Rick Snider: Has the rivalry lost its steam?
By: Rick Snider
Examiner Sports Columnist
November 22, 2009
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| Examiner columnist Rick Snider laments that the Redskins-Cowboys — once the best series in the league — has been met with indifference in both cities this season. (Getty Images) |
The Redskins-Cowboys game is Sunday.
Yawn.
What used to be one of the top NFL events annually, played on Monday nights and Thanksgiving for the entire nation to watch, is an afternoon game this time. Nobody nationally cares. Certainly, nobody in Dallas is worked up over Washington week.
The worst part -- it's not a big deal in Washington, either.
Scary.
Redskins fans still relish a victory over the Cowboys since there are so many Dallas supporters around Washington. But, at this point, fans simply want a win. They were upset over ugly victories earlier this year. They wanted style points. Now the crowd settles for simply scoring in the red zone.
Fans skipped the traditional "We want Dallas" chant after beating Denver on Nov. 15. How sad. It used to be chanted at any occasion. They did it during the draft day party at the stadium in past years.
Now, it's almost indifference around Washington and flat out denial in Dallas, where Cowboys fans are too busy watching the jumbo of jumbotrons to worry over the actual game.
Rivalries can grow old. This one seriously brewed for 20 years. In the 1970s and '80s it was the best series in the league. The 1990s were lukewarm as Dallas found new foes to fight for the NFC's Super Bowl slot. Green Bay, New York and San Francisco became more important than Washington.
But Washingtonians haven't been sidetracked by the postseason to diminish the rivalry. The series is best when both sides are playoff bound and that hasn't happened since the Gibbs' 1.0 administration.
The days of Dexter Manley taunting the Cowboys are long gone. It's part of that 8-track glory-days soundtrack Redskins fans keep playing in their heads. Nothing has supplanted it since Washington's 1991 title.
The problem is Washington can't find a new rival. The Redskins only play the Baltimore Ravens every three years and it has been a boring series. Philadelphia and New York are old divisional rivals, but just don't generate the same juice. There was a passing period where Tampa Bay and Seattle were postseason annoyances, but it's hard to get worked up over a traditionally bad Florida team and a West Coast opponent often seeb less than congressman eating at McDonald's.
Dallas is Washington's grudge game, but another bad Redskins season has created little interest from fans, much less players who know nothing of the series' history. To coach Jim Zorn, it's just another game.
That's the problem now. It's just another game.
Rick Snider has covered local sports since 1978. Read more at TheRickSniderReport.com and Twitter @Snide_Remarks or e-mail rsnider@washingtonexaminer.com.
