Why were the Cowboys named "America's Team"?

[Bl00dyBizkitz]

I'm 31, born in '93, so I'm a younger guy compared to most of you. I never grew up with the Cowboys of the 90s.

Why exactly were they given this renowned title that has stuck with them throughout time? Clearly they were successful, but it's not like there weren't other dynasties before or after them. Heck, the Bulls of the 90s in that same exact era might be more famous than the Cowboys, and they were never given any famous monikers or anything like that.

There had to have been some zeitgeist or cultural relevance of the 90s that led to the "America's Team" name. Can anyone help me out?

EDIT: Okay sorry, apparently it started in the 70's. Shows how little I know.

[Bl00dyBizkitz]

Originally Posted by RedinTexas

This is the right answer. NFL films produced a season highlight film for every team in those days that was supposed to make everyone think that their team could have won the Super Bowl if only they got a break or two.

At the time the Cowboys were a popular team in other markets, or at least more so than any other team aside from whatever the local team was. So, NFL films titled the Cowboys yearbook highlight film "America's Team."

I see.

I have to assume their overall success in the 80's and 90's helped reinforce that they were the model of success. I mean, the producers on all the talking-head shows wouldn't talk about the Cowboys as much as they do if there weren't fans who cared and tuned in to listen.

But at this point it just feels embarrassing? It's almost a joke to refer to them as "America's Team" now.

[RedinTexas]

Originally Posted by Bl00dyBizkitz

I see.

I have to assume their overall success in the 80's and 90's helped reinforce that they were the model of success. I mean, the producers on all the talking-head shows wouldn't talk about the Cowboys as much as they do if there weren't fans who cared and tuned in to listen.

But at this point it just feels embarrassing? It's almost a joke to refer to them as "America's Team" now.

I have a friend that is a big Cowboys fan and once he saw how much it pissed everyone off, he started calling them America's Team as often as possible.

[Graystoke]

My Brother was a huge Cowboy fan in the 1970s and I got to admit I was pretty jealous of their success. I also loved their coach. Landry was a class act and he always dressed with the hat, suit and tie.

[WilliamTheIrish]

Originally Posted by T-post Tom

During the Cowboys' 1979 season opener against the then-St. Louis Cardinals, legendary broadcaster Pat Summerall, who was calling the game for CBS, referred to Dallas as America's Team, and, for better or worse, it's been a thing ever since. Well not so much these days. (The Dallas Cowboys have 4 wins in the playoffs between January 19, 2000 and January 19, 2025.)

No.

In the early/mid 70's the NFL teams had season recaps for every franchise. Can't remember which year, but the Cowboys NFL Films yearbook was titled "America's Team".


Also, the hole in the roof was "So God could see his team play".

EDIT: was the 1978 recap of the 1977 season. Well, I see this was already stated so, I'll back away.

[ChiliConCarnage]

Its shortened from South Americas team. They are huge in Caracas.

[JohnnyHammersticks]

Are we sure the phrase didn't start with Hollywood Henderson picking and eating his cocaine boogers to keep from falling asleep in team meetings?

Anyone else read his book, "Out of Control: Confessions of an NFL Casualty"? Dude was burning the candle at both ends, in the middle, and from the top and bottom to say the very least. One of the craziest books ever.

[FlaChief58]

Originally Posted by Clyde Frog

Marketing by Jerruh? shrug

This

[scho63]

During all the winning they did during the 70s and 80s, they had fans everywhere and were the most popular team.

Then someone nicknamed them "America's Team" and away it went.

The winning, the cheerleaders, the "nice guys" persona vs teams like the Raiders and the Pittsburgh Steel Curtain, who were the "mean bad guys".

[Tribal Warfare]

Originally Posted by milkshock

the moniker started in the 70s

Pat Summerall coined it

[Ghost of Maslowski]

i always thought it got started because in 1976 they added a red stripe to their helmets to celebrate the bicentennial

[Rain Man]

Originally Posted by ChiliConCarnage

Its shortened from South Americas team. They are huge in Caracas.

I thought "South America's Team" was started when Michael Irvin was singlehandedly boosting the entire GDP of Colombia.

The "America's Team" (in my opinion) came a lot from Roger Staubach being such a Boy Scout personality who had been at the Naval Academy and the Navy. Then you combined him with good ol' southern boys like Bob Lilly and Lee Roy Jordan in an era not long after the rural glamorization of TV (Beverly Hillbillies, Andy Griffith, etc.), and you had a team that seemed quintessentially American.

Also, the star and uniform were clean and crisp, the Cowboys name was American compared to some of their conference competitors, and they wore white when some of their key competitors wore black (Steelers, Raiders, etc.)

[scho63]

Originally Posted by milkshock

the moniker started in the 70s

I thought it was early 80's but you might be right. My 3 best friends from 7 years old remain diehard Cowboys fans to this day, 55 years.

They are now enduring what I did while THEY were the great team. 180° turnaround.

[Rain Man]

Originally Posted by Ghost of Maslowski

i always thought it got started because in 1976 they added a red stripe to their helmets to celebrate the bicentennial


...

Wow, I'd never heard of that. Very interesting.

[crayzkirk]

At one time, there weren't many games on the TeeVee. The Cowboys, along with their success, the attractive cheerleaders and media coverage were almost always on. Just like now, the midwest gets the Cowboys every weekend that they play.

The shrinking cheerleader uniforms and the media attention didn't hurt either.

[RedinTexas]

Originally Posted by crayzkirk

At one time, there weren't many games on the TeeVee. The Cowboys, along with their success, the attractive cheerleaders and media coverage were almost always on. Just like now, the midwest gets the Cowboys every weekend that they play.

The shrinking cheerleader uniforms and the media attention didn't hurt either.

In the late 70s the NFC was a wasteland and the Cowboys, being really good, stood out. They were on CBS every Sunday if you were in an AFC city. Part of why they were called "America's Team" and also why so many people hate them as much as they do.