Chapter 157 155: Team USA
Once the regular season started, the countdown to game day began: four days until the game, three days until the game... They barely had time to savor their first victory before the second game was already waiting just around the corner.
In Week 2 of the regular season, the San Francisco 49ers would have another home game, hosting the Dallas Cowboys!
Throughout NFL history, the most successful teams have been the Pittsburgh Steelers, the Dallas Cowboys, the San Francisco 49ers, and the Green Bay Packers, along with the New England Patriots, who surged to prominence in the 21st century. But in terms of history and legacy, the first four are the true titans of the league.
The Dallas Cowboys don't have a long history. The team was founded in 1960, and although they're named "Dallas," their home stadium is in Irving, Texas. Despite being a relatively "young" team, their accomplishments are brilliant. They have made it to the Super Bowl eight times and won five championship rings.
They are one of the most successful teams in NFL history and hold the record for the most playoff appearances. They also share the distinction of most Super Bowl appearances with the Pittsburgh Steelers. Furthermore, they were the first team in NFL history to win three Super Bowls in four years—a feat the New England Patriots would later match in the first decade of the 21st century.
Historically, the Dallas Cowboys had two golden eras: the 1970s and the 1990s.
From the 1930s to the 1960s, Hollywood Westerns were in their golden age. Though the genre's popularity began to wane in the 1970s, its influence on the younger generation endured. As a result, the "Cowboy" image of the Dallas Cowboys perfectly captured the public imagination, making them the most well-known and beloved team in the United States.
According to league surveys, while fans typically support their home state's team, the Dallas Cowboys have by far the largest fan base in states without a professional football team, holding an overwhelming majority.
During their peak, the Cowboys' merchandise sales alone accounted for forty percent of the entire league's revenue. To this day, the Dallas Cowboys are the only team in the league that manages its own merchandise marketing independently.
Thus, the Dallas Cowboys also came to be known as "America's Team."
Currently, on the Forbes list of the world's most valuable sports teams, the Dallas Cowboys rank number one and have held the top spot for eight consecutive years, far surpassing Europe's elite soccer clubs.
According to estimates, the Dallas Cowboys have a market value of over $4 billion, while the runner-up, Real Madrid, is valued at $3.2 billion. As for the NBA—the most successfully marketed league in Asia—its most valuable team barely reaches the $1 billion mark.
Without a doubt, the Dallas Cowboys are the most influential team in the league!
When it comes to primetime broadcasts, the Dallas Cowboys are undoubtedly the league's darlings. It's standard for them to be scheduled for two or three primetime games each season. They are also the league's most-watched, most scrutinized, and most talked-about team. Playing for the Dallas Cowboys means living under a constant spotlight.
One team is the league's most commercially valuable, while the other is one of its most historic. Both are among the most successful franchises in league history and compete in the same conference, the NFC. Every clash between the Dallas Cowboys and the San Francisco 49ers is electric, making them one of the most famous pairs of archrivals in the league's history.
The two teams have clashed a total of thirty-five times in their history. The San Francisco 49ers have won seventeen, lost seventeen, and tied once. However, while the 49ers hold the advantage in the regular season, they have fallen short in the playoffs, with a postseason record of two wins and five losses against the Cowboys.
In 1970, 1971, and 1972, the Dallas Cowboys defeated the San Francisco 49ers for three consecutive years. The first two of those victories came in the NFC Championship Game, propelling the Cowboys to the Super Bowl.
In the 1981 NFC Championship, the Dallas Cowboys and San Francisco 49ers met once again. The 49ers' legendary leader, Hall of Fame quarterback Joe Montana, led his team and, in the final minute, connected with wide receiver Dwight Clark to complete a miraculous comeback.
That pass and catch became one of the most famous plays in league history, immortalized with its own name: "The Catch." When people talk about "The Catch," they are referring specifically to that play from the 1981 NFC Championship Game.
After that game, the two teams' status as bitter rivals was cemented, kindling a truly irreconcilable feud.
From 1992 to 1994, the San Francisco 49ers and the Dallas Cowboys met in the NFC Championship Game for three consecutive years. The Cowboys won the first two matchups, and the 49ers won the third. In each of those three years, the winner of that game went on to win the Super Bowl.
It is worth noting that of the five Super Bowls the Dallas Cowboys have won, three of those championship runs involved defeating the San Francisco 49ers in the NFC Championship Game, riding that momentum all the way to the title.
For the Dallas Cowboys, the 49ers were like a lucky charm; beating them seemed to guarantee a trip to the Super Bowl. But for the San Francisco 49ers, the Cowboys represented a mortal shame, and every playoff clash was a do-or-die battle.
