More than a dozen Fort Meade service members participated in the University of Maryland’s Military Appreciation Day prior to Saturday’s game against Georgia Tech. (Photo by Lloyd Fox, Baltimore Sun)
As promised last week, things have gotten better in my wide, wide world of sports partially because I was able to participate in the University of Maryland’s ongoing Terps for Troops program on Saturday, but mostly because Michigan kept the Little Brown Jug by beating Minnesota.Nonetheless, after re-reading last week’s column, I must say that questioning my loyalty to “The Star” was reckless, irresponsible and darn near treasonous. It doesn’t matter if we have won only two playoff games since 1995, or that Tony Romo and Jason Garrett have the clock management skills of a child, or that Jerry Jones is unfit to be a president or GM, much less both.
I stuck with Dallas after the catch, youtube.com/watch?v=0V1Dx_McGrw, and laughed until I cried at Leon Lett, youtube.com/watch?v=gUYVifM0vCQ.
I suffered through 1-15 and celebrated three Super Bowl rings. And after I spent another sleepless Sunday night figuring out how Dallas could possibly be 3-5 after losing to Atlanta, I knew that I’d be sticking with “The Boys” through this and any other nonsense they might put me through.
And to prove that, and properly apologize for the notion of forsaking “The Boys,” I gave my photo a couple of extra column inches so that you, Jabber Nation, would realize that I’m a Cowboy until I die (even if Dallas is the team that leads me to my grave).
That proclamation aside, I’d be remiss if I didn’t mention the valiant attempt a few members of Jabber Nation made to get me to follow their teams. For example, our friend and Fort Meade’s resident security guru, Doug Wise, was quick to send me this message and invitation:
Subject: Wavering (sic) Loyalty
Steeler Nation, like our great American Nation, is a melting pot that accepts all true sports fans, so yes, even you would be welcomed with outstretched arms.
According to the press, the Ravens are a team of the past because the mighty Ray Lewis is injured and may not return, and after all he was a one-man team; why consider the Ravens?
My response to Doug was that I’d rather be stabbed in the eye with a hot poker than be a Steelers fan. Besides, I shower too much.
Of course, our resident historian, Robert Johnson, couldn’t be outdone by Wise, so he sent me this pitch for his team:
Subject: Cowboys
According to your most recent Jibber Jabber, you may be in the market for a new NFL franchise to follow. Congratulations on making such an intelligent choice vis-à-vis your Cowboys fandom; it’s about time you put it behind you. But the Ravens? I mean, come on, the best thing you can say about the face of the franchise is he lied to police in a murder investigation. He single-handedly makes the steelers look like a group of decent citizens.
I suggest you follow the 9-time NFL Champion Chicago Bears instead. Think about the players you get to care about: Tillman, Urlacher, Peyton (sic), Singletary, Sayers, Butkus, etc. etc.
Looking forward to seeing you in navy blue and burnt orange.
First, I admire Johnson’s proper use of the semicolon and refusal to uppercase the word “steelers” even when he was insulting the Ravens. I, too, will lowercase steelers from this moment forth.
The problem is, the only good things that came out of Chicago are the Blues Brothers, pizza and supposedly popcorn. So, no Bob, I will not follow the Bears.
As mentioned before, I will stick with Cowboys.
However, this being the season for debate, I’d be interested in hearing some other folks’ rationale on why I should follow their teams.
Post your response as a comment under this column on the Fort Meade Facebook page, or add it to the Fort Meade Live Blog here.
And of course, if you have comments on this or anything to do with sports, contact me at chad.t.jones.civ@mail.mil.
