Battle for Texas Cowboys have the edge but Texans have time to gain ground
Matt Young, Caller-Times
The cover of this preview section features a couple funny-looking Cowboys and
Texans in a tug of war for the state of Texas.
Truth be told, the strange guy with the star on his helmet has five
Super Bowl rings, which provides quite a tug, so an actual pulling of a rope would
likely send that Texan splashing into the Guadalupe River.
Expansion team or not, the Texans will debut with some considerable
muscle on their side. Jamie Sharper and Aaron Glenn compare favorably with any
players the Cowboys possess at linebacker or cornerback, and, judging by last
season's results, David Carr may be ready to outduel anyone the Cowboys can offer
at quarterback.
Of course, there are a lot of other positions on the field, and that's
where the Cowboys will likely prevail.
The on-field tug of war will be decided officially Sept. 8 when the
Cowboys welcome the Texans to the NFL in front of an ESPN audience at sparkling
Reliant Stadium.
The real in-state battle is the struggle for fans - an area where
the Cowboys have seemed to corner the market.
Travel throughout the NFL, even in areas like New York where fans
are supposed to hate all things Cowboy, and Dallas jerseys are scattered throughout
the city. Since 1962, the Cowboys have sold 25 percent of all NFL-related merchandise.
How are the Texans supposed to compete with that?
The short answer: They can't. Not yet, anyway.
Texans owner Bob McNair has insisted that his goal is to make his
team the best franchise in all of sports. He isn't merely talking about winning
a championship. He's talking about building the Texans up to the rare air of the
Lakers or the Yankees or . . . well, the Cowboys.
For now, McNair will have to start slowly. He has the city of Houston
riled up into a Texans' frenzy that has led to guaranteed sellouts, something
the Oilers were never able to accomplish in Houston.
That leaves the rest of Texas.
Jerry Jones took a pre-emptive strike by marking his territory when
he moved Cowboys training camp to San Antonio, a large market that could have
been at least partially up for grabs between the two sides. Jones also made a
stop here in Corpus Christi this past weekend.
So, McNair can claim the city of Houston, other old Oilers fans and
those that would sooner root for al Qaeda than Jerry Jones.
Although it is early, McNair does seem to be the easier owner to
support. After all, McNair hasn't fired Tom Landry or run off Jimmy Johnson.
Despite the Cowboys' problems, the battle for Texas fans is still
a lopsided one for now.
That could eventually change.
Fans like to support teams that win, win and then win some more.
An upset by the Texans three weeks from now could trigger a small
shift away from the star and towards the bull, but it will likely take a much
longer process than that. Once McNair's able to flash a Super Bowl ring and wipe
away Jones' surgically assisted smile, then the battle for fans will be a real
fight.
The cover of this preview section features a couple funny-looking Cowboys and
Texans in a tug of war for the state of Texas.