Why I Still Hate the Cowboys

I am a lifelong 49ers fan and will bleed red and gold until I die. I grew up in the glory days of the franchise and may have been a bandwagoner, but most fans start off this way.

My first memory was forgoing playing with my toys to watch the Niners on Christmas. I was hooked. Now, I was little, so this may indeed be a clouded memory, but to me, this team is mine. I try not to say "we," and I try and stay subjective, but biases creep through and I talk as if I am the GM sometimes.

But this is not an article about where I came from. This is about my compounding, ever-growing hatred for the "Boys in Blue."

The Cowboys and 49ers were rivals long before I was born in December of 1987. In fact, the rivalry seems almost destined.

Red versus blue, Cowboys versus Goldminers, the two frontier builders.  The Democratic hippies of San Francisco versus Dallas's Republican conservatives.  And the two biggest teams of the 1990s in football.

My hatred began as soon as my love fest with the 49ers did.

While I was growing up, I did not know the history of the team, the stars of the past, and the storied failures of the franchise. I couldn't tell you we ran a West Coast offense and I did not even know we had a running game to complement the accomplishments of the big-name quarterbacks and a certain No. 80.

But I knew we did not like the Cowboys.

For about two years I could not stand the Falcons and that damn Dirty Bird, but when the divisions changed, so did my stance on the Falcons. So, young and clueless, I took my blind faith like a religion.  I began repeating what others said in front of the pulpit of my television.

My first realization that I despised the Cowboys was when I met my best friend in sixth grade. He was born in Dallas and loved his Cowboys. We were at odds immediately, but we hung out like best friends do.

But football season came around—and the talks started.

It was in meeting him that the hatred went from root to stem. It was not a hatred but a growing my-team-is-better-than-yours pissing contest.

This extreme dislike festered for a few years until high school, where I took my fandom from a childhood love to an obsession. I devoured stats, names, facts, and forecasts for the 49ers. I knew my teams front and back.

The greatest game to memory was watching Terrell Owens redemptive performance versus the Packers in the playoffs in 1998. We all know the story: Owens repeatedly drops passes and has basically the worst game a player can have.

But with time winding down, Steve Young throws a ball so hard through the middle, all Owens can do is catch it or get knocked over by it. Watch here for those memories. Game over. 49ers win, Owens cries. I am dancing and feel like I am on the field with the team.

But that was the last memory I have that came with those reactions.The Garcia days were good but quickly turned sour. The comeback versus the Giants is a classic, but even I realized we got lucky with that pass interference call.

This all comes back to the Cowboys because while the Niner ship was sinking, the Cowboys enjoyed a resurgence.

The 49ers and Cowboys were both going downhill, but that Jerry Jones turned his team around.  He went out and made good draft choices and got good players.

The 49ers let good players go and did not bring in good players to replace them. This is another of the reasons I do not like them.  The Cowboys currently are a better run franchise than the 49ers. The Cowboys of course are currently better than the 49ers. I lost money and pride the last few times they have played each other, including this past Sunday.

The fact that the 49ers faltered when the Cowboys did not is another reason I hate them. Yeah, jealousy is a reason, and I know Cowboys fans who read this will be happy to hear it—but it is true. Though Jerry Jones is a bit crazy, he takes care of his players and is possibly the best owner in sports.

Simply put, the Yorks are not good owners at all.

Owens was a part of my fondest memory in 49er lore. He is another reason why I hate the Cowboys. I loved him as a 49er. He was a punk and a badass from the start.

I was upset when he left, even though he was turning into a plague on the team. I cheered for him in Philadelphia, when he did the shirtless interview, and I still secretly cheer for him.

But now he has joined the dark side. He is a Cowboy now, and I do not like it. His famed Dallas Star Celebration is legendary, but now instead of dancing on the star, he is wearing the star...eating popcorn.

To add to the current roster of hatred, I hate Tony Romo. The Cowboys are bad guys and should stay that way. They should not be going around changing tires and treating the homeless to movies. They should be slashing tires, making people homeless, and kicking puppies.

But, no, Tony Romo is not following the script. Instead, he is dating Jessica Simpson after having dated Carrie Underwood. Geez, go sleep with a hooker so I can hate you. I already hate the fact that girls adore him in the same way as the Jonas Brothers.

But now he is an actual good guy. I find it hard to root against a man who is a stand-up guy and a class act.  Paradoxically, me not being able to hate him makes me hate him even more. So, instead of hating him, I hate the team more.

So let us recap why I hate the Cowboys:

1. I have to, I am a 49er fan

2. They are better than my team right now

3. That stupid guy named Terrell Owens

4. That great guy, still-not-great quarterback, Tony Romo

This list will grow I am sure.  But right now, I have to get this off my chest, especially since they just trounced my team in the last three quarters of the latest meeting.

Granted, the 49ers were in control and arguably dominating the first quarter, but it was not an upset in the making. I lost $50 to my best friend and in a separate bet have to wear a Tony Romo jersey.

When this day happens, it will be another reason for me to hate those damn silver and blue Cowboys.