Up Late Monday Morning With Pullulating Perplexation Over The Important Issue Of The Dallas Cowboys Being America's Team

I was up way past my regular bedtime Sunday night, for multiple reasons. This has me up way past my regular up time on this last Monday of the first month of 2012. Which you can likely intuit from the semi-bright view from my primary viewing portal on the outer world.

January has disappeared at an unseemly rapid pace. I'm feeling like I'm in a time machine with the controls accidentally set to fast forward.

Today is my mom's birthday. I must remember to call, even though I do not need to fill my gas tank today.

Last night I learned I am expected to participate in an "Occupy" event in Fort Worth. I have not been to a rare Fort Worth protest since a couple years ago on the steps of the Tarrant County Courthouse.

I have long made note of the fact that few protests take place in Fort Worth. This has long seemed such a contrast with what I used to experience in protest-prone Seattle. We recently learned that Seattle is far more literate than Fort Worth. Perhaps part of that is understanding citizen's First Amendment right to free speech and to peacefully assemble.

For those whose time spent in the Fort Worth School District's schools did not expose them to the United States Constitution, the First Amendment....

Prohibits the making of any law respecting an establishment of religion, impeding the free exercise of religion, abridging the freedom of speech, infringing on the freedom of the press, interfering with the right to peaceably assemble or prohibiting the petitioning for a governmental redress of grievances.

Speaking of free speech. Yesterday I mentioned that the Sunday edition of the Star-Telegram had an embarrassing article on the serious issue of the Dallas Cowboys alleged continuing status of being America's Team.

The Monday edition of the Fort Worth Star-Telegram elaborated on this extremely important issue in an article titled "Are the Cowboys still America's Team?" With the below screencap being the link to the article from the Star-Telegram's front page.

The Dallas Cowboys earned the "America's Team" moniker in 1978? Back when Jimmy Carter was President? 34 years ago? By this type logic Jimmy Carter is still America's President.

There are a lot of embarrassing elements in today's Star-Telegram article about this important America's Team issue, with, maybe, the most embarrassing paragraph being...

"And so don't accept impostors or substitutes. Don't consign the nickname to the trash, or put it in the freezer or hide it in a drawer beneath the old socks. The Cowboys, Staubach said, are still America's Team. And America's quarterback is right. Yes, amid dubious poll results and pullulating flapdoodle and perennial piffle, America's Team still stands out."

So, now we have someone anointed as America's quarterback anointing the Dallas Cowboys as America's Team?

I still have not seen any mention made in the Star-Telegram of the fact that the Trinity River Vision Boondoggle's flood control project's first completed project, the Cowtown Wakepark, was severely damaged in the first flood of the Trinity River since its completion.

I have learned, from Steve A, what "pullulating" means...

"To breed or otherwise increase rapidly or abundantly."

To use in a sentence...

The ridiculousness of much of the Fort Worth Star-Telegam's content seems to be pullulating at an alarmingly rate.

The Final Sunday Of January 2012 Amused By America's Delusional Team The Dallas Cowboys

Looking through the bars of my patio prison cell from my secondary viewing portal on the outer world you can see the sun begin to rise above the aquamarine pool on this final Sunday of the first month of 2012.

Day 29 of January is dawning cold. As in a single degree above freezing. The temperature predictors are predicting that eventually the outer world at my location will heat up to 62 degrees.

I think I will go for a walk with the Indian Ghosts that haunt the Village Creek Natural Historical Area today. If the park closed due to flooding blockage has been lifted.

I still have not seen any mention made in Fort Worth's failing supposed newspaper of record, the propaganda purveyor called the Star-Telegram, of the fact that the Trinity River Vision Boondoggle's flood control project has had its first completed project, Cowtown Wakepark, seriously damaged by the first flood to hit the Trinity River since it's completion.

Maybe I missed the article about this inconsequential piece of ironic news in the Star-Telegram.

However, this morning the Star-Telegram did report on the serious issue of whether or not the Dallas Cowboys are still America's Team.

As I understand this serious issue, long ago the Dallas Cowboys had a successful football team for a few years. During this long ago period of success, some sort of NFL documentary was produced in which someone made the remark that the Dallas Cowboys are America's Team.

I have now lived long enough in this attention starved part of the planet to understand how many of the locals grasp onto anything here being given such an accolade and hold onto to it no matter how ridiculous it becomes, or no matter how much evidence accumulates that indicates America does not think the Dallas Cowboys are America's Team.

In the Star-Telegram article this morning is the following....

"They'll insist that the Dallas Cowboys, who have borne the nickname for more than 30 years, are no longer America's Team. But, of course, such arguments, which seem to come around every other football season or so and to be pullulating this year because of a recent poll, are 24-karat flapdoodle, sterling nonsense, pure piffle. The Cowboys are America's Team forever."

