-0 enroute to Super Bowl VI.

The highpoint of Allen's tenure in Washington was the 1972 team that was 11-3 and got as far as Super Bowl VII. The Cowboys were off to a 20-7 lead in the game at RFK when the Redskins pulled out a 24-20 win. It was the first time anyone was aware that the stadium could be made to shake. Dallas won the rematch in Dallas 34-24, but both teams made the playoffs, Washington as division champs.

That set up one of the most famous events in Redskins lore, the 1972 conference championship game. Washington held home field advantage and the Over The Hill Gang held Dallas to 73 passing yards. Charlie Taylor caught two touchdown passes from Billy Kilmer. With Curt Knight's four field goals, the Redskins crushed the Cowboys 26-3.

The Skins under Allen were always a playoff calibre team, but never made it all the way back after '72. (Among the NFC East contenders was Don Coryell's St. Louis Cardinals. The Cardinals took the division in 1974 and '75. Coryell had on his staff a promising young offensive coordinator named Joe Gibbs. For more of Gibbs' story, look here.)

The Over The Hill Gang had several memorable games with the Cowboys. Ken Houston's mano~a~mano stop of Walt Garrison at the one yard line on a Monday Night game comes to mind. We don't speak of the Clint Longley game around here. By 1977, the Gang really was showing the effects of age and were swept by the hated rivals.

Allen left the Redskins to return to the Rams for what he thought was a better deal. He would call that a mistake. But his effect on the Redskins survived his departure. Jack Pardee and Richie Pettibone, both Allen disciples, coached the George Allen defense into the 1990s. Then, ex-Cowboys offensive coordinator Norv Turner came along and changed everything.

Damned Cowboys won again.

For the official Redskins summary of the rivalry, look here.

For a graphic depiction of the rivalry, look here.

Dallas Cowboys
Washington Redskins

Cowboys & Redskins: Part II - Aces Wild

Part II. Jurgensen vs. Meredith: Aces Wild
In the 1960's, the Cowboys steadily improved their team as general manager Tex Schramm provided coach Tom Landry with better and better talent. By 1966, they rose to a consistent playoff team with eight consecutive post-season appearances from 1966 through 1973. The Redskins, who hadn't made a playoff appearance since 1946, were stumbling their way to a 46-82-10 record through the decade often because Sonny Jurgensen and the offense couldn't outscore teams that the defense couldn't stop. It was frustrating for the team and the fans, but Charley Taylor, Bobby Mitchell and especially Jurgensen stoked the flames of hope. Author Jack Clary in the book Pro Football's Greatest Moments described Jurgensen. "In his prime, Sonny was the finest passer in the league. He consistently threw the ball farther, straighter, and with greater accuracy than Johnny Unitas, Bart Starr, Fran Tarkenson, or Len Dawson ever did."

Dandy Don Meredith was the second starting quarterback in Cowboys history, finally supplanting Eddie LeBaron in 1965. Dallas would have better quarterbacks in its history, but Meredith was the first to lead them to a playoff appearance. Known for his leadership, Dandy Don affected a cowboy persona with a Texas drawl, a twinkle in his eye and mischievous smile to go along with a healthy sense of humor. He became a fan favorite in Dallas, and later, with the same personality, achieved national prominence as a member of the original Monday Night Football announcement crew.

In 1965 through 1967 Jurgensen and Meredith led their teams in four games that produced a combined total of 222 points with only 10 points of overall difference between the two teams.

November 28, 1965, DC Stadium. The Cowboys slapped the Skins with a 21-0 lead on a pass play, a running play and a 60 yard fumble recovery. Despite Jurgensen's 26 yard TD strike to Charley Taylor, the fans in the stands, as impatient as always, called for Sonny to be benched in favor of second string QB Dick Shiner. Jurgy drove the Redskins down field for a second touchdown to cut the Cowboys lead to 24-13. The Skins scored another touchdown on the ground to make it 24-20. Meredith tossed a 53 yard scoring strike to Frank Clarke. Against any other team the Redskins would have folded. Against the Cowboys, Jurgensen pulled another dart from his quiver with a 10 yard pass to Bobby Mitchell. Cowboys 31-27. The Boys couldn't move the ball but used a lot of clock. The Redskins got the ball on their 20 yard line with less than two minutes to go. Jurgy gained nine yards on a busted play. Chuck Howley was called for pass interference on the next play, then Jurgensen completed a 22 yard pass play to Jerry Smith. Next Jurgensen tossed a bomb to Bobby Mitchell that carried to the Dallas 5 yard line. Jurgensen's pass to tight end Angelo Coia gave the Redskins their first lead, 34-31, with about one minute to play.

