I’m always amazed at the popularity of the Dallas Cowboys and their players. I book sports celebrities across the country and no team except maybe baseball’s New York Yankees even come close to matching the popularity of the Cowboys.
The Cowboys popularity isn’t just confined to Texas. It’s true they are the most popular team in every corner of the state, but their popularity extends across the country. They earned the nickname “America’s Team” for good reason. Ask football fans in Richmond, VA who their favorite team is and they’re just as likely to say the Cowboys as the Redskins.
I recently spoke with Hall of Famer Randy White, who’s success with the Cowboys has translated into a nice post-football career making appearances, endorsements, etc. I joked with Randy how fortunate he should feel that he was drafted by the Cowboys and not a less popular team like the Lions. He agreed.
I book more former Cowboys for events than any other football team. Want to drive traffic and create excitement around your event? You can’t go wrong with a Cowboys player. A few examples of recently bookings…
- Drew Pearson made an appearance at a casino in Arizona
- Ed “Too Tall” Jones made an appearance at a Super Bowl party in New Mexico
- Tony Dorsett appeared at a corporate event in Las Vegas
- Roger Staubach spoke an annual meeting in Arkansas
- Jay Novacek appeared at a store grand opening in Virginia
So why the popularity? It began in the 1970’s with Roger Staubach, Tom Landry and the cheerleaders. Everything in Texas is big and the Cowboys attained a larger-than-life status. They always seemed to be on tv and the team’s success with a victory in Super Bowl XII helped them gain legions of new fans .
The Cowboys struggled a bit in the 1980’s but its three Super Bowl victories in the 1990’s helped reclaim its status as America’s Team . They were their own reality show – a good-looking quarterback in Troy Aikman, the NFL’s all-time leading rusher in Emmitt Smith, a character in Michael Irvin and an ego maniac in Jerry Jones.
No NFL team receives the same amount of attention as the Cowboys. The media loves controversy and sensationalism and the Cowboys are full of both. Last year, ESPN jumped on the bandwagon by assigning one its reporters to cover the Cowboys full-time. With Terrell Owens running his mouth off, Tony Romo dating Jessica Simpson and Jerry Jones still prowling the sidelines, the team was must-see tv.
This season may be a bit more boring with T.O. gone and Jessica Simpson out of the picture, but there’s no doubt the team will continue to be popular and make front-page headlines.
Of course I shouldn’t fail to mention that the visually appealing Dallas Cowboy Cheerleaders may be a contributing factor as well.
