Brian Denmon is quick to let you know he moved to Houston from Marshall way back in 1971.
But he is still a Dallas Cowboys fan. Period.
“I’ve been a Cowboys fan since I was old enough to walk,” Denmon said as the lone Cowboys jersey in a sea of Texans in a local restaurant. “I brought the Cowboys here to Houston with me and I’ve been a Cowboys fan ever since.”
There isn’t at all a blurred or even thin line in this state when it comes to Texans or Cowboys fans. You are on one side of the other.
For much of Texas, this is still Cowboys country, even in Houston, where the Texans have called home since 2002. While the Texans are having a much more successful season on the field and are likely headed back to the playoffs while the Cowboys are stumbling to the finish line, the Cowboys are still the most identifiable franchise in Texas.
Just ask Denmon, who is clearly frustrated with his team’s fortunes but isn’t wavering.
“Our season is shot,” Denmon acknowledged. “Even though I’m a fan and will continue to be a fan, but when we didn’t do anything in the offseason, made no offseason moves, and then Dak (Prescott) is not worth that $60 million they gave him and now he is out for the season. CeeDee Lamb is hurt, half the people on our defense are hurt. So this season is just going to be a wash.
“But I will never be a Texans fan ever.”
Lawanda Cornett, seated with Denmon and her twin sister and donning a Texans shirt, isn’t quite as passionate about her team. But she still rocks with the hometown team.
“I’m just a general girl who got into football,” Cornett confessed. “I know a little bit about it and why I’m for the Texans is because I know no other team.”
While there are certainly more diehard Texans fans around Houston, her passion, compared to Denmon’s, defines the split in popularity of the two Texas NFL franchises.
The difference isn’t as much about this season or last when the Texans were the league’s surprise team, while the Cowboys had an impressive regular season. It’s not even about the Texans Monday Night Football 34-10 slaughter of the Cowboys this week.
The Cowboys, accepted worldwide as America’s Team, have a storied history that includes five Super Bowl wins, 32 Pro Football Hall of Famers, the world-famous Dallas Cowboys cheerleaders, and the overall mystique of the blue star on their helmets.
The names of the Cowboys greats seem endless: Tony Dorsett, Emmitt Smith, Michael Irvin, Ed “Too Tall” Jones, Deion Sanders, Roger Staubach, Troy Aikman. The franchise also features an owner who is truly synonymous with his franchise: Jerry Jones.
The Texans, who replaced the Oilers in Houston in the early 2000s, are still in their infancy regarding success. They haven’t come close to a Super Bowl and, until last year, didn’t have a Hall of Famer until wide receiver Andre Johnson received his gold jacket. Their ownership family, the McNairs, certainly aren’t household names.
The Texans and Cowboys meet every four years during the regular season—including this season—and usually in the preseason, the off years, in what is known as the Texas Governor’s Cup, aka Battle of Texas, aka the Cowboys-Texans rivalry.
University of Houston professor Billy Hawkins, Ph. D., a noted author and sports sociology course instructor, says the Cowboys brand is omnipresent and will take a substantial leap for the Texans to catch up globally and even in their backyard.
Eclipsing the Cowboy’s five Super Bowl wins and challenging their 20 consecutive winning seasons would be a start.
“When you are labeled as America’s Team, what else can compare to that?” Hawkins said. “Houston is a great city, a great sports city, has a lot to offer but they would have to come up with this notion of how can they brand themselves to distinguish themselves uniquely from the Dallas Cowboys, America’s Team.”
The Texans perhaps moved a little closer when the two Texas teams clashed in a rare Monday Night Football game in which the Texans won by 24 points.
But it still will not come close to moving the needle regarding which franchise is Texas’ team. Just ask Denmon.
“It’s just something about that star and it’s been one of the storied franchises,” he said. “In fact, it’s worth billions of dollars. Even right now it’s the most storied franchise in sports. Period. All of the Hall of Famers, five Super Bowls, been in probably about 10 Super Bowls.
“I just go way back.”
