It’s been called Dallas week, culminating Sunday night with the season opener between the Redskins and Cowboys at FedEx Field, when new coach Mike Shanahan and quarterback Donovan McNabb make their Washington debuts.
But Dallas week is not about Shanahan, McNabb, Clinton Portis or even the great London Fletcher. You can’t find Dallas week at FedEx Field or Redskins Park.
It may have all the cosmetics of this historic rivalry between the two NFL franchises, but the heart of Dallas week was at an Arlington restaurant Wednesday night, where you could find Gary Clark, Raleigh McKenzie, Larry Brown, Mark Moseley and a large turnout of Redskins alumni gathered to try to fan the embers of what once was a roaring flame of football passion.
There is no Dallas week without Ken Houston stopping Walt Garrison at the goal line. There is no Dallas week without Dexter Manley putting Danny White out of the NFL title game.
“In a 1979 game against Dallas, on the first kickoff of the game they sent Thomas Henderson after me,” said Moseley, the NFL’s Most Valuable Player in the Redskins 1982 Super Bowl season. “He knocked me down five times on the same kickoff. I kept getting up and getting knocked down. The last time he knocked me down I slid on my back right underneath Tom Landry. He looked down at me, shook his head, and said, ‘Son, you need to stay down when you get hit.’ He had a little grin on his face.
“Those are the things that make Dallas week.”
The Redskins alumni has been revived with the arrival of general manager Bruce Allen, son of legendary Redskins coach George Allen. Those connections are important, because both fans and players feed on the emotion of the game, and tradition is the foundation of that passion.
“My hate for Dallas is real, and is deep.” said Mike Nelms, a Texas native who used to return kicks for Washington from 1980 to 1984. “I don’t think the new guys get that. But if they talk to some of us, they will understand where they are supposed to be mentally.”
Few, if any players, on this current Redskins roster can tell any memorable tales that connect with Redskins fans about the hated Cowboys. That doesn’t mean they can’t start Sunday night, though.
Larry Brown, the great Redskins running back, hit the nail on the head on what made the games so intense, and what it will take to be that way again.
“What really made the rivalry was when the Washington Redskins became better, and then became a threat to the Dallas Cowboys,” Brown said.
Until then, history will have to do, and former Redskins are willing to keep that history alive.
I asked Bruce Allen if he could see beleaguered defensive tackle Albert Haynesworth ever showing up for an event like this one. “Yes, without a doubt,” Allen said.
Providing, of course, he pass a conditioning test.
Thom Loverro is the co-host of “The Sports Fix” from noon to 2 p.m. Monday through Friday on ESPN 980 and espn980.com.
