Mon Dec 29, 2008 2:29 pm EST
When
the Philadelphia Eagles finally decided yesterday that they were finished
slapping the Cowboys around, the Cowboys boarded the team plane to head home to
Dallas. But the mood on the team plane maybe wasn't as somber as you'd imagine.
DallasSportsFans.com heard a radio report from Mark "Friedo" Friedman on 1310 The Ticket saying that the mood on the Cowboys team plane was pretty damn festive. I'll pass along a snippet of their report:
[Friedman] described the scene as “like the last day of school”, with dominoes being played in the back and lots of laughing and carrying on. He said that he was reluctant to say anything, seeing as how the Cowboys are nice enough to allow media members on the charter, and that only leads me to believe that he may have muted the reality of what was actually going on. Friedo did not mention any specific names, nor did he say if alcohol was flowing, but he made it pretty clear that if you did not know who won the Cowboys-Eagles game, you just might assume it was the Cowboys from their conduct on the plane.
Interesting. If you're a Cowboys fan, do you care? Would it bother you if your team was laughing and smiling after getting beaten down in a do-or-die game? It's not like this was the Pro Bowl. This was essentially a playoff game against a hated rival who some would argue that the Cowboys should beat. This is occasion for a frown.
My own thought is that there are occasions where stuff like this can happen, and it doesn't necessarily mean that someone doesn't care.
Tony Romo is a competitor. Terrell Owens is a competitor. Marion Barber is a competitor. Tank Johnson, Pacman Jones, DeMarcus Ware, Jason Witten ... all competitors. I think very few athletes ever reach an elite level like the NFL without being extremely competitive people.
What can happen, though, is that in a game like yesterday's, when the outcome gets determined very quickly, the guys have plenty of time during the game to digest the sadness. The game started at 4:15 EST. By about 5:15, everyone knew that the Eagles were going to win. Say the team plane boards at around 8:15 ... that's three hours there for the initial sadness to wear off.
Or maybe they're all just very Zen people, and they believe that right now is the only thing that exists. I don't know.
I just won't believe that the Cowboys players, as a whole, didn't care about the outcome of that game. I won't believe that they weren't upset about missing the playoffs. I don't buy it. Some people just get over things quickly, or find a way to pass the time on a team flight. Who knows?
Now, maybe it's an indication that this isn't the most cohesive, right-minded, focused-on-winning team that's ever existed. That, I could believe. But I absolutely couldn't be convinced that the players didn't care about losing yesterday.
Shutdown Corner is an NFL blog edited by Matthew J. Darnell. Email him, and follow him on Twitter.

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149 Comments
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i have been a dallas fan since i knew what football was.
go dallas cowboys. fan from kansas
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Do any of them care about losing. Yes, I think they do care about losing.
Do any of them care if this team is kept together, Probably not.
They will probably all get paid next year no matter what team they are on,
& it looks to me like that is the only thing they care about.
Please, Please keep these guy's away from San Fran., We are just now
recovering from TO's last stay on our team.
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From my earliest understanding of the game, the Dallas Cowboys became my team so to speak.
Win or loose, that will not change.
Next season is upon us faster than one would think
Go Cowboys .
Nil desperandum
Dietrich
FP
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Of course, if you consider recent history, they were probably expecting ... nay, looking forward to.... that kind of whupping.
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Dallas 5 rings
Philly 0 rings
Philly Sheagles stink they will always stink .
Their are lots of teams that wish the had 1 ring like the Sheagles.
Let me ask a question jb8810 how old was Romo when the Sheagles won a super bowl?
Choke on that jj8810 you Co*k su*ker.
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" it's not what you have done, It's what you have done lately "
And your Cowgirls just got a thorough a$$ whippin by as you say
" the Sheagles " I predict " no ring Romo " as the saying for the 2000's.
FEAR THE WHAT?
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Romo choked again! They gave up in the 2nd quarter.
Go Iggles! F*** Dallas
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you obviously don't know your football history if you think they "always have." I wouldn't say they suck now, they just have no chemistry and have an owner with no football IQ at all. What they really need to do is hire a real GM who takes care of business and lets the coaches do their job. Nobody can look at the Cowboys roster and tell me that it is full of players that suck.
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