It’s been two weeks since the Redskins played the Cowboys on “Monday Night Football,” but the rivalry remains alive thanks to Redskins tight end Chris Cooley. Following Dallas quarterback Tony Romo’s meltdown last Sunday in a 34-30 loss to the Detroit Lions, Cooley said he enjoyed watching the collapse and suggested he and Romo should meet in a cage match and hasn’t really backed down.
“I will never make an apology to any offended Dallas fans, and I expect every Redskin fan to cheer at the folly of a Cowboy,” he wrote on his blog, “The Cooley Zone,” calling his comments “rivalry igniting.”
The rivalry has been so dormant between the two teams — not the fans — for so long that people aren’t used to anyone in either uniform caring enough to ignite it.
There was a time when such comments were standard operating procedure between the Redskins and Cowboys — and sometimes those comments would result in bizarre on-field incidents.
The difference is those incidents would not go viral.
Once during Dallas week, Redskins coach George Allen brought his taekwondo instructor, the legendary Jhoon Rhee, into the Redskins’ locker room after a practice with both Allen and Rhee wearing martial arts garb. Allen told the players he wanted to fly to Dallas to meet Cowboys coach Tom Landry at midfield and fight him.
Then there are rivalry moments that go beyond trash talking. In honor of Pete Gent, the former Cowboys receiver and author of “North Dallas Forty” who passed away last week, and Redskins announcer and Hall of Fame linebacker Sam Huff, who celebrated his 77th birthday last Tuesday, here is one of those on-field rivalry moments:
“Pete Gent is giving a scouting report on the Redskins on his television show, and he gets to me,” Huff once told me in an interview. “He says, ‘Number 70 in the middle is no longer the great star that he was, and he should have retired a few years ago.’ I couldn’t sleep all night. I was determined to get a shot at this guy.
“I figured the only way I could get Gent was to make a deal with [Dallas quarterback Don] Meredith,” Huff said. “When the captains met at midfield, I said to Meredith, ‘I need a favor. Pete Gent doesn’t think I can play this game. Bring that guy across the middle. I want to hang him out to dry.’?”
According to Huff, Meredith agreed to do it. But during the course of the game Huff said he forgot about it and during one play, blitzed Meredith and knocked him out. “That turned out to be the very play that he had Gent go across the middle on,” Huff said.
Now that’s rivalry igniting.
Examiner columnist Thom Loverro is the co-host of “The Sports Fix” from noon to 2 p.m. Monday through Friday on ESPN980 and espn980.com. Contact him at [email protected].
