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The term "America's Team" is a nickname that refers to the
National Football League The National Football League (NFL) is a Professional gridiron football, professional American football league in the United States. Composed of 32 teams, it is divided equally between the American Football Conference (AFC) and the National ...
(NFL)'s
Dallas Cowboys The Dallas Cowboys are a professional American football team based in the Dallas–Fort Worth metroplex. The Cowboys compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member of the National Football Conference (NFC) NFC East, East division. T ...
. The nickname originated with the team's 1978 highlight film, where the narrator ( John Facenda) opens with the following introduction: The term is recognized and often used by media outlets, including
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,
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,
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, and ''
Sports Illustrated ''Sports Illustrated'' (''SI'') is an American sports magazine first published in August 1954. Founded by Stuart Scheftel, it was the first magazine with a circulation of over one million to win the National Magazine Award for General Excellen ...
''.


History

Bob Ryan, now Vice President and editor-in-chief of
NFL Films NFL Productions, LLC, doing business as NFL Films, is the film and television production company of the National Football League. It produces advertisement film, commercials, television programs, feature films, and documentary film, documentaries ...
, coined this for the Cowboys while preparing and editing the team's 1978 season highlight film. He was quoted as saying: Ryan told the
NFL Network NFL Network (occasionally abbreviated on-air as NFLN) is an American sports-oriented pay television network owned by the National Football League NTP and is part of NFL Media, which also includes NFL.com, NFL Films, NFL Mobile, NFL Now and N ...
for their Top Ten Nicknames show: During the Cowboys' first game of the 1979 season, a nationally televised game against the St. Louis Cardinals (Dallas won 22–21), the television announcer
Pat Summerall George Allen "Pat" Summerall (May 10, 1930 – April 16, 2013) was an American professional American football, football player and television sportscaster who worked for CBS Sports, CBS, Fox Sports (USA), Fox, and ESPN Sunday Night Football, ESP ...
for CBS introduced the Cowboys as America's Team and the name stuck. Dallas's Hall of Fame coach Tom Landry originally did not approve of the appellation of America's Team. He felt that it would give opposing teams extra incentive to play harder. Eventually he gave in and actually came to like the name. The nickname was coined at the height of Landry's NFL-record 20 consecutive winning season streak, during which Dallas appeared in 12 conference championship games (counting the 1966 and 1967 league championships) and five Super Bowls, and was exemplified on the field by the iconic Hall of Fame quarterback Roger Staubach, but the team's popularity has continued over the decades during periods of both mediocrity and dynastic success.


Records and media

In 2003, NFL Films released a
DVD The DVD (common abbreviation for digital video disc or digital versatile disc) is a digital optical disc data storage format. It was invented and developed in 1995 and first released on November 1, 1996, in Japan. The medium can store any ki ...
collection chronicling the Dallas Cowboys franchise entitled ''The Dallas Cowboys: The Complete History of America's Team 1960–2003''. In 2008, NFL Films would release an updated DVD of ''The History of the Dallas Cowboys''. The popularity of the Cowboys as America's Team has been supported by such NFL records as "Team with Most Consecutive Sold Out Games", a streak of 160 home and away games (including playoffs) that began on December 23, 1990, at Philadelphia's Veterans Stadium and came to an end on December 24, 1999, in a Christmas Eve game against the New Orleans Saints in the
Louisiana Superdome Caesars Superdome (originally Louisiana Superdome and formerly Mercedes-Benz Superdome), commonly known as the Superdome, is a domed multi-purpose stadium in the Southern United States, southern United States, located in New Orleans, Louisiana. ...
. Other examples are the NFL games featuring the Cowboys that result in record-breaking ratings at the time of broadcast, such as 7 of the 8 Super Bowl games featuring the Cowboys and the NFC Championship Game between the Cowboys and 49ers, the only non-Super Bowl NFL game to be ranked in the Top 45 Primetime Telecasts of All Time. Dallas is the only NFL team that distributes its own merchandise, which remains among the league's top selling even during losing seasons. As of 2012 the Cowboys were the most valuable American sports franchise at $2.1 billion. Among the many Cowboys innovations that have contributed to their distinct reputation are their professional, overtly beautiful, all female cheerleader squad, nicknamed "America's Sweethearts", that has since been copied around the NFL but still stands out as singularly iconic, and has been the subject of multiple movies, has made numerous national television appearances, routinely tours with the USO, makes other appearances around the world, and has been featured in its own long running
reality show Reality television is a genre of television programming that documents purportedly unscripted real-life situations, often starring ordinary people rather than professional actors. Reality television emerged as a distinct genre in the early 1990s ...
on CMT. The Cowboys are consistently in either primetime or the national doubleheader slot regardless of on-the-field play, very rarely airing in a 1 PM Eastern regional game; this also contributes to their popularity. In 2012 an ESPN poll found that the Cowboys are the most popular NFL team, a result consistently echoed in annual Harris polling.


