With the recent climactic World Series victory for the Cubs and the current record-setting season for the Cowboys which seems to point to another set of Super Bowl rings in Dallas, it appears that the sports gods are smiling down on my teams.
It was in the summer of 1979 that I became a Cubs fan while being layed-up in traction for 6 weeks at Ball Memorial following my infamous car wreck with WGN constantly on the TV set in my room and the Cubs being the only team to watch. Prior to that, I had been a Reds fan, but growing somewhat tired of the continuing success of the “Big Red Machine”, I switched my baseball allegiance to the world’s greatest underdog, the Chicago Cubs. Dave Kingman and Lee Smith were enjoyable to watch, then came along Ryne Sandberg, my all-time favorite baseball player to this day!
Then there is the Dallas Cowboys. My earliest recollection of the team was in the years when the creation of an NFL vs AFL championship game (the name “Super Bowl” being decided upon when Lamar Hunt proposed it after noting his granddaughter’s fondness for her “Wam-O Super Ball”) were first being tossed about, when teams like the Baltimore Colts and Green Bay Packers dominated the sport. I distinctly disliked the Cowboys as they gave me the impression of a group of bumbling idiots that didn’t even belong in the same league.
It wasn’t until the 1980s that my esteem for the Cowboys rose, as they became one of the most progressive teams in the league by their use of computers and statistic modeling in their approach to the business. The Dallas Cowboys Cheerleader poster that was a gift from my step-father Don (who considered working as a trainer for the team) hanging on my bedroom wall also bolstered my enthusiasm for the franchise. And then, starting my post-college career in “Big D” and eventually living in Valley Ranch directly across the street from the Cowboys Facility for 4 years pushed me all the way over into a true follower of the team. It is difficult not have them as your favorite team when you become personally acquainted with many of the legends that you grew up admiring. Players like Tony Dorsett, Ed “Too Tall” Jones, Preston Pearson, Timmy Newsome, Randy White, Everson Walls and the eponymous Bob Hayes.
As 2016 winds down, it ends on an extremely positive note in many facets. Not only are my teams enjoying unheralded success, but I am personally experiencing improvements in my livelihood with many blessings coming my way, especially in the form of a job that I have come to enjoy and not dread like others in the past.
Things seem to be working so well lately that it must be attributed to the alignment of the stars and planets, biorhythms or something – who knows, but I’m enjoying this ride for as long as it lasts!
