Panthers Crush Cowboys
October 21, 2008
by Greg Bailey
That’s the headline that Panthers fans love more than any other. Sure, there are Steelers fans and Redskins fans in Charlotte, but Cowboys fans outnumber all the others in numbers and in all the annoying ways that count.
Covered in blue and silver, with stars in places they don’t belong, America’s fans showed up on Jerry Jones’ bandwagon last December at Bank of America Stadium. We should have known then that Carolina’s future prospects would dominate the fortunes of the paper Cowboys.
This is slow and steady vs. instant gratification. Blue collar vs. Hollywood (not old Hollywood like Paul Newman, but new Hollywood like Paris Hilton. Famous for being pathetic or crazy or something.) Work ethic vs. work release program. And the Panthers lead by five or six touchdowns.
It all starts with the men who fashioned the franchises. Panthers owner Jerry Richardson worries about Jake Delhomme’s elbow surgery. Jerry Jones is already planning his next round of plastic surgery. Richardson challenges his players to lead (that looks a whole lot better with Julius Peppers this year than it did last year) while Jones tries to lead in loafers. If that means crowding the sidelines on game day, then great. If that means rolling into the locker room to address your team after Sunday’s embarrassment in St. Louis then all the better. I’ll take Richardson and his millions versus Jones and his billions.
Panthers fans love to gripe about John Fox a little bit too much. Anybody want to trade for Cowboys interim coach, Wade Phillips, now? Anybody want to trade Steve Smith for Terrell Owens tonight? The difference there is that Smith hit rock bottom at training camp and his teammates stood up to let him know how they felt about it. The next time someone stands up to T.O. in Dallas will be the first time.
Carolina has a team. Dallas has a soap opera cast. Maybe it all starts because Jerry is simply too good as the aging leader of the family empire. Maybe T.O. likes life as a diva more than he likes catching passes. Or maybe they’re all just spoiled enough to turn on each other starting as soon as everyone is looking. As long as they’re acting like children, why not see who can throw the best tantrum?
Best leader? Jake Delhomme over Tony Romo in a landslide. Best offensive line? Carolina, even with a couple of backups nobody really knows. Best safety? Chris Harris over Roy Williams even before Williams broke his arm twice this year. Best defensive player? The Julius Peppers who smiles a lot this year is better than almost everybody else in the league.
Go ahead and tell me that it’s a long season. Anything can happen. And I’ll tell you to call me after the Panthers play their next three games against Arizona, Oakland and Detroit. Dallas has to line up against Tampa, the Giants and the Redskins. I grew up 20 miles from Texas Stadium rooting for Roger Staubach. The star he wore looks nothing like that silver piece of scrap metal Dallas wears now.
