The rivalry between Dallas and Houston runs deep
Even though the Houston Texans and Dallas Cowboys don’t play each other for four years — similar to the Olympics — Clutch City sports fans enjoy seeing their NFL team stick it to the team at the northern terminus of Interstate 45.
The only thing least odious to fans in Houston than the Tennessee Titans parading around in Houston Oilers jerseys would be having the Cowboys win a Super Bowl.
According to NFL Media’s David Carr, who was the Texans’ No. 1 overall pick in 2002, the Cowboys fan base is the most deserving of a Super Bowl win at the end of the 2023 campaign.
High expectations hover over the Cowboys annually, and no one in that franchise or fan base is shy about the desire to earn a sixth Lombardi Trophy — especially owner Jerry Jones. Lately, Dallas has had the firepower to give itself a chance at its first title in nearly three decades, but major blunders have abruptly ended those aspirations. The constant emotional roller coaster is almost too much to take.
Independent of the Cowboys, it was such a strange take to go with a team that already has five Super Bowls. Carr’s colleagues went with the Detroit Lions, New York Jets, Cincinnati Bengals, Buffalo Bills, and Jacksonville Jaguars — all of whom have a collective one title between them, the last of which was Super Bowl III, twice as long as the Cowboys’ current title drought.
Aside from earning a city’s respect for taking 249 sacks over his first four seasons, and leading the league three times, Carr endeared himself immediately with a 19-10 win over the Cowboys on Sept. 8, 2002, at then-Reliant Stadium. The reintroduction of the NFL in Space City came with giving the Cowboys a black eye.
Texans fans may not have expected Carr to pick Houston as most deserving to win a Super Bowl this season, but they would have expected him to pick anybody other than the Cowboys.