Turning Up The Volume on the Redskins- Cowboys Bitter Rivalry

Sports - Opinion
By Scott McLean

Do all football fans hate the toughest opponent of their favorite team? Okay, hate's a strong word, but certainly the NFL games wouldn't be as much fun to watch if we weren't wishing "the enemy" (stongest division rival) would lose games.

When I was growing up, for example, the Dallas Cowboys got all the national attention because, let's face it, they won, won and won some more. A Redskins fan since I was a kid, I used to daydream about Washington getting some great player on the team so they could beat Dallas and win the NFC East.

I loved the bitter rivalry between the two teams, even though Washington almost always lost and finished second, or worse, in the divison. That was before people said things sucked... but it did!

Then, unbelievably, the Redskins won the Super Bowl! Wow! Washington's previous losses to Dallas no longer hurt so much, and Cowboys' media hype started to fade. Thank goodness!

At the same time, the New York Giants were improving their already respectable defense, they became the Redskins strongest rival in their division, and it wasn't long before they, too, won the Super Bowl. (As a side note, I always liked the Giants.)

Cowboys head coach Bill Parcells was the coach that led the Giants to their first Super Bowl victory. The interesting rivalry continues this season as Redskins coach Joe Gibbs is going to have come up with a way for Washington to beat Dallas, a team that has stingy defense and a good offense with the addition of Terrell Owens, an outstanding wide receiver.

And then, of course, the New York Giants could make the hype surrounding the Redskins-Cowboys rivalry disappear altogether, as was the case last season.

Predictions are getting harder and harder to make, but I'd have to say the Cowboys will win the division, although the race ought to be close and could go down to the final week of the season. One of the teams will finish below .500, but the other three will have winning records. I'm just not sure which three.

I'm not sold on the Redskins ability to score touchdowns when they are behind, especially late in a game. They didn't do it in the playoffs, where the offense struggled to get first downs and put points on the board.

Anyway, rather than make predictions in each division, I'll simply say the Cowboys will win the NFC East. I could be way off, but I think the Giants will finish second, followed by the Redskins and Eagles.

SeaHawks fans, I don't want to jinx your team by saying they're going to be better this year, so I won't. I'll just say Seattle will be very, very good again this season.

I'm liking the chances of Seattle and Dallas to meet in the playoffs, possibly even in the NFC championship. I said that I like the Cowboys chances, but didn't say I like them... Remember, I'm a Redskins fan. Forever... But in all honesty, I'm hoping the Cowboys are a good team this season. And I wish you the best, accept for when you play the Redskins.

Just trying to keep the rivalry interesting. Well, no matter who's your favorite team, I hope you have a fun time watching the football games today and all season. Take care.