Moreover, the rivalry extended beyond the teams themselves, representing a larger clash between the states of California and Texas.
The former represented the wealthy, liberal coastal state, while the latter embodied the tough, conservative rural heartland. The perceived class conflicts and cultural divides were channeled into the game, with each matchup carrying the full weight of the public's passion and fervor. This only served to make the rivalry between these two league archrivals even more explosive.
However, in the latter half of the 1990s, both of these storied rivals fell into a slump, and the spark of their matchups became tinged with a hint of bitterness.
The San Francisco 49ers had missed the playoffs for eight consecutive years, while the Dallas Cowboys had only made a single playoff appearance in the past eight years, back in 2006. Both teams were now struggling in a mire of mediocrity, hoping to one day return to their former glory.
Over the past few seasons, the rivalry had gradually lost its luster. Regardless of how glorious or thrilling their history was, a matchup between two struggling teams simply lacked a compelling narrative. The attention and excitement were a far cry from what they once were.
This year, things seemed to be different. For Week 2 of the regular season, the league office was already putting out official press, billing the matchup between the San Francisco 49ers and the Dallas Cowboys as the "Game of the Week." Even without a primetime slot, the hype and discussion were nonstop across major media outlets and online forums, creating a palpable buzz.
First, both teams had shown signs of a resurgence in their season openers.
The Dallas Cowboys' game against the New York Jets was featured on Sunday Night Football. Facing a Jets team that went 11-5 the previous year, the Cowboys showed tremendous resilience and pulled out a hard-fought 27-24 victory. After grinding out a win against such a tough opponent, the entire Cowboys organization was energized, and their morale was soaring!
In their game against the Seattle Seahawks, the San Francisco 49ers displayed an unstoppable force. The offense was firing on all cylinders, completely overwhelming the opposing defense and dominating the game with absolute authority. They ultimately secured a resounding 35-17 victory. The fluid, cohesive offense left the 49ers faithful ecstatic.
Two teams with a shared history, a storied past, and a fiery rivalry, were both showing signs of a resurgence after years of dormancy. Now, they were set to face off. Both teams were desperate to continue their winning momentum and strong performances to set a positive tone for the long season ahead.
But there could only be one winner.
Furthermore, the matchup featured a duel between the two teams' starting quarterbacks.
The Dallas Cowboys were led by quarterback Tony Romo. While the league had countless undrafted players, one who rose to become a starting quarterback was a true rarity. Romo was a singular case in that regard—Kurt Warner, for example, had never even entered the draft.
After three and a half years as a backup, and having been nearly cut or traded at least three times, Romo finally got his chance. Once he became the starting quarterback, Romo was fortunate enough to get showcased on Sunday Night Football and the Thanksgiving primetime game, winning over the fans with his spectacular performances.
As the quarterback of America's Team, with all eyes on him, Romo gradually found his footing and led the team to the playoffs in 2006.
But it was also during that season that Romo was at the center of one of the most infamous plays in league history: "The Fumble."
In the first round of the playoffs, Romo led his team in an away game against the Seattle Seahawks. With seventy-nine seconds left on the clock, the Cowboys were trailing 21-20. Romo had driven the team to the Seahawks' two-yard line. After three unsuccessful offensive attempts, all the Cowboys needed to do was kick a field goal to complete the comeback.
To ensure a secure snap, the team had Romo serve as the holder—the center snaps the ball, the holder catches it and sets it down, and the kicker kicks it.
But, Romo fumbled the snap, dropping the ball on the ground. The kicker couldn't even make his approach. In a desperate move, Romo scooped up the ball and tried to run it in, but he failed. The Cowboys were eliminated.
And so, "The Fumble" was born. This also became the origin of Romo's reputation as a "master of mistakes." Based on his name, Chinese football fans even gave him a playful nickname, "Roumò," a pun that sounds like Romo but means "ground meat."
Despite this, over the next four years, Romo still became the face of the Dallas Cowboys franchise and was considered one of the top quarterbacks on the cusp of joining the elite tier.
Now, following in Tony Romo's footsteps, another undrafted rookie had emerged as a starting quarterback: Lu Ke of the San Francisco 49ers, who was also a Chinese-American quarterback.
Lu Ke's professional career so far had little to speak of, consisting of just a single game. He still needed to prove himself over time. But in that one game, he had delivered a near-flawless, practically perfect performance.
So, could Lu Ke become the next Romo? And facing Romo himself, could Lu Ke sustain his performance? Could Lu Ke defeat Romo? Or, would the clock strike midnight, the magic disappear, and Cinderella turn back into a cinder maid?