Other uses

Franchises with long successful histories and large nationwide fan bases are occasionally referred to as America's Team. The
Atlanta Braves The Atlanta Braves are an American professional baseball team based in the Atlanta metropolitan area. The Braves compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the National League (baseball), National League (NL) National League Eas ...
laid claim to the name due to their games being broadcast on cable television systems nationwide on TBS from 1977 to 2007, building a fan base in areas of the United States far removed from a Major League Baseball team. A 1982 issue of ''Sports Illustrated'' had referred to the Braves as "America's Team II". As a jab against the Cowboys before Super Bowl XXVII,
Buffalo Bills The Buffalo Bills are a professional American football team based in the Buffalo–Niagara Falls metropolitan area. The Bills compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member of the American Football Conference (AFC) AFC East, East div ...
coach Marv Levy proclaimed his team to be America's Team because they would be "wearing red, white, and blue". The Cowboys, whose team colors are navy blue, silver and white, went on to defeat the Bills 52–17.
Pittsburgh Steelers The Pittsburgh Steelers are a professional American football team based in Pittsburgh. The Steelers compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member of the American Football Conference (AFC) AFC North, North division. Founded in 1933 P ...
owner
Art Rooney Arthur Joseph Rooney Sr. (January 27, 1901 – August 25, 1988), often referred to as "the Chief", was an American professional American football, football executive. He was the founding owner of the Pittsburgh Steelers, an American football fr ...
dismissed the suggestion that the Steelers were "America's Team." " 'We didn't want that,' Rooney said. 'We're Pittsburgh's team. We feel strongly about that.' " This was reiterated by Pittsburgh native and former Cowboys assistant coach Dave Wannstedt during a 2016 segment on '' Fox NFL Kickoff'' when covering the upcoming matchup between the two teams when he revealed that the nickname was actually offered to the Steelers first by NFL commissioner
Pete Rozelle Alvin Ray "Pete" Rozelle (; March 1, 1926 – December 6, 1996) was an American professional football executive. Rozelle served as the commissioner of the National Football League (NFL) for nearly thirty years, from January 1960 until his retire ...
following the Steelers victory over the Cowboys in Super Bowl X, only to be declined by Rooney. In a 2009 ESPN.com article titled, "The Great Debate: 'America's Team'," four sports writers stated their case as to why three other teams besides the Cowboys could lay claim to the nickname of America's Team. *James Walker said the name should be given to the Pittsburgh Steelers since they have the most Super Bowl wins at six. *Kevin Seifert said that the
Green Bay Packers The Green Bay Packers are a professional American football team based in Green Bay, Wisconsin. The Packers compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member of the National Football Conference (NFC) NFC North, North division. They ar ...
could be considered America's Team due to their unique ownership situation. They "are now owned by 112,120
shareholders A shareholder (in the United States often referred to as stockholder) of corporate stock refers to an individual or legal entity (such as another corporation, a body politic, a trust or partnership) that is registered by the corporation as the ...
who possess about 4.75 million shares of capital stock. A seven-member executive
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, elected by the
board of directors A board of directors is a governing body that supervises the activities of a business, a nonprofit organization, or a government agency. The powers, duties, and responsibilities of a board of directors are determined by government regulatio ...
and mostly of local residents, operates the team." *Tim Graham said the
New England Patriots The New England Patriots are a professional American football team based in the Greater Boston area. The Patriots compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member of the American Football Conference (AFC) AFC East, East division. The Pa ...
have a right at the name since they dominated the NFL for the entire first
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of the new
millennium A millennium () is a period of one thousand years, one hundred decades, or ten centuries, sometimes called a kiloannum (ka), or kiloyear (ky). Normally, the word is used specifically for periods of a thousand years that begin at the starting ...
