Dallas Curse

[danielh41]

Well, I am convinced that there is a "one and done" curse among the Dallas area sports teams...

The problems started with the Mavericks inexplicable collapse in the 2006 NBA Finals. They had a two games to none lead on Miami, whom most people considered a much inferior team to the Mavs, and a double digit lead in game 3 with four minutes to go. Everyone was smelling a four game sweep and the first major sports championship in Dallas since 1999, when the Stars won the Stanley Cup. But Miami somehow came from behind to win that game, and the Mavericks never recovered. They lost the series in six games.

That fall, FC Dallas of the Major Soccer League finished in first place. I'm not really a soccer fan, but my son had played soccer at the local YMCA. With my son's interest in soccer, we had actually attended one of the FC Dallas matches during the regular season. Despite that first place finish, FC Dallas lost to Colorado in the first round of the MLS Playoffs.

The Cowboys made it to the NFL Playoffs a couple of months later. They were a lower seed, so they had to play on the road at Seattle. They went into the game as an underdog, but they were in a position to win with a field goal attempt in the game's closing seconds. But Romo, who was holding on the place kick attempts, fumbled the ball, and the Cowboys' season ended in disappointment.

Later that spring, the Stars lost their first round playoff series against the Vancouver Canucks in seven games. That's OK, I thought at the time. The Stars were playing against a higher seed, and they took them to seven games. Besides, the Mavericks had just had one of the best regular seasons in NBA history….

After almost 30 seasons in the NBA, the Mavericks finally went into the playoffs as the top seed in 2007. They would have the home court advantage throughout the playoffs, having had, by far, the best won-loss record during the regular season. But they totally collapsed against the Golden State Warriors in one of the biggest upsets in basketball history, losing in six games.

As the Mavericks were trying to figure out how they had managed to flush their season down the toilet, the Dallas Desperados were tearing through the Arena Football League regular season. They went 15-1 and went into the playoffs with the best record in the league. But they lost their first playoff game to the Columbus Destroyers, a team with a losing record (7-9) in the regular season.

The misery continued when FC Dallas once again lost in the first round of the MLS playoffs. Luckily, the Cowboys were having a spectacular season, starting 12-1 and clinching home field advantage through the NFL playoffs. Until yesterday….

I don't know what to say after the loss to the Giants in the Cowboys' first (and only) playoff game. That certainly wasn't the same team from September, October, and November.

I'm glad that, in baseball, I'm a Colorado Rockies fan. At least they had a season that defied everyone's expectations, going all the way to the World Series. Of course, with the Rangers, Dallas-Fort Worth fans never have to worry about playoff disappointment since the Rangers never make the playoffs.

Now, with the Mavericks and Stars both having winning seasons this year, I'm almost afraid to ponder what this year's NHL and NBA playoffs might bring. If they both lose in the first round again, I think I'll be moving....

[christie1111]

I only watched the game off and on during cooking dinner.

Did Jessica attend the game?

[danielh41]

I only watched the game off and on during cooking dinner.

Did Jessica attend the game?

No, I had read before the game that she was not attending. And people made too much of her being at that Philadelphia game in which Romo played so poorly. She was also at the Jets and Packers games, both of them wins for the Cowboys.

What the Cowboys had out there yesterday was a very undisciplined football team with way too many penalties, poor tackling (especially on the Giants' first touchdown), and poor kick return coverage. But the biggest letdown was the play of the offensive line in the second half. I don't know if those guys were tired or what...

[Bixby17]

I only watched the game off and on during cooking dinner.

Did Jessica attend the game?

No. They said last week she wouldn't be attending.

But Fake Jessica did. And even Fake Jessica is a jinx:

http://sports.aol.com/fanhouse/2008/01/ ... tony-romo/

[Jeemie]

I only watched the game off and on during cooking dinner.

Did Jessica attend the game?

No- but Romo's catching heat because he went to Mexico with her during the bye weekend.

I suppose people think that during the playoffs, players should be sequestered at their team's training facility even on their off days?

[Jeemie]

I look at it as four things:

1 and 2 are the undisciplined play and the OL getting worn down in H2, as you suggested.

3) Owens was not fully recovered from his injury.

4) Some coaches out-think themselves and screw around too much in the post-season. Dallas came out with Marion Barber at RB so they could "establish the run". Now- Barber did very well, but since when did Dallas ever care if it "established the run" before? Cardinal rule- DON'T MESS WITH WHAT BRUNG YA THERE.

Even the '05 Steelers, who supposedly took everyone by surprise by passing first in those playoffs, really didn't do anything differently than they had done in the regular season that year.

[andrewjackson]

As long as the curse continues (especially for F*C* Dallas), I don't have any problem with it.