America's Team

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Lore & Background

The nickname first appeared in the team's 1978 highlight film, whose narration opens with: "They appear on television so often that their faces are as familiar to the public as presidents and movie stars. They are the Dallas Cowboys: 'America's Team'". The line was written by Bob Ryan, who produced the film and later became vice president and editor-in-chief of NFL Films. An early prominent use of the nickname came when CBS television announcer Pat Summerall introduced the Cowboys as "America's Team" during their first game of the 1979 season, a nationally televised game against the St. Louis Cardinals that Dallas won 22–21. The nickname was coined at the height of Dallas head coach Tom Landry's NFL-record streak of 20 consecutive winning seasons, during which Dallas appeared in 12 conference championship games and five Super Bowls, and was exemplified on the field by future Hall of Fame quarterback Roger Staubach. Landry did not initially approve of the nickname, which he believed would help motivate opposing teams to play harder, but later came to like it.

In Their Own Story

The moment the nickname entered the national lexicon was a 1978 highlight film produced by Bob Ryan. As the camera rolled, the narrator introduced the squad: "They appear on television so often that their faces are as familiar to the public as presidents and movie stars. They are the Dallas Cowboys: 'America's Team'." This narrative met its first major broadcast test in 1979 when Pat Summerall used it live during a nationally televised matchup against the St. Louis Cardinals, which Dallas won 22–21. The moniker wasn't just for the Cowboys; other franchises tried to claim it. Before Super Bowl XXVII, Buffalo Bills coach Marv Levy called his team "America's Team" because they wore red, white, and blue, only to lose 52–17.

Reader's Guide

In 2012, an ESPN poll found that the Cowboys are the most popular NFL team, a result consistently echoed in annual Harris polling. The Cowboys hold several records attesting to their national popularity. They are the team with the most consecutive sold-out games, including home and away games, with 160 (from 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). Cowboys games have set television ratings records, including seven of their eight Super Bowl appearances 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. Cowboys games are consistently in primetime or the national doubleheader slot, no matter how their season is going. They rarely air in a 1 p.m. (Eastern time) regional game. 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. The Cowboys' cheerleader squad, dubbed "America's Sweethearts", has been widely copied around the NFL; widely featured in other media, including movies, television, and its own long running reality show on CMT; and been in wide demand for other appearances, including USO tours and other appearances around the world. The NFL has put its imprimatur on the nickname; in 2003, NFL Films released a DVD collection The Dallas Cowboys: The Complete History of America's Team 1960–2003. In 2008, NFL Films released an updated version.

Did You Know?

• The Atlanta Braves laid claim to the name because their games were broadcast nationwide on the TBS cable television channel from 1977 to 2007, building a fan base in areas of the United States far removed from a Major Le
• As a jab against the Cowboys before Super Bowl XXVII, Buffalo Bills 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 b
• Pittsburgh Steelers owner Art Rooney 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 Pi
• In a 2009 ESPN.com article, "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
• After the New Orleans Saints won Super Bowl XLIV, a few media writers called them "America's Team" because they appeared to represent the city's resurgence after the devastation of Hurricane Katrina ("for one game, the S