As Troy Aikman said, “there was a lot going on back then.”
After “distractions talk” swirled around the Cowboys’ bye week, the team’s Hall of Fame former QB made his weekly appearance on Sportsradio 96.7 FM/1310 The Ticket (KTCK-AM) where Aikman was asked about the kinds of distractions and team culture issues he experienced when quarterbacking the 1990s-2000s Cowboys. If there was ever a time for distractions, you’d think it would be at the peak of the Cowboys’ franchise when they won three Super Bowls in four seasons.
Here’s what Aikman had to say:
Question: It’s a generic term that gets thrown out there, but when you first came to the Cowboys and Jimmy Johnson was the coach, there was an expectation, there was a culture. How important was that to what you guys did in the ‘90s?
Aikman: “Well, shoot, I don’t know how good the culture was when I first got to Dallas. It was pretty rough, and rough really through much of the second year. But then you win, and there are games that kind of turn things around. And then with that, you start to win, and then it becomes a winning culture. So it all kind of goes hand in hand.
“I think what you have to remember is when Jerry bought the Cowboys back in 1989, he basically risked everything that he had. And then look at it 30 years later, and where he is, and what the valuation is of the Cowboys and what he’s accomplished. I think at Jerry’s core, he’s a promoter, and that’s what he grew up with with his father. And so I would imagine that he should be really proud of what he has done and the popularity of the Cowboys. And, you know, it’s hard to it’s hard to have one without the other. So I think that’s how Jerry looks at it.
“I think that over the years, whether it was back when I was playing with Jimmy, even when he was the head coach, or others, or the players now. There has always been a sense of, you know, hey, what are we doing? What’s most important? And it’s a fair question. Winning is important, and this team has won a lot of games. And so it becomes hard to separate when you say, ‘Well, you’ve won 12 games three years in a row in the regular season. How is that not a winning culture?’ And yet the shortcomings that they’ve had in the postseason, people would point to that.
“So I don’t think anybody has a real answer for it. But I do know that when Jerry’s talked about the stadium tours or the tours out at the facility, I think a big part of that is for most of those people that do take those tours, that’s as close as they’re ever going to get to the Dallas Cowboys. They may never attend a game, that may be their best experience and their most memorable one when it comes to their fandom of the Cowboys and they’ll be fans for life. So that’s important to Jerry. He wants people to be able to feel it and touch it, and he’s very passionate about that, as we’ve heard.”
Question: Did you notice a change starting to happen in that direction once Jimmy Johnson and the Cowboys parted ways?
Aikman: “Yeah, I suppose so. I think there was, you know, when Jimmy was the head coach, there would be sponsors. There was a lot going on back then. I mean, you think about Texas Stadium back when Jerry bought the team, and then maybe it was two years later, after that first year he started taking seats out, putting in luxury boxes, because of what that meant with revenue sharing, and the amount of revenue that could be made. So it totally changed.
“I think right from the start, as I said, I think Jerry at his core as a promoter, and he’s a salesman, and that’s how he’s gotten where he’s gotten in life, and he’s really good at it. So when Jimmy left, yeah, I think that there was an understanding between those two that Jimmy would handle the football side of things, Jerry would handle the financial side of things, and then eventually those lines blur. And then once Jimmy left, and Jerry understood exactly what he was doing and what he wanted it to do, and how he wanted to market the team and the importance of having access to some of the football elements ... Yeah, things did change. I don’t say dramatically at first, but I think over the years, it’s just continued to escalate.”
To listen to the full interview, click or tap here.
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