Every Monday, Sports Illustrated‘s Peter King writes his weekly article, Monday Morning Quarterback (MMQB). This week, King asked for readers to submit a 200-word essay on the reason why fans love their teams to talkback@themmqb.com. I encourage you to submit your own, but for now, here is my submission.
Why I Love the Dallas Cowboys
The year is 1984 and two Ohio State alumni have just had a son….in Bolivia. That son was me, a lollipop of a kid with bright blue eyes and shock-white hair, in a country where the only thing to call someone with those features is “gringo.” It was in this environment, this soccer-centric landlocked country in South America, that I became a fan of the Dallas Cowboys.
The fandom wasn’t immediate as access to American football information and gear was as frequent as trips to the beach would have been. No, it took years. Maybe it was the random hat that I found of the Cowboys, or just simply the fact that the Cowboys were the first “football” team I’d ever heard of but whatever it was, a Cowboys fan I became. Sure the diminutive, i.e. relatable, size of Emmitt Smith was helpful, as was Michael Irvin’s incredible first name, but the Cowboys football team was my first true taste of this mythical America, and I’ve been hooked ever since.
There is more to the story but this is how, and why, this Bolivian American became a lifelong fan of the Dallas Cowboys.
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