, by virtue of their team name and colors (red, white and blue) and having been formed in
Boston Boston is the capital and most populous city in the Commonwealth (U.S. state), Commonwealth of Massachusetts in the United States. The city serves as the cultural and Financial centre, financial center of New England, a region of the Northeas ...
, the "Cradle of Liberty". Following their win in
Super Bowl XLIV Super Bowl XLIV was an American football game between the National Football Conference (NFC) champions New Orleans Saints and the American Football Conference (AFC) champions Indianapolis Colts to decide the National Football League (NFL) c ...
, a few media writers referred to the
New Orleans Saints The New Orleans Saints are a professional American football team based in New Orleans. The Saints compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member of the National Football Conference (NFC) NFC South, South division. Since 1975, the team ...
as "America's Team", as their successful bid to win the Super Bowl was seen by many to represent the city's resurgence after the devastation of
Hurricane Katrina Hurricane Katrina was a powerful, devastating and historic tropical cyclone that caused 1,392 fatalities and damages estimated at $125 billion in late August 2005, particularly in the city of New Orleans and its surrounding area. ...
("for one game, the Saints are America's Team"). After several "Cinderella" runs in the NCAA tournament, the
Gonzaga Bulldogs men's basketball The Gonzaga Bulldogs are an intercollegiate men's basketball program representing Gonzaga University. The school competes in the West Coast Conference in Division I of the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA). The Gonzaga Bulldogs p ...
team has been called "America's Team" as well. During their ArenaBowl XXII championship run in 2008,
Philadelphia Soul Philadelphia soul, sometimes called Philly soul, the Philadelphia sound, Phillysound, or The Sound of Philadelphia (TSOP), is a genre of late 1960s–1970s soul music characterized by funk influences and lush string and horn arrangements. The ...
owner Ron Jaworski referred to the Soul as "America's Team" of the
Arena Football League The Arena Football League (AFL) was a professional arena football league in the United States. It was founded in 1986, but played its first official games in the 1987 Arena Football League season, 1987 season, making it the third longest-runnin ...
. During their 2020 season, Coastal Carolina Head Coach Jamey Chadwell referred to the Chanticleers as America's team. After the
Philadelphia Eagles The Philadelphia Eagles are a professional American football team based in Philadelphia. The Eagles compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member of the National Football Conference (NFC) NFC East, East division. The team plays its ...
won
Super Bowl LIX Super Bowl LIX was an American football championship game played to determine the champion of the National Football League (NFL) for the 2024 NFL season, 2024 season. In a rematch of Super Bowl LVII two years prior, the National Football Conf ...
, their second title in seven seasons, Pennsylvania Governor
Josh Shapiro Joshua David Shapiro (born June 20, 1973) is an American lawyer and politician who has served as the 48th governor of Pennsylvania since 2023. A member of the Democratic Party (United States), Democratic Party, he was the attorney general of Pen ...
referred to the Eagles as "America's Team" during a speech at the team's championship parade. The proclamation was seen as "
trolling In slang, a troll is a person who posts deliberately offensive or provocative messages online (such as in social media, a newsgroup, a internet forum, forum, a chat room, an Multiplayer video game, online video game) or who performs similar be ...
" the Cowboys, a major
rival A rivalry is the state of two people or Social group, groups engaging in a lasting competitive relationship. Rivalry is the "against each other" spirit between two competing sides. The relationship itself may also be called "a rivalry", and each ...
of the Eagles. Eagles fans in the crowd immediately responded to Shapiro's statement by chanting, "Dallas sucks!"


References


External links


Dallas Cowboys official web site
* (via
NFL Films NFL Productions, LLC, doing business as NFL Films, is the film and television production company of the National Football League. It produces advertisement film, commercials, television programs, feature films, and documentary film, documentaries ...
) {{Dallas Cowboys Dallas Cowboys Nicknamed groups of American football players