America's Team

America?s Team is an established term used to describe the Dallas Cowboys franchise that plays in the NFC East of the National Football League. The Dallas Cowboys gained national prominence by playing in yearly football games on Thanksgiving.

Related Topics:
Dallas Cowboys - National Football League

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Bob Ryan the Vice President and editor-in-chief of NFL Films coined the title "America?s Team" in 1979. After preparing and editing the team?s 1978 season highlight film he had to come up with a title for the film. He was quoted as saying, "After the '78 season, the Cowboys had just lost a crushing Super Bowl to the Steelers. I wanted to come up with a different twist on their team highlight film. I noticed then, and had noticed earlier, that wherever the Cowboys played, you saw people in the stands with Cowboys jerseys and hats and pennants. Plus, they were always the national game on television.? Drawing upon this inspiration and that of other nationally followed sports teams, such as the New York Yankees in Major League Baseball, the Notre Dame Fighting Irish in college football and the Boston Celtics in pro basketball, which Ryan said ?are all America?s teams,? he decided to use ?America?s Team? as the name of the highlight film.

Related Topics:
1979 - 1978 - New York Yankees - Major League Baseball - Notre Dame - College football - Boston Celtics

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During their first game of the 1979 season, a nationally televised game against the St. Louis Cardinals (which Dallas won 22-21), the television announcer introduced the Cowboys as ?America?s Team? and the name stuck.

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Originally Dallas? Hall of Fame coach, Tom Landry, did not approve of the appellation. He felt that it would give opposing teams extra incentive to play harder. Eventually he gave in and actually came to like the name.

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(Note: This term is sometimes used by Packers fans to describe their Green Bay team and has also been used as a term of endearment for the New Orleans Saints following the disaster of Hurricane Katrina.)

Related Topics:
New Orleans Saints - Hurricane Katrina

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