Meredith was not done. He drove the Cowboys to the Redskins 37 yard line with seven seconds to go. With every orifice in every Redskins fan clinched tight, Danny Villaneuva attempted a tying field goal. It was blocked by Redskins defensive back Lonnie Sanders.

Jurgensen was 26 of 42 passes for 411 yards and 3 TD passes. He also ran for a score. The Redskins gained 51 yards on the ground.

November 13, 1966, DC Stadium. The Cowboys featured "the fastest man in football" in the person of Bob Hayes. He was dangerous. In the second quarter with the score 7-6 Dallas, Meredith threw a 52 yard touchdown bomb to Bullet Bob, followed in the third quarter with a 95 yard repeat. Cowboys 21-7. Washington scored three consecutive times with Jurgensen's 4 yard pass to Jerry Smith and 78 yard pass to Charlie Taylor, followed by a Charlie Gogolak field goal. Redskins 23-21. Meredith drove the Cowboys down field to set up a 1 yard TD run by Dan Reeves. The Skins came back on a drive ending with Jurgensen's 18 yard scoring toss to Charlie Taylor. Skins 30-28.

Meredith got the ball back with no timeouts and the Redskins playing deep prevent. He threw a 26 yard pass to Pete Gent. On the next play Meredith rolled out for a 12 yard gain and ran out of bounds, stopping the clock. The Redskins were 59 seconds from victory. Two plays to Walt Garrison were inconsequential. On third and nine, Meredith completed another pass to Pete Gent that carried the Cowboys to the Redskins 33. The Redskins mounted a strong pass rush to push the Cowboys out of field goal range. Meredith was hit just as he scrambled out of bounds. The penalty put the Boys on the Redskins 12 for an easy Villanueva field goal. Cowboys 31-30.

Meredith completed 21 of 28 passes for 406 yards and 2 TDs. Jurgensen was 26 of 35 for 347 yards and 3 scores.

December 11, 1966, The Cotton Bowl. The Redskins visited the Cowboys a short month later with memories fresh. The Redskins took a 10-7 lead at the half after linebacker John Reger recovered a block punt and ran it in for a score. Then the shootout commenced. Danny Villanueva kicked a tieing 26 yard field goal for the Cowboys and Bob Hays caught a 23 yard pass for for the 17-10 lead. The Redskins tied it up on Bobby Mitchell's 11 yard reception from Jurgensen. The Cowboys regained the lead when Dan Reeves stunned the Redskins with a 67 yard touchdown run. Cowboys 24-17. The Skins drove the field and scored on Jurgensen's 11 yard pass to Jerry Smith, only to have the Cowboys regain the lead with Don Perkins 6 yard touchdown run. Cowboys 31-24. Jurgensen hit Charlie Taylor with a 65 yard touchdown bomb that Taylor caught between two defenders. 31-31. The Skins got the ball back with two minutes to go.

From their 46 yard line, with the Cowboys defending the pass, Redskins running back A.D. Whitfield ran right for a 30 yard gain (fooled ya). The run set up Charlie Gogolak's winning field goal. Redskins 34-31.

October 8, 1967, DC Stadium. This was the lowest scoring of the four games. The Redskins led 14-10 with 70 seconds to go in the fourth quarter. The Cowboys took possession on their 29. Meredith completed a 17 yarder to Craig Baynham, who ran out of bounds. The next two plays were inconsequential. Meredith hit Lance Renzel for 12 yards and a second time for 6. On fourth down with 23 seconds remaining, Meredith hit an open Dan Reeves who beat out linebacker Chris Hanberger to score. Cowboys 17-14. After the kick-off with 7 seconds to go, Jurgensen pitched a long bomb (in the Cold War era, there were a lot of football references to "bombs") to Charlie Taylor, who was brought to ground at the Cowboys 20 yard line as time ran out.

Washington won the rematch in Dallas 27-20, but the ever more powerful Cowboys closed out the decade with four straight wins over the Skins. By the late 60's the Redskins had had enough. If the Cowboys could win with ex-Giants coordinator Tom Landry, then the Redskins would get an ex-Giants coordinator, too. They hired pugnacious Vince Lombardi to lead the team. Lombardi's 7-5-2 record with the Redskins was the team's first winning season in 14 years, but he was swept by the Cowboys. Lombardi's untimely death in 1970 froze Redskins development for two seasons.

Edward Bennett Williams, now in control of the Redskins, set out to make a coaching hire as groundbreaking as was Lombardi's. With his next choice, the Redskins-Cowboys rivalry went from storied to legendary.

Next, Part III - The Future Is Now!