I have absolutely no idea what the word "pullulating" means. But, see what I mean about the local's attitude, as projected via the Star-Telegram, regarding this serious America's Team issue?

You reading this in other parts of America, than this ill-served, news-wise, zone, are you giggling? I bet you did not know that the Dallas Cowboys are America's Team forever, due to some such reference in some long ago documentary.

It Is Now Official That The Dallas Cowboys Are Not America's Team Because The Green Bay Packers Are

ESPN's Skip Bayless, Lomas Brown & Rob Parker debate
The Poll That Determined The Packers Are
"America's Team" Not The Dallas Cowboys

A few minutes ago I got an email from one of my regular emailers with the subject line, "Did you cause this?"

A link in the email went to an article in the Fort Worth Business Press titled Poll: Cowboys no longer ‘America’s Team’

I don't see how I could cause the Dallas Cowboys to no longer be America's Team.

However, I long ago did opine that the idea that the Dallas Cowboys were America's Team was a local delusion.

Several years ago, back when the Dallas Cowboys and the City of Arlington were abusing eminent domain to take homes, apartments and businesses to build Jerry Jones a new football stadium, I did add a page to my Eyes on Texas website on the subject of this delusion titled AMERICA'S TEAM: THE DALLAS COWBOYS?

Apparently something called Public Policy Polling took a survey and discovered that the Green Bay Packers are the most popular team in the National Football League, which, apparently, makes the Green Bay Packers America's Team.

The same survey revealed that not only are the Dallas Cowboys not America's most popular team, they are America's least favorite team, with 22 % of those surveyed picking Dallas as the worst.

The Packers were seen positively by 57 % of those surveyed, with only 13% having a negative opinion.

While the Dallas Cowboys were seen negatively by 41 %, with 29 % having a positive opinion.

In the ESPN online coverage of this serious issue you can watch a video where some talking heads discuss why it is that Dallas is not America's Team, along with one of the talking heads verbalizing how upset he is over this shocking fall from grace by the Dallas Cowboys.

What I am wondering is why is it no national polling entity had not put an end to the silly Dallas Cowboys being America's Team conceit a long time ago?

The Dallas Cowboys Really Are America's Favorite Football Team While The Seattle Seahawks Are Among America's Least Favorite

I admit I am not much of a football fan. Actually I am not even remotely a football fan. I have never understood what people find entertaining about sitting and passively watching endless permutations of the same behavior.

So, when I moved to Texas and started to hear the Dallas Cowboys over and over again referred to as "America's Team" I figured it was just more Texas hyperbole.

At one point in time, years ago, I  added a page about this subject to my Eyes on Texas website, titled "Dallas Cowboys: America's Team?"

This morning I was looking for an "America's Team" image and was surprised to see the webpage I made years ago Googled in the 2nd spot, right after Wikipedia's article about "America's Team."

I was looking for an "America's Team" image because I'd just read an article in the Seattle P-I which made me want to blog about this subject.

According to the Harris polling people and an interactive poll they conduct, yearly, the Dallas Cowboys are America's favorite football team. A position the Dallas Cowboys have held for 5 years in a row.

The top five favorite football teams are....

1. Dallas
2. Pittsburgh
3. Green Bay
4. New England
5. Chicago

The professional football team in the town in which the Seattle P-I is published, the Seattle Seahawks, ranks really low in terms of America's favoritude, at a lowly 27th place.

America's least favorite professional football team is the Jacksonville Jaguars.

I've never heard of this lowly Jaguar team. All I know about Jacksonville is I think the town is in Florida.

The Seattle P-I made what seemed to me a slightly lame explanation as to why the Seattle Seahawks are at such a lowly 27th place ranking in such a serious matter. Apparently fewer people on the West Coast follow football than people who live in the East, the Midwest and the South.

In 2006 the Seattle Seahawks reached their most favored position ever in the Harris poll, coming in as the 12th most favorite the year they lost the Super Bowl to the Pittsburgh Steelers.

That particular Super Bowl is probably the only football game I have watched, start to finish, in this century. It was painful viewing.

New Dallas Cowboy Stadium Making Locals Cranky

That is the new Dallas Cowboy Stadium's roof above the FINA station. The view is looking northwest from the industrial blight area southeast of the stadium.

Several events have now taken place in the new stadium, including one or two football games of various sorts. I have seen no reports of traffic or congestion problems related to stadium events.

That surprises me, due to the fact that that area can be a bit congested, due to all the road construction, whenever I drive through the area.

I got feedback to my Eyes on Texas webpage about America's Team from someone who attended the first football game in the new stadium. The Dallas Cowboys call themselves "America's Team." This seems to be some sort of local delusion. The feedbacker was not happy about something he did not see.

Eyes on Texas,

What I noticed about the first game was what wasn't seen. No United States flag during the whole affair. Very little participation of players and fans when the national anthem was rendered. Some America's Team !!!!!!!

