Like every Cowboys fan, Troy Aikman did not think that his third Super Bowl win with Dallas would be his last. But not only was that the last title for Aikman's Cowboys, but it also remains the last championship for one of the most recognizable brands in professional sports. The upcoming season represents the 31st since the Cowboys won the Super Bowl, let alone played in one.
Dallas' 31-year drought without a conference title appearance is the longest in the NFC. For Aikman, a Hall of Fame quarterback and the MVP of Super Bowl XXVII, the fact that the Cowboys haven't had more postseason success over the past 30 years is incomprehensible. "It's hard to fathom," Aikman said on the "Dallas Dialogue with Dale" podcast earlier this month.
We talk every year about parity and how we've seen teams that have gone from last to first and teams that have not been historically very good, and yet they still make a run. They'll make it to a championship game, or they'll make it to a Super Bowl. And yet for the Cowboys, that hasn't happened." What makes the Cowboys' drought more perplexing, Aikman said, is that his former team has had considerable success in the regular season over the past 30 years, but that success hasn't translated into a deep playoff run.
Aikman isn't exactly sure why the Cowboys haven't had more playoff success. He does know, however, that it's time that the franchise's passionate fanbase is rewarded for its loyalty. "The Cowboys fans, they deserve better," Aikman said.
I mean, this is the Cowboys, the flagship franchise, and the fact that the Cowboys in 30 years has not made it to a championship game, let alone a Super Bowl. I mean, it's hard to fathom." Every Cowboys fan knows when the franchise took a turn for the worst. It was shortly after Dallas won its second of back-to-back championships when Jimmy Johnson and Cowboys owner Jerry Jones mutually agreed to part ways.
Johnson's departure was fueled at least in part by Jones telling several reporters that "500 coaches could win Super Bowls with this team." The Cowboys won a record third Super Bowl in four years, a year after Johnson's departure, but it was clear that there were cracks in Dallas' championship armor. Although they won it all in 1995, the Cowboys weren't as good that year as they were in 1994, and they weren't as good in '94 as they were in 1993, Johnson's last season in Dallas. In addition to Johnson's departure, many have pointed to Dallas' drought being a byproduct of Jones' continued insistence on serving as the team's president and general manager in addition to being the owner.
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