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One of the gratifying aspects of being a serious fan of the Cowboys is that, over time, one accumulates a large number of memories. Some good, some bad, and most of which can be evoked by only a short phrase or a few words:
"Emmitt's shoulder game," "No Danny, no," "Harvey's funeral wreath," "Sanders, NY, MNF," "Longley," "pickle juice," "Staubach's last pass (regular season)," "Romo, Folk, Bills," "Staubach's last pass (playoffs)," "James Washington's tripod," "38-0, St. Louis," " 'At least we have respective teams,' ” "Julius Jones beats Seattle," "QB shuttle, Chicago," and so on.
Last Wednesday night will go down as one of those most memorable games. I've tried, and I honestly can't remember a game that had such an interesting combination of memorable elements.
First, Ware records his milestone 100th sack. He's a future Hall of Famer, still in his prime. It wasn't as epic as "Move over Sweetness," but most of us will remember it.
Second, there is Witten. He's a future Hall of Famer, who, if not still in his prime, is not far past it. The guy who played with the broken jaw and who ran without a helmet adds playing with an injured internal organ. That's gotta be some kind of toughness trifecta.
Third, there's Ryan Cook's crazy situation. The guy plays against the Cowboys as a Dolphin. Turns out there is an pre-arranged audition that occurs during that preseason game. A day later, Cook becomes a Cowboy via trade. A handful of days after that, on the fourth play from scrimmage, on opening night, Cook, who mostly played guard and tackle through his career, lines up in the relatively unfamiliar position of center next to other players with whom he has essentially zero familiarity, and plays against the defending Super Bowl Champions, noted for their superior defensive front, on their home turf, on national TV. I am not yet certain of this, but Cook also may have been responsible for making the OL line calls on Wednesday night, which means there was even more expected of Cook than had been expected of some of the Cowboys' previous centers. It is an impressive and unusual story that is the stuff of trivia questions and quirky memories.
Other notable distinctions -- the replacement refs, the first league game of the 2012 regular season, and the first NFL game played on a Wednesday since 1948.
It would be nice to think that the game will also be remembered, eventually, as the first time the Cowboys championship defense played together. Carter and Lee look like a great inside combination. The new high profile CBs. Ware, of course. Emerging DL, perhaps. The only small remaining detail is winning that championship.
But regardless as to what happens with the Cowboys through this season and those that follow, I'm confident that we will all remember "the spleen game."
"Emmitt's shoulder game," "No Danny, no," "Harvey's funeral wreath," "Sanders, NY, MNF," "Longley," "pickle juice," "Staubach's last pass (regular season)," "Romo, Folk, Bills," "Staubach's last pass (playoffs)," "James Washington's tripod," "38-0, St. Louis," " 'At least we have respective teams,' ” "Julius Jones beats Seattle," "QB shuttle, Chicago," and so on.
Last Wednesday night will go down as one of those most memorable games. I've tried, and I honestly can't remember a game that had such an interesting combination of memorable elements.
First, Ware records his milestone 100th sack. He's a future Hall of Famer, still in his prime. It wasn't as epic as "Move over Sweetness," but most of us will remember it.
Second, there is Witten. He's a future Hall of Famer, who, if not still in his prime, is not far past it. The guy who played with the broken jaw and who ran without a helmet adds playing with an injured internal organ. That's gotta be some kind of toughness trifecta.
Third, there's Ryan Cook's crazy situation. The guy plays against the Cowboys as a Dolphin. Turns out there is an pre-arranged audition that occurs during that preseason game. A day later, Cook becomes a Cowboy via trade. A handful of days after that, on the fourth play from scrimmage, on opening night, Cook, who mostly played guard and tackle through his career, lines up in the relatively unfamiliar position of center next to other players with whom he has essentially zero familiarity, and plays against the defending Super Bowl Champions, noted for their superior defensive front, on their home turf, on national TV. I am not yet certain of this, but Cook also may have been responsible for making the OL line calls on Wednesday night, which means there was even more expected of Cook than had been expected of some of the Cowboys' previous centers. It is an impressive and unusual story that is the stuff of trivia questions and quirky memories.
Other notable distinctions -- the replacement refs, the first league game of the 2012 regular season, and the first NFL game played on a Wednesday since 1948.
It would be nice to think that the game will also be remembered, eventually, as the first time the Cowboys championship defense played together. Carter and Lee look like a great inside combination. The new high profile CBs. Ware, of course. Emerging DL, perhaps. The only small remaining detail is winning that championship.
But regardless as to what happens with the Cowboys through this season and those that follow, I'm confident that we will all remember "the spleen game."
