By Ronald N. Guy Jr.
The Nationals, with Bryce Harper on the open market, are
staring down an uncertain future.
Washington’s football team, with a broken quarterback and a declining defense,
is falling apart…again. The Wizards are
an embarrassing combination of long-term, nine-figure contracts and spectacular
dysfunction. So much for the Capitals’
Stanley Cup win being contagious; everything is back to the suffering norm for
D.C. sports fans.
But hoisting the Stanley Cup did sugar the
bitterness. It took the edge off and created
a different perspective on the world of sports.
Back in September, the Stanley Cup afterglow had me, a proud and
passionate long-term D.C. sports fan, expressing genuine happiness for
Philadelphia Eagles fans – D.C.’s most hated mob of rival fans - and their
overdue Super Bowl title. I did this
previously unthinkable thing in this column.
In print…forever.
It felt good.
Appropriate. And here we are
again, at yet another bizarre moment when adoration will be heaped on perhaps
D.C. sports’ greatest enemy. Why
not? ‘Tis the holiday season…
For nearly 30 years, I have cussed and mocked Dallas
Cowboys owner Jerry Jones. I loathed his
resuscitation of “America’s Team” and Dallas’s three Super Bowl championships in
the 1990s. I celebrated his ego-driven
divorce from head coach Jimmy Johnson and the destruction of one of the NFL’s
greatest dynasties. I have enjoyed his
often misguided impulsiveness, the jettisoned coaches – Johnson, Barry Switzer,
Chan Gailey, Dave Campo, Bill Parcels and Wade Phillips – and high-profile
acquisitions gone awry – Keyshawn Johnson, Joey Galloway, Terrell Owens, Greg
Hardy, Ryan Leaf, and Roy Williams (to name a few). I relished in the fatally flawed Tony Romo
era and have found comfort in an unrestrained Jones habitually being his own
worst enemy.
It’s different now.
I’m older…and a little less chippy.
What I feel most for Jones these days is appreciation. No, no, not for his fabulous defects. I appreciate Jones’s passion, commitment and
fearlessness. He absolutely loves being
the owner of the Dallas Cowboys, isn’t afraid to take big risks and is
impervious to criticism. His best friend
is his gut instinct and he’ll keep betting on it until he gets it right. The proof?
For nearly every one of Jones’s personnel swings and misses, he’s hit a
homerun. Take the recent acquisition of
WR Amari Cooper. Jones was criticized
heavily for shipping a first round pick to Oakland for the receiver. But it was Cooper, Jones’s latest gamble, who
ran wild through the ‘Skins’ secondary on Thanksgiving to the tune of 180 yards
and two touchdowns.
Loving what you do and having the courage to do it your way – may
we all be so fortunate. But that’s only
part of Jones’s appeal. What I like the
most about the man I shouldn’t like at all is that he makes football fun. I often disagree with his opinions on the
league and social issues, and I root passionately against his team every week,
but the dude puts smiles on faces. To
steal a phrase from Reggie Jackson, Jones is one of the straws that stirs the
NFL’s drink.
Confession: The Caps aren’t completely to blame for
this Cowboys love; a cab driver was a co-conspirator. Two days before Jones’s Cowboys whipped the
‘Skins on Thanksgiving, a family had booked an early morning boat excursion and
was frantically searching for the appropriate dock. A cabbie driving through the area noticed the
group, guessed (correctly) that they were looking for a particular boat and
knew they were off-track. He slowed,
wound down his window and casually offered a welcomed re-direction.
It was nothing.
It was everything. I’m indebted
to a stranger.
Kindness: We seek it, we endeavor to spread it. Every day is a test, but especially this time
of year. Are we still capable of going
over-and-above, doing the right thing, making another human feel good or simply
helping them through their day (even one with vastly different sports
affiliations)? When no one is
watching? When there is no possibility
of personal gain?
That cabbie passed the test. He sprinkled a little kindness on me. Cowboys fans, I just sprinkled some on
you. Pass it on.
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