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Saturday, November 22, 1997

Fans need to appreciate Aikman's talents

By DENNE H. FREEMAN / AP Sports Writer

DALLAS (AP) -- Just the other day Troy Aikman got booed at a Dallas Mavericks game.

This was the same day a local talk show host ripped the Dallas Cowboys quarterback for not being a come-from-behind specialist like John Elway or Steve Young.

What Troy, these people were asking, have you done for me lately?

Then came last Sunday and Aikman took the Cowboys on an amazing 97-yard odyssey for improbable 17-14 come-from-behind win over the dastardly Washington Redskins.

It was the sixth time in his Dallas career he had brought Dallas from behind in the fourth quarter and the 14th time in the second half.

It was a good lesson again for Cowboys fans that they need to appreciate the talents of this quiet craftsman from Oklahoma. It should serve as another lesson in what a dependable but not necessarily spectacular quarterback can mean to a team.

Troy's rally numbers aren't even close to Denver's Elway, who owns the NFL's Alfred Hitchcock award for winning thrillers.

But don't hold that against Aikman, who has played on good teams and hasn't needed to pull off the last-minute heroics that Elway has had to perform.

Also, let it be noted Aikman has three more Super Bowl rings than Elway, who has none.

Steve Young has one.

Let's briefly review how lucky the Cowboys are to have Aikman, who had to suffer through a 1-15 season in 1989 before things turned around at Valley Ranch under Jimmy Johnson.

Dallas was a spoiled quarterbacking town because of Roger Staubach, who turned the legacy of next year's champions into this year's champions, and, probably next year's champions, too.

There were critics of Aikman, including Jimmy Johnson his ownself at first, who wondered if the former UCLA All-American had the grit to lead a team to a championship.

Aikman dispelled this theory. He showed toughness. One year he was sacked 36 times. He showed a strong arm. He showed accuracy. He showed the ability to win big playoff games.

Johnson became a big fan. And Dallas fans became big fans after three Super Bowl wins the 1990s.

However, it seems Aikman has always been held to a little higher standard than most quarterbacks. Critics say a lot of quarterbacks could have done the same thing with the firepower Aikman had at his disposal with Jay Novacek, Emmitt Smith and Michael Irvin.

Critics say Aikman can't win games by himself. (Critics please read game stories regarding Nov. 16 game with Washington).

Aikman doesn't promote himself and doesn't seem to have the publicity mills grinding like Young, Elway and Dan Marino.

He also comes off, sometimes, as a pouty player on the sidelines, blaming everyone but himself for a failed pass pattern.

But at least give Aikman credit for a winner and for being realistic about the position he plays.

"I realized a long time ago what kind of town this is," Aikman said. "It has chewed up a lot of people. People get on players in Dallas if things aren't going well.

"I don't like to be booed. No player does. But that's life in the NFL."

Ask franchises in New Orleans, Atlanta, Tampa Bay and other dark NFL basements if they could have used a Troy Aikman at quarterback. Hello, Arizona, you out there?

Remember all of the above a number of years down the line when you visit the Troy Aikman exhibit at Canton, Ohio, in the Professional Football Hall of Fame.