So why aren't the Denver Broncos the Dallas Cowboys (Simpsons) (1 Viewer)

[TheoGB]

The BBC just showed 'You Only Move Twice' again and it's still a great episode!!
But not living in the U.S. I know even less than Marge about American Football. So why does Homer have to have the Dallas Cowboys or nothing??

 

[Evan S]

It's all about image.

The Cowboys are considered "America's Team"...partly because of the fact they have a star on their helmet, they were historically big winners when football's popularity increased tremendously in this country as well as the fact that they were the first team to glamorize their cheerleaders and create a cult following there. Their recent struggles aside, they still have a very charismatic owner, market themselves as "America's team" and usually play in a pretty weak division (at least lately) that allows them to remain competitive.

The Broncos (and most teams also) do not have this kind of a history/marketing that allow them to capture the hearts of the casual fan...one who has no geographical allegience.

 

[Mike__D]

and usually play in a pretty weak division (at least lately) that allows them to remain competitive.

Excluding the Philadelphia Eagles of course!

 

[Richard Kim]

That episode became quickly outdated, as the Denver Broncos went on to win 2 straight Super Bowls, and the Cowboys are now in decline.

 

[CharlesD]

The Cowboys are considered "America's Team"...

No, The Cowboys just consider themselves "America's Team", everbody else just hates them
Seriously, The Cowboys used to be a dominant team and had a legendary coach, Tom Landry (Landry was famous for wearing a hat on the side lines, hence the whole bit with the hat in this episode) and the Denver Broncos were historicy inept, although as pointed out above have since won 2 Superbowls.
One of my favorite episodes!
"But, Homer, on your way out, if you wanna kill somebody, it would help a lot."

 

[DaveBB]

No, The Cowboys just consider themselves "America's Team", everybody else just hates them.

Pretty much like Michael Jackson anointed himself the "King of Pop."

 

[Mick Wright]

For those of you too young to remember, the national media labeled the Cowboys "America's Team" during the Staubach era, they were much too humble to do it themselves. I've even heard Staubach joke that he was sick of being called America's quarterback. Only the Atlanta Braves are lame enough to self-apply that title.

 

[Keith Mickunas]

The Cowboys used to have class. But that all ended when Jerry Jones bought them. The guy is such as ass that Landry had to hear from the media he'd been fired. But clearly Homer idolized the Cowboys of the 70's and early 80's, and that's why he wanted them.

 

[Jack Briggs]

I bet all this still sounds like so much gibberish to Theo!

 

[TheoGB]

No it makes a lot of sense. What you're basically saying is that they were their era's equivalent of Manchester United.
Cheers.

 

[D. Scott MacDonald]

But clearly Homer idolized the Cowboys of the 70's and early 80's, and that's why he wanted them.

At the time that this episode first aired (mid 90s?), the Cowboys had just won three superbowls in 4 years. It seemed like every year it was a contest between the 49ers and the Cowboys to see who would win. On the other side of the coin, the Broncos went to the superbowl a few times (I think only two, but it seemed like more), but were beat very badly, so they sort of became the NFL's whipping boy.

As others have said, things turned around shortly after the episode aired. The Cowboys are now in serious decline and the Broncos have gone on to win two superbowls (back-to-back?).

 

[Yee-Ming]

What you're basically saying is that they were their era's equivalent of Manchester United.

hear hear! now I'm keeping my fingers crossed that Fergie's committed a 30 million quid blunder, to add to his 28 million one from 12 months ago...

 

[Jed M]

The Broncos lost the Superbowl four times (Dallas, New York, D.C., and San Francisco) before finally winning two. It also had a lot to do with how they lost. I believe each one got worse and worse until it culminated into a 55-10 thrashing by San Francisco (a record blowout at the time). People would groan at the thought of Denver back in the Superbowl during the late 80's and early 90's just out of knowing the game was over before it began. At the time it was a great line, now it would leave most Americans (non simpson fans) confused as well.

 

[Seth Paxton]

Theo, Jed just pointed out one of the real points to the joke too. Denver became famous for getting their ass kicked in the Super Bowl.
You would think it would be great just to get there, but when you get pounded in front of a huge audience, it's not so good.
Like everyone said, AT THE TIME (before Denver finished John Elway's career with 2 SB wins) Broncos had a "loser" image and Dallas had been stomping everybody's butt.
But NFL football is loaded with parity now and every year it seems we have a new superteam that falls off within a year.
The closest thing to a dynasty right now are the St. Louis Rams who are famous for a team loaded with speed, especially on offense, which means they score A TON of points.
Imagine if MU always scored 6 goals every game, even if the games often went 6-4 or 7-3, etc. That's Rams football the last few years. Just in case you get a Simpsons reference to that.

 

[Ben Motley]

Here's a good year by year history of the Cowboys. It's a chronological rundown of the seasons and major organizational changes.
Dallas Cowboys Year by Year History Page - Official Site
We had a rough start from '60 to '65, but from there on it was 20 straight winning seasons. The late '80s blew, and the early '90s rocked.

1993 Team - Four Time World Champions... oh yeah baby!