By Harry P McGill ยท July 5, 2026
I know what some of you are thinking.
"Harry, you just wanted an excuse to pick on the Cowboys."
You're absolutely right.
It's one of the great traditions in football, right up there with Thanksgiving turkey, questionable officiating, and Dallas fans reminding everyone about Super Bowls that happened before some of today's rookies were born.
Now, before someone in a Dak Prescott jersey starts composing an angry email, let me be clear. I don't think the Cowboys are going 3 and 14.
I just think they're going to disappoint a whole lot of people... again.
No franchise wins the offseason quite like Dallas.
Every training camp sounds the same.
This is the year.
The culture has changed.
The chemistry is different.
Somewhere along the way, optimism became their most valuable free agent signing.
Then the games start.
By October, half the fan base is calling sports radio demanding somebody get fired.
Playing for the Cowboys isn't like playing anywhere else.
Every incompletion becomes a national debate.
Every loss leads SportsCenter.
Every quarterback gets compared to Roger Staubach, Troy Aikman, and apparently whoever won the neighborhood Thanksgiving game in 1994.
That's exhausting.
The expectations aren't just high. They're unrealistic.
Listen to Cowboys fans in July and you'd think the league accidentally gave them sixteen home games against expansion teams.
Every difficult matchup somehow turns into an automatic win.
Then November arrives and reality has a funny way of introducing itself.
The NFL doesn't care about television ratings, jersey sales, or how many times someone says "America's Team."
The standings certainly don't.
Every backup receiver is the next superstar.
Every rookie is a future Hall of Famer.
Every assistant coach is a genius waiting for his opportunity.
Eventually, somebody has to play actual football.
I've seen quieter election years than a Cowboys training camp.
This may not be scientific, but experience counts for something.
Every season seems to follow the same script.
Big expectations.
A few impressive wins.
Television analysts declaring Dallas a Super Bowl contender.
Then one ugly loss starts the avalanche, and suddenly everyone is asking what went wrong.
At this point, it's less of a surprise and more of an annual tradition.
It reminds me of those old "Free Steak Dinner" seminars you'd see advertised years ago. Deep down everybody knew there was a catch, but folks still showed up hoping this time would be different.
Dallas has talented players.
They'll win games.
They'll probably beat some good football teams.
That's not the issue.
The issue is expectations.
Every August they're discussed like they're about to begin another dynasty.
Most years they end up looking like a good football team that never quite lives up to the noise surrounding it.
Maybe this is the year Dallas finally proves all of us wrong.
Maybe they'll roll through the NFC, silence the critics, and have the last laugh.
I've been wrong before.
But until they actually do it, I'll believe the Cowboys are contenders about five minutes after I believe my lawn mower is finally fixed for good.
Some habits are just too well established.
And around here, doubting Dallas has been a pretty reliable investment.