Is it just me, or are there some similarities between our Horned Frogs and the Dallas Cowboys? Because I’m a pretty big fan of both those teams, and, lately, the games on Sundays have seemed eerily familiar to what I saw the afternoon before.Especially this past weekend.
TCU against Brigham Young and the Cowboys against the 49ers were basically the same game.
In both instances, it was one storied team I like playing another storied team on the road.
In both games, the opponent scored early and often. In fact, both opponents scored 24 points in the first half.
And, of course, both of my teams rallied in the fourth quarter to win their games.
I was surprised that it happened once, and I still can’t believe that it happened twice.
Neither team really deserved to win its respective game, but both teams had the heart to go out there and win a game that was up for grabs.
Both teams were down, but both refused to go out.
And the similarities don’t stop with that one game. They both have an eerily similar win, and they both have a similarly disgusting loss.
Both teams lost at home to their biggest rival in a game their respective fans would love to forget. The Cowboys to the Redskins and the Frogs to SMU.
And, yes, I know that the TCU-SMU game technically took place in Dallas, but I was there. We had more fans; that makes it a home game.
And then, look at the teams themselves. Both are defense-oriented, even though they gave up a combined 81 points this weekend.
Both defenses have the same weakness: the long ball. The Frogs allowed a couple of long passes to BYU receiver Todd Watkins, and the Cowboys allowed an 89-yard pass to someone named Brandon Lloyd.
Both teams love to run the ball. The Cowboys have Julius Jones, while the Frogs have Lonta Hobbs, Robert Merrill, Aaron Brown and probably 10 more guys we don’t even know about.
Both teams have a vocal receiver as an offensive leader. The Cowboys’ Keyshawn Johnson and the Frogs’ Cory Rodgers both are constantly demanding the ball.
And both proved why they should get it when they scored the game-winning touchdowns for their respective teams.
And the final similarity: coaching.
The Cowboys, of course, have Bill Parcells. And, while he doesn’t have the same rÂsumÂ, head coach Gary Patterson is just as respected in Horned Frog nation as Big Bill.
Although both sets of fans quickly turn on their “beloved” coaches at the turn of a hat. Or, say, a loss to SMU.
(Side note: The SMU Athletic Department is so starved for attention that its selling commemorative DVDs of its win against us. Apparently, you can pay $15 and “join the Midnight Mania.” Sad, but true.)
So, my weekends are all starting to mesh together. I’m starting to see games where the TCU Cowboys or the Dallas Horned Frogs play.
But, as long as one of the teams get to the Super Liberty Bowl, I’ll be happy.
Drew Irwin is a senior economics and broadcast journalism major from Dallas.