Any room in a Cowboys fan's trophy case for Danny White?

How about a Don Meredith?

I remember when a fan was an energetic participant on the internet, and an upstart growing in participation and enjoying real conversations with earnest fans who just wished to share a joy in the sport.

Remember those days, before fans turned a bit crusty and impatient towards a poster showing that he enjoys just being a fan, and not feeling like being challenged when he accepts the joy and view of partial successes? Those to him were NOT of a degrading or limiting aspect, as being part of a bigger picture of love of both the sport and a love of his team.

Anyone who has followed the sport over the years, knows that posters often are leaving a lot of your own perspectives out of even a shallow approach of this type of a discussion. Here, not EVERYONE has that perspective and wealth to draw from in viewing another’s works. That isn’t the case for many of our sport’s younger followers.

One might have been a tad strong armed here, if attacking a figure such as Danny White, taking talk beyond just a familiar level and that belittles both the player and a would be fan of him also. A fan of him is not restrained by the final level of achievement level for Danny White, or for that matter, Don Meredith.

On the same level of a consideration, since all lower levels of achievements are claimed to be merely stats and nonsensical, does Marino and McNabb get the same short sheeted bed association as well for not achieving a Lombardi?

Talk about long suffering in the sport….

In 1965, my high school team, the Kingsville Brahmas, was playing a bi-district game against the Miller Buccaneers in Kingsville. We each scored a lone touchdown, but our kicker missed our extra point. We lost that game, and Miller went all the way to State. Now, in remembering that team and that effort, do we now call that kicker a loser and disown respect for the whole team as well?

Is that really different than what should apply at the professional level, or has it now reached the lofty regions for utter perfection only and presented directly to the Gods?

I was later on a Texas A&I Javelina team. It was coached by Gil Steinke who had been a New York Giant defensive back, until he had torn his shoulder apart. I was in a practice once, when he saw a guard miss a block and cause Karl Douglas to get sacked harshly by a large defensive lineman.

He was viewing from an elevated platform, from which he signaled a total halt to the practice…climbed down to the field, ran all the way to where that offensive lineman was standing. Upon arriving at that player, hit him squarely in his jaw and knocked him to the ground stating: ‘No one allows that to happen to HIS quarterback.’ That was the intensity played in the game during that time.

When I had my first letter there, it wasn’t enough to just letter. All first year lettermen in all sports were gathered together for a ‘fun and engaging time’ before the entire student body in the newly built gymnasium. The first event on the agenda, was a boxing ring in the middle of the basketball court.

In it was placed a ring full of first year lettermen. They all were blindfolded so that no one was able to see. Then a boxing glove was put on one of their hands and the other hand was taped solidly against their backs. When the bell was run, the very last man standing won the event. Your only friend was who was backed up against your back.

The event that I was allowed to ‘participate’ in was as follows: I was taken into the ring with another linebacker. We were both pretty healthy and aggressive athletes with weights about 250 apiece. They took about a two foot section of broom stick, and wrapped it completely in about a half inch deep of tape. Nothing else was added to it. It was pretty solid to touch.

Then, we were taken inside that boxing ring, and each of our right hands taped solidly onto the broom stick. When the bell was sounded, a version of the WWF immediately broke out. For the person who was able to secure that broom stick from the other first year letterman, was able to beat the other player with it UNTIL he was able to get out of the ring. That was the ‘privilege’ of being a first time letterman then.

Now, in 1965, Karl Douglas had not been able to lead the Javelinas to a National Championship, but had made his way to the Baltimore Colts as both Earl Morrall and Johnny Unitas had just departed. Karl was the first black integrated into the role as a quarterback for the Colts. He was given a single game opportunity, demoted, and then released from the team the following year….well, was he a loser then also?

That same team, my Javelinas, in 1969-70…also then went undefeated to the NAIA National Championship…from those same beginnings. Sometimes a team does achieve, but sometimes, a team doesn’t.

That doesn’t just shoot the sacrifices and what was given to the sport the boot as well. There was real human drama involved, and the joy for fans, whether we were National Champions or not…but the degree of sacrifice and personal intimidation was unchanged in BOTH end results.

So, when a fan says he still likes and respects achieving members even if they don’t find final levels of success, that really isn’t an insult to someone who feels that is the ONLY consideration.

Maybe now, just maybe, there is enough room for respect to those achieving a Lombardi Trophy as well as those who just carried our love in less dramatic fashions, but at a high level none-the-less. Not all fans have equal footing as it is.

A fan for many teams, realistically, looks for respectability as his criteria for acceptance. He learns to love achievement, and not total team success as rewarding to himself. That may not be such a lowered level of appreciation after all.

Where as a Cowboy fan has grown to a sophisticated level of anticipation, caviar might not be well received by another team’s fan. The expectation of a Lombardi has to be stored until his team achieves that opportunity. Yet, he finds satisfaction in amount of toil and sacrifice in the mean time.

Maybe Cowboy fans can learn a degree of humility in comparison, and learn to love even a Danny White….who was far from a misdirected participant in a failed time. Now, long ago…!

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