Mavericks and Cowboys are Painfully Similar

We talked about this on the show yesterday but I wanted to elaborate more on it.  The Mavs and Cowboys are eerily similar.  Maybe it’s the city of Dallas.  Maybe it’s just me.  But I just think that when you boil it down the parallels are too big to ignore.  And I think it’s these parallels that have driven me to the edge as a fan.  So here you go. 

1. Mark Cuban and Jerry Jones are two peas in a pod.  Both of them are the face of the franchise, no matter who their superstar might be.  They are out in front all the time.  Both of them love the spotlight.  They are a far cry from the Rooneys and Maras of the world.  Heck, both have appeared on Entourage.  I doubt we’ll see Dan Rooney or Jeff Lurie hanging with Turtle and Ari.
2. Both teams’ rosters are often filled with all sizzle and no steak.  Jerry Jones loves flash (Terrell Owens).  So does Mark Cuban (Jason Kidd).  But the bottom line is, not only do you need superstars, you need worker bees.  Lunch pail guys.  The post Jimmy Johnson Cowboys have been fairly devoid of these types.  The Mavs are often criticized for “being soft.”  Most recently by their own head coach.  While you need studs to win the race, you need some mudders.  Year in and year out, this seems to be the case.
3. Both superstar players produce like crazy until it gets down to brass tacks.  Tony Romo has tons of regular season success.  But when it comes to the postseason, he has yet to yank the Cowboys out of their current seat in playoff Hell.  Dirk Nowitzki had the Mavs knocking on the door of a 3-0 lead on the Heat in 2006, but the Mavs lost game 3.  And then Games 4, 5, and 6.  After that point until the sweep of the Lakers, their postseasons have been full of huge embarrassing failures.  Fair or not, Dirk and Tony are the leaders of these teams.  They’ll get too much credit for wins and too much blame for losses; it’s like being the President.  But superstars drive the ship.  And these two have been ramming their ships into rocks for years. 
4. Anytime either team achieves the smallest bit of success, DFW goes bonkers.  Maybe this is because they are longing for a title again.  Maybe it’s just the way the fans are.  But the bottom line is, and I as a media member am guilty of this too, we put the cart before the horse.  In 2007 the Cowboys went 13-3.  I was polishing the trophy.  I was only scared of Tom Brady and the Pats.  How foolish I was.  The Mavs beat a Lakers team last week that was imploding.  And now I am hearing that they are the favorites to win it all.  Really?  Is this just by default?  Come on!!  Let’s let things play out. 
5. Both teams were actually almost ripped apart by a pop singer.  The Mavs famously had 2 players dating Toni Braxton.  Jessica Simpson is blamed by a host of idiots for being the reason those 2007 Cowboys lost to the Giants.  Not real reasons for failure.  But an eerie parallel none the less.
6. Both owners and fan bases love the conspiracy theories.   When the Mavs lose, it’s always the refs.  Never the fact that they may have played poorly.  The Cowboys never lose.  They were always screwed by a bad call.  Sometimes you have to look into your heart, and just try to get better.
7. No one can seem to hire a coach that everyone gets on board with.  Jerry had Bill Parcells in the building and that didn’t last.  Although Bill’s track record says he wouldn’t have stayed much longer anyway.  He replaced him with Wade Phillips.  A coach who has won nothing.  Avery Johnson was the Mavs coach, he had to go.  And replaced with a coach. Rick Carlisle, who has won nothing.  Am I being hard on Rick? Maybe.  But where’s the ring?

I am sure there are even more that I didn’t go into, but you see my point.  I am sending this out as a plea.  Jerry, Mark, Dirk, Tony please listen.  Please get us some titles.  Please stop the excuse train.  Get it done.  I have faith in you.  I do.  For the most part.  Make it so that I can’t write or talk about this anymore. 

That is all.

P.S.  Email me at paul@1660espn.com with your name, address, and telephone number and I'll enter you in the drawing for 2 free tickets to Schlitterbahn.