Cowboys vs Skins: An Internal Conflict

The smell of pizza and beer was in the air for the Sunday and Monday night events that had all of my father's friends over. This was a special time in my child hood because it always made me feel like one of the guys, even though at that age I couldn't even fully explain the game that I would truly come to love, or the moral dilemma in friends when they would come to realize that I was a diehard fan of two of football's most rivaled franchises.

When you are a child there are many influences on your life, yet none more so then your parents and the people you grow up with. Growing up I believed in everything that my father said - such as Dominos has the best pizza, Terminator 2 is the greatest movie of all time, and that if you didn't root for the Cowboys, then you were a traitor to all that was good and holy. This was beaten into my head and became a part of me that I can't let go of. However, there was only one problem - I grew up.

The last time the Dallas Cowboys won the Super Bowl was when I was nine years old. Three years later my father left and I haven't seen or heard much from either the team or my father since. I still have many of the child jerseys that were bought for me sitting in a box in the attic. They have names stitched in the back with the likes of Aikman, Smith, Irvin, and Sanders. Although those names still ring a bell, I can hardly recall them as much as I can with Romo, Williams, Simpson (yes, Jessica Simpson), Gurode, Austin, and Witten among many others of the last few years.

You may think that I am being crazy, but being blown out of a playoff contention game by the Eagles two years ago and then being destroyed by the Vikings with a previously two-time retired QB this year in the playoffs really doesn't sit well with me. When all I seem to remember a couple years ago was all the botched kick holds by a young and more then competent QB starter (sorry Romo - Jessica isn't an excuse anymore), it really doesn't help my perception of a team that I was told I was to love by a father that seemed to be pretending about love and faith in the first place.

When the family relocated (without my father) to the Northern Virginia when I was fourteen is how I was introduced to the world of the Washington Redskins and the rush of standing in FedEx Field. Having never been to a stadium, it was the first time I was able to see firsthand just how passionate and driven true football fans were to the game. I was taken by a man who would come to marry my mother and to this day is still a huge influence on my life. It wasn't a bonding experience of step-father and step-son; but he showed me the ropes and taught me about salary caps and how coaches can be dropped and rehired just like the players they are coaching (Spurrier, Schottenheimer, and Gibbs). His favorite movie was The Godfather, and he wasn't a huge fan of pizza; instead he prefered a good burger and fries while he was watching his games.

I am now twenty-two years old, and can say without a doubt that I am a diehard Dallas Cowboys fan, and that is only equally matched with my love for the Washington Redskins. Most people look at me and say that is 'impossible' or maybe I don't understand the 'rules' of liking one over the other. Everyone has influences that chart the course of their lives. My favorite movie is No Country for Old Men; I love pizza and occasionally a Five Guys burger. I will always cheer for the Cowboys and 'Skins; because I grew up with one, and chose another - both through different influences for the love of the game of football.