With Dallas and Buffalo playing on Sunday, Nov. 13, I can't help but remember one of the best times to be a Dallas Cowboys fan. In 1992 and 1993, there were not any teams in the NFL better than the Dallas Cowboys and Buffalo Bills.
Jimmy Johnson had effectively rebuilt the Dallas Cowboys from the ground up. When Jerry Jones purchased the team in 1989, he released the only head coach the team had ever known in Tom Landry. It was a tragic moment for a longtime Dallas fan and I hated Jones for the move when it happened. I remained a Cowboys fan but hated Jimmy Johnson when he came in and acted like he could replace a legend.
I still don't like Jimmy Johnson but I give him credit because he took a broken down, old team in Dallas and turned it into the most powerful NFL franchise in the league. He built it from the ground up. Landry drafted Michael Irvin, but Johnson drafted Troy Aikman and Emmitt Smith. Johnson built that offensive line and the amazing defensive unit that helped the Cowboys win two Super Bowls in a row.
Meanwhile, Marv Levy did the same thing for Buffalo. He took over the Bills franchise in 1986 and brought in men like Jim Kelly, Andre Reed, James Lofton and Thurman Thomas. He created a dominant franchise in Buffalo that few teams have ever matched. People like to make fun of Buffalo for losing four consecutive Super Bowls. I want to know how many teams have made it to even three straight Super Bowls. Yes, Buffalo lost in the big game but that means they were the second best team in the entire NFL for three years running and the best the AFC had to offer. They were one game away from a fifth appearance in 1988.
That makes the results of their final two Super Bowls hard to take for Buffalo. I often talk about Pittsburgh and San Francisco as teams I hate because they beat Dallas when it meant the most. Because of that, I would not be surprised to know that Buffalo fans hate Dallas for the same reason.
In Super Bowl XXVII, Dallas beat Buffalo, 52-17. Troy Aikman won the MVP with 273 passing yards and four touchdowns. In Super Bowl XXVIII, it was a closer affair as Dallas beat Buffalo, 30-13. Emmitt Smith won the MVP award in that game, rushing for 132 yards and two touchdowns.
The two teams combined for eight Hall of Fame members, as of 2011, including Marv Levy, Jim Kelly, James Lofton, Brice Smith, Thurman Thomas, Troy Aikman, Michael Irvin and Emmitt Smith.
While the two teams playing in 2011 are drastically different from their counterparts, the game allows fans a time to remember the brightest days from their individual franchise's storied history.
Author Shawn S. Lealos has followed the Dallas Cowboys since he was a child, his favorite players range from Roger Staubach and Tony Dorsett to the Triplets of the 90s. Through the great years of the '90s and the hard times of the '80s, Shawn never turned his back on America's Team.
Source: Dallas Cowboys website
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