— Ray Pettigrew

And then this morning, in the Sunday Fort Worth Star-Telegram, there were 2 letters to the editor from a couple Arlington residents not at all happy with the new stadium. Both letters are below....

Stadium not disability friendly

Now that the world has said all its superlatives about Jerry Jones’ stadium, what does a handicapped veteran think?

When I bought my ticket, I asked about handicap parking. I was told to use the Rangers parking lot, where a courtesy cart would pick people up. There were three carts that could handle two people at a time for 78,000 fans, some handicapped. I waited with eight other handicapped people for 40 minutes. No cart.

I decided maybe I could walk. Along the way, I counted about a half-dozen people in wheelchairs being pushed up the hill by family or friends. I also saw numerous people using canes to help them walk. I talked to people who said they waited about an hour for a courtesy cart that never showed. It appeared that Jerry’s people had carts running here and there to pick up fans who were seemingly healthy enough to walk.

Once I reached the stadium, my knee was killing me so I asked the attendant if I could I go in the door. He looked at my ticket said sorry but my gate was on the back side. Once I got to the gate, I had to walk half way back to find an escalator to get upstairs.

I was unable to find a handicap stall in several restrooms. Aren’t there federal laws about handicap parking and restrooms? Did Jerry’s facility slip below the federal radar?

— Senior Master Sgt. David A. Fitzwater, retired, Arlington

Prisoner in own home

My home is cut off by barricades and if I want to go anywhere, I’m routed all over the place because I happen to live about a half-block from the new Cowboys stadium. Helicopters were overhead the entire day of the first game.

I have been subjected to this harassment many times this summer. Paul McCartney’s concert brought Excalibur Towing, parking two tow trucks in front of my house. Nobody else can park here, but it seems the tow trucks have priority, whipping their big trucks up and down this little street.

We had a buyer for our property, but when the buyer tried to get zoning for a parking lot, the Arlington City Council said, "No way!" The deal fell through. Now I see in the Star-Telegram that the council is going to approve the use of the city lots for Cowboy parking.

It’s becoming clear why they turned us down! They didn’t want the competition.

The city has ruined my and my neighbors’ chances of getting out of the rat race that this stadium has brought to our little neighborhood.

I am 74 years old and have been hospitalized twice this summer for surgeries, including an aneurysm, and I’m sure that I’m an unimportant person in your eyes. But I have lived here for many years and intended to live out my life here until the city plunked the stadium about 500 feet from my house. Now they’re making sure I’m stuck here.

The city of Arlington should be ashamed!

— Anne Blanchard, Arlington

America's Team

I'm one of the dwindling number of Americans who read a daily hard copy newspaper. My morning ritual is to lay on the floor with a cup of coffee and read the paper. When I lived in Washington my morning paper was the Seattle P-I. In Fort Worth it is the Star-Telegram. To be blunt and to the point, Washington has a much higher high school graduation rate, much higher number of college graduates, Seattle leads the nation in number of book readers and I'll just say that the quality of the P-I reflects the quality of its readers. And so does the Fort Worth Star-Telegram.

The Star-Telegram has recently had a big makeover they touted as an improvement. It wasn't. Basically they are losing subscribers and revenue and had to cut back. So, a lot of columnists were fired and features reduced. Like on Sunday the Weekly Review is now 4 pages long. I think it used to be 8. It used to take me a half hour or so to read the Sunday paper. Now I'm lucky if it takes longer than 15 minutes. Here is one good example of how dumb this newspaper is. Up til the BIG CHANGE Tuesday's were what they called Family Day. When I guess families were supposedly supposed to sit around and read the paper. So, on Family Day, on many an occasion, a Dear Abby column would be altered to say something like "Today's Dear Abby was not considered suitable for Family Day and will run tomorrow." Every time I saw that I'd think to myself have they no consideration for those families who read the paper every day? Shouldn't they be totally protected from the evil Dear Abby letter?

If you want another good example of how bad a newspaper can be, go here and be appalled and amused.

And that brings us to today's Star-Telegram. On the front page of this sad excuse for a major city newspaper, under the headline at the top of the page "Everyone's a Winner" with a sub-heading in large letters saying "The Cowboys are at the top of their game. And that's good for everybody. Their success is felt far and wide and measured in dollars and happiness." And then the rest of the article in normal sized print saying, "Are you feeling good about the Dallas Cowboys this season? You're not alone. The team's success has a real effect on how we go about our lives. The Cowboys can stir emotions and spirits in such a way that individuals, and in many cases businesses, are more productive. And it's not just a local thing, either. When you're 13-3 and in the NFL playoffs and are America's Team, the impact can be far-reaching. Call it success by association."

That was on the front page. The sports page was worse. With a long article under the headline "Cowboys' success makes the world a better place". You may read more of that article and other good stuff about America's Team by going here. Or read the entire Star-Telegram article in all its goofy glory in its online version.