So Jerry Jones is being inducted into the Pro Football Hall of Fame. Congratulations, Jerry. Good thing you had 1991-1996 to hang your hat on during your 28-year tenure of owning the Cowboys. Yes, indeed – we did love those three Super Bowls. But the last 20 years or so have been, well, stinky.
Of course that is all on the field. It’s not like you’re the general manager or anything. Wait, what? You are? Hmmmm. Well surely you get credit for your first hire (besides yourself) – Jimmy Johnson. But then you ran him off faster than Roosevelt breaking for the taco stand in East Dallas.
OK, well, then there’s all that money you made for yourself and the other 31 owners over 
the years. And word has it you were responsible for Las Vegas landing the Raiders and the return of pro football to Los Angeles (that doesn’t include the well-compensated USC Trojans in the mid-2000’s).
By the way, a stadium that houses both the Rams and the Chargers can only be sponsored by Dodge, right? Seriously.
But I digress.
We all should be congratulating Jerry for a lifetime of owning America’s Team and making them more popular than ever. I mean, that’s kinda hard to do with only two playoff wins since 1995. The Cowboys are simply a ratings juggernaut. Have you looked at this year’s schedule? All but two games (TWO) are played in the primetime late afternoon slot or at night on NBC, ESPN or the NFL Network, and one of those noon games is the season finale at Philadelphia. That’s probably so Jerry can get back to Dallas in time to hit Big D-NYE or maybe he wants to scoot over to Times Square and attend Dick Clark’s Rockin’ Eve with Ryan Seacrest (someone please explain to me how that guy got every hosting job worth a rip).
You’d think teams like the Packers, Steelers, Broncos or Patriots would be more popular on a nation-wide basis, but no one can touch Jerry’s Cowboys. Still.
He did a marvelous job of drafting last season, having the best running back since Adrian Peterson fall in his lap and the quarterback he wanted get snatched up by Denver before “settling” on a kid from Mississippi State in the fourth round.
I guess he should get credit for drafting an offensive line that might be the best this franchise has ever seen (and that is saying something). Jerry’s mantra: “We do what is in the best interest of the Dallas Cowboys, and we’re moving on.” Just ask Jason Garrett.
No, Jerry deserves the highest honor that this sport allows. Barry Switzer (he won a Super Bowl!), Chan Gailey, Dave Campo, Wade Phillips – all hires on Jerry’s watch. And don’t forget the eloquent and generous speaker, Garrett. Ah, but let’s get back to the original hire that really got Jerry in the Hall – the Jimster.
The inventor of the “asthma field,” the man who cut John Roper for falling asleep in a film session, the coach who really figured it out after his brief stint with the Dolphins (“Hey, this job at Fox ain’t too bad – I don’t have to worry about wins and losses and I can fish year-round.”). And Jimmy won three Super Bowls (come on – a trained seal could have coached that team to a ring with Jimmy’s players; Barry gets no credit here).
How ‘bout them Cowboys?
Jerry will always have that. Even if Jimmy was carrying him then, and clearly 25 years later.
Sure is a nice stajium though.