Source: Clary, Jack, PRO FOOTBALL'S GREATEST MOMENTS, Bonanza Books, New York, New York, 1983

Dallas Cowboys
Washington Redskins

Cowboys & Redskins: Part I - It Didn't Start with Allen

The Roots Of Evil. It's Dallas Week. With the Redskins' return to competitive play (thank you, Joe Gibbs), Dallas Week again means something, although it's far from the two-city enthusiasm of the seventies and eighties. It's a common misconception that the Cowboys-Redskins rivalry started with George Allen. While Allen stoked those fires, there was a heated relationship between the teams from the inception of the Dallas Cowboys. And why not, since Redskins founder and owner George Preston Marshall tried to strangle the Texas baby in the cradle.

This Land is My Land. Washington sports fans are well acquainted with Peter Angelos effort to deny a major league baseball franchise to the Washington area. Angelos had an aggravating notion that the Washington TV market belonged to Baltimore and a team located so close his would damage the value of his team, The Baltimore Orioles. Angelos did not originate this twisted logic. Four decades before, Marshall held the same view for the Redskins.

The Dallas Redskins? Marshall asserted that the Redskins market was the South. All of it, from the Atlantic to the Pacific. If it was below the Mason-Dixon line, it was Redskins territory. He built a radio network to broadcast Redskins games and had had quite a large following in the Southeast U.S. His business strategy led practices now viewed as unsavory. To avoid offending his southern listeners, Marshall refused to add Negro players to his teams, even though every other NFL franchise was doing so. Marshall would have the Redskins band play a chorus of Dixie between verses of Hail To The Redskins. The cheers were louder for Dixie than for the Redskins fight song.

By the 1950s, the Redskins were struggling on the field and financially. In a weak moment, Marshall considered selling the team. One prospective buyer was Texas oil man Clint Murchison who was seeking to bring a NFL franchise to Dallas. They nearly concluded a deal that would have moved the Washington franchise to Texas until Marshall insisted on a change in the terms. Murchison suggested what Marshall could do with his change of terms and the deal fell apart.

My Kingdom for a Song. Murchison's next move was to work with Pete Rozell on an expansion team when Marshall created the marketplace argument that would later be used by Peter Angelos. Expansions could only be approved by unanimous vote of the owners. Marshall would have none if it. Then he made a critical mistake, two actually. First he had a falling out with Barnee Breeskin, The Shoreham Hotel orchestra leader who was also leader of the Redskins band from 1937 to 1951. It was Breeskin who wrote the music for Hail To The Redskins. Two, Marshall failed to acquire the ownership rights to Hail, which he discovered to his horror when Breeskin, in a snit, sold those rights to Clint Murchison. Now, a big part of the Redskins mystique is the fight song. Kids learn that song about the same time they learn the words to Jingle Bells. You can't be a true Washingtonian unless you know the first four lines of Hail To The Redskins! It's the song as much as anything that has fans clinging to the team name Redskins. With his beloved tune held ransom, Marshall relented on the Dallas franchise. But, boy was he pissed.

Quarterback Controversy. It was bad enough that Murchison outmaneuvered Marshall to land his team. To rub salt in the wound, Dallas selected Redskins pro-bowl ('55, '57, '58) quarterback Eddie LeBaron off the Redskins roster. Never mind that Marshall failed to add LeBaron to his protected list. Marshall considered Murchison and his Texans underhanded. Historically, that made Marshall the first Washingtonian to say "Cowboys suck!" He took it personally and made sure his team took it personally.

A Rivalry Is Born. In a rivalry full of irony, Marshall insisted that the Cowboys play in the Eastern Division with the Redskins. The Minnesota Vikings were the second expansion team and Marshall did not want to play a late season game in the cold North.

The Dallas Cowboys played their first game in the 1960 season. The Redskins 1960 victory over the Cowboys was their only win that year. The Cowboys were winless. The Skins won two of the first four and tied two others. The rivalry grew as Dallas fans pulled off a series of pranks in the early years. In December 1961, they conspired to release two crates of chickens onto the field during halftime of the Redskins-Cowboys game. The plot was discovered before the chickens were released. The night before the third Redskins-Cowboys game, the nefarious plotters managed to sneak a turkey into Marshall's hotel bathroom, giving Marshall quite a start. At the game, two acrobats in chicken suits ran onto the field at halftime after giant "Chicken" banners were unfurled in 50 yard line stands.

After the first four games, when the Skins went 2-0-2, the tide slowly turned in the Cowboys favor as superior coaching and better talent asserted themselves. In nineteen times in the sixties, the Redskins' record against the Cowboys in that decade was 7-10-2. Rivalries are more than games and records. You must have memorable moments. Those Cowboys-Redskins games were real donnybrooks. In the mid-60s, the Cowboys and Redskins dueled in a remarkable four game series that forever set the tone of the rivalry. More on that in Part II, Jurgensen and Meredith, Aces Wild.

For more information, go to ESPN's A Rivalry For A Song, or to Wikipedia's Cowboys-Redskins rivalry.

Dallas Cowboys
Washington Redskins