600 Hours of Edward

Thanksgiving dinner, and we saw the Dallas Cowboys win. This is the first game I remember watching with my father. He told me after the game, “Teddy, as long as you live, you’ll never see another one like that.” I didn’t like my old nickname, Teddy, but I didn’t mind that day.
    Game number 2: December 28, 1975
    Result: Cowboys, 17; Minnesota Vikings, 14
    What happened: This is the one that is called the “Hail Mary” game, on account of Roger Staubach’s saying that he closed his eyes and threw a prayer of a pass that Drew Pearson caught for the winning touchdown in the playoffs against the heavily favored Vikings. A lot of Vikings fans say that Drew Pearson pushed off illegally, but I think they just feel bad because they lost.
    Why I remember it: After Drew Pearson scored the touchdown, my father swept me up in his arms, put me on his shoulder, and paraded me around our living room, saying, “The Cowboys are going to the Super Bowl! The Cowboys are going to the Super Bowl!” It was just conjecture at that point—the Cowboys still had to win the NFC championship game—but he was right: The Cowboys went to the Super Bowl. I just wish they had been able to beat the Pittsburgh Steelers.
    Game number 3: January 17, 1993
    Result: Cowboys, 30; San Francisco 49ers, 20
    What happened: After a Super Bowl drought of fifteen years, the Cowboys got back in the big game by beating the hated 49ers in the muck and mud in San Francisco.The Cowboys sealed it with a long slant pass from Troy Aikman to Alvin Harper. After that, my father grabbed my shoulder and shook me and said, “That Jimmy Johnson has balls to make a call like that!” I think it was a compliment.
    Why I remember it: It took my father a long time to forgive the Cowboys and owner Jerry Jones for firing Tom Landry in 1989. But when the Cowboys got back to the Super Bowl—and especially after they won it—my father buried his grudge. “You can’t stay mad forever, Edward,” he said. I thought that was very nice of him. Also, for at least a year afterward, my father would sometimes look at me and go, “Hey, Edward, you know what? How ’bout them Cowboys!” My father could be pretty funny sometimes.
    Game number 4: January 3, 1983
    Result: Minnesota Vikings, 31; Cowboys, 27
    What happened: Tony Dorsett ran for a ninety-nine-yard touchdown on
Monday Night Football.
A lot of football experts think it’s one of the best runs in National Football League history.
    Why I remember it: This is one of only two Dallas Cowboys losses on my top ten, but Tony Dorsett’s run was worth it. My father and I were watching the game on television, and when Tony Dorsett got loose, my father said, “He’s gonna go all the way, Teddy! He’s gonna do it! He’s gonna do it! Oh my God, he did it!” The next day, he and I played catch with the football in our front yard, even though it was a really cold day, and my father pretended that he was Tony Dorsett running for a ninety-nine-yard touchdown.
    Game number 5: January 23, 1994
    Result: Cowboys, 38; San Francisco 49ers, 21
    What happened: For the second straight year, the Cowboys reached the Super Bowl by beating the 49ers. (They would go on to beat the Buffalo Bills in the Super Bowl for the second straight year, too.) This time, the game was at Texas Stadium. Also, Jimmy Johnson called a radio station earlier in the week and guaranteed that the Cowboys would win. “Brass balls, Edward,” my father said. “The man has brