Tuesday, November 19, 1996

Cowboys used to be all about class

By Rich Hofmann / Philadelphia Daily News (Nov. 19, 1996)

IRVING, Texas (KRT) - There once was a time, a long time ago, when the Dallas Cowboys were about class, first and foremost. They were good and they were infuriating and they used to have a stadium full of rich women who showed up wearing mink coats. It was a mindset. It was a reality.

Class. The Cowboys were the biggest. They were the best. Opponents hated their cool, their seeming indifference, but not one doubted that they set a standard for everyone else.

Notice the past tense.

These days, you can judge the Cowboys by their actions. You can judge Cowboys coach Barry Switzer by this one: With 20 seconds left Monday night at Texas Stadium, with another victory over the Green Bay Packers assured, Switzer called time out in order to give Chris Boniol an opportunity to kick his seventh field goal, which would tie an NFL record already held by Jim Bakken and Rich Karlis.

Boniol made it. And as the ball sailed through the uprights, sealing the 21-6 final score, Reggie White and a small contingent of Green Bay defenders headed meanacingly toward the Dallas bench. There was a purpose in their stride. With an arm extended, pointing at the sideline, White was screaming.

He was after Switzer. Before he got there, a melee threatened. White and Cowboys receiver Michael Irvin were seen screaming at each other. Switzer was seen screaming back at White. The frustration of the loss, the Packers' seventh in this stadium in the last four seasons, combined with Switzer's clear breach of football etiquette, had inflamed White and his teammates.

And then, on the following kickoff, a full-scale melee developed. Three players were ejected. At least 30 Packers were on the field - far away from their bench, near the Dallas sideline - before order was restored by coach Mike Holmgren, among others.

After the game ended, White and Irvin made up at midfield. And after having a chance to shower and cool off, White cast no verbal stones.

"It's not important," he said. "They did it. They won. They beat us. That's what it boils down to."

Ultimately, he's right. But this whole thing was quintessential Cowboys, quintessential Switzer. They are back, by the way. For Eagles fans today, this is is absolute worst nightmare. The Cowboys are back. The Cowboys now have the same 7-4 record as the Eagles, but technically lead in the NFC East race based upon a better division record.

The Cowboys are back, but it's more than that. The can't do anything anymore without an eruption of controversy. This time it was Switzer. This time it was a man who refused to acknowledge that he'd just shown up an opponent for no good reason.

Wouldn't see it. Wouldn't admit it.

"I wouldn't deny my own son, your son, or anyone else the opportunity," Switzer said. "There are very few times in life when you get a chance to set an NFL record . . . "Someone has to make decisions. I'm the one who made the decision. And (Boniol) damn sure deserved it. He won the game for us."

Wouldn't see it. Couldn't see it. But in the vast sea of faces and interchanges that occurred as the timeout was called, and the Cowboys' offense came off the field, and the kicking team went on, and the brawling commenced, one stood out: Troy Aikman's. The Dallas quarterback did not hide his displeasure at the decision to rub it in the Packers' noses.

As Sean Jones, the Packers' defensive end, said later, "I don't know Troy very well at all, but I can say I gained a lot of respect for him today, just from how he reacted to that. Out of certain things, something can come out of that."

Most of the Packers kept their own counsel on what happened at the end of the game, or went the same bland route that White eventually chose. A backup defensive back named Michael Robinson did say this: "That was an insult. It showed they had no class."

Which ultimately was the truth. That, and the fact of the Cowboys' domination.

Again, if you are an Eagles fan, this is your worst nightmare. It is unfolding right in front of your eyes now, live and in color, week by infuriating week.

The Eagles were supposed to have killed them a few weeks back. The Eagles drove a stake into their heart, and that was supposed to be that. Yet here they are. Witness the resurrection.

The Cowboys live. They thrive. The Eagles' world is spinning dangerously on its axis, but the Cowboys are right where the Cowboys always seem to be. They very nearly threw a zero at the crippled Packers. And afterward, most of them defended their head coach.

"Anytime a guy is that close to kicking a record for field goals, I don't care if we're winning or losing, you have to give the guy the opportunity," running back Emmitt Smith said. " . . . You've got to give it to him." And Boniol?

"I'm glad for the opportunity, and I'm very proud," the kicker said. "I appreciate the opportunity. It means a lot to me. It's kind of dampered because of what happened afterward."

For the Packers, it was insult added to injury. Literally. The Packers look stunningly different now. After seeing them against the Eagles and then a few weeks later against the 49ers, their offense left you wide-eyed. It was this great stud machine, led by Brett Favre but manned by all kinds of killer weapons. There were Robert Brooks and Antonio Freeman on the outside, and tight end Mark Chmura as a paralyzing hammer over the middle. Combined, they could be scary most days and devastating on many others.

And now they're all gone, all except Favre. Brooks, Freeman, Chmura, all hurt. And the Packers just don't look the same. It isn't a surprise or anything, but it assaults your eyes when you watch them now. This great offensive ensemble has been reduced to a dink-and-dunkarama.

Even with that, it took the Cowboys a long time to separate from the crippled Pack. Even playing on a short field for almost the entire first half, they had to settle for five Boniol field goals before intermission. If you are an Eagles fan in search of some kind of consolation, you can wrap your insecurities around that one for a while.

Feel better? Didn't think so. The Cowboys are what they are - big and brash, with Barry Switzer in the front of the back. They're back, swaggering.

(c) 1996, Philadelphia Daily News. Distributed by Knight-Ridder/Tribune Information Services.