The Cowboys won five Super Bowls before Rowdy appeared on the sidelines and none since.
DALLAS — The Dallas Cowboys are a franchise rich with tradition and iconic imagery.
The famed star on their helmets, the most recognizable logo in sports. The glamorous history of the Dallas Cowboys Cheerleaders, now famous on reality TV. And the glitzy behemoth of AT&T Stadium, home to championship games, prize fights and the biggest concert acts in the world.
Then there is Rowdy.
Oh, you don’t know Rowdy? Yeah, you do.
When your beloved Cowboys are collapsing in the playoffs, or getting their brakes beaten off in September, or stumbling through the dark for a head coach … Rowdy remains: That oversized-headed caricature of a cowboy, decked out in full uniform, smiling blindly through the pain of thirty years of futility.
Well, 29, to be exact, if Rowdy’s villain origin story has been properly traced. We can’t say we were there in 1996, when it’s been said that Rowdy made his debut on the Cowboys sidelines. But that would seem juuuuuust about right, because what else happened in 1996? The defending Super Bowl champion Dallas Cowboys ended their season without making it to the NFC Championship Game.
This pattern would be repeated in 1997, 1998, 1999, 2000 … you get the picture.
The Cowboys still haven’t made it to a conference championship game (much less won a Super Bowl), now the longest such drought in the NFC.
To be clear, we’re not blaming Rowdy here. We’re just saying, the Cowboys won five Super Bowls before Rowdy appeared on the sidelines and none since. The Cowboys made 16 conference championship games (including a pair of NFL Championship losses to the Packers) before Rowdy’s cheery demeanor popped up and none since.
Maybe it’s a coincidence. Maybe it’s a curse.
This isn’t a new theory. An inquiring Redditor last year asked, “Do you believe in the ‘Rowdy Curse?'” pointing out the Cowboys’ 5-13 playoff record since Rowdy became a thing.
“Mother of god,” one commenter replied, “we’ve been focused on the Jimmy and Jerry curse this whole time while this f—– flies under the radar.”
Rowdy’s an easy target, not exactly beloved by the masses. Locally, The Ticket’s George Dunham has, perhaps half-jokingly, led the anti-Rowdy wing of the Cowboys fanbase. USA Today didn’t treat Rowdy kindly in an NFL mascots ranking in 2023, placing him second-to-last in the league (only the Raiders’ “Raider Rusher” was worse). Sports Illustrated gave Rowdy similar poor marks back in 2015.
Then there was the most recent drama entangling Rowdy. Linebacker DeMarvion Overshown was a breakout star for the Cowboys this season, wearing No. 13. But then it surfaced that Overshown actually wanted to wear No. 0, like he did in college at Texas. Jerry Jones reportedly told Overshown that zero was taken — by Rowdy, who wears No. 00 on his fake mascot jersey.
Yes, a mascot, who doesn’t play on the actual team, took priority over a player wanting a similar number. (By the way, on that note, Overshown wanted to wear a single “0” which is technically a different number than “00.” Imagine if CeeDee Lamb couldn’t wear No. 88 because Rowdy wore No. 8. But we digress.)
Jerry Jones hilariously spun this mini-controversy into a story about some of Rowdy’s antics over the years, including that time the “Rowdy Wagon” van was spotted at a strip club.
Jones explained that he told Rowdy to be careful about his interactions with fans or else “they’d throw us both under the jail.”
It’s not clear if Rowdy’s been involved in any of the lengthy interviews the Cowboys have had in their current coaching search. But if the team doesn’t hire the guy you want, and you’re tired of blaming Jerry, just know there might be bigger forces in play: The Curse of Rowdy.
That smiling, oblivious, cartoonish cowboy face.
Just try not to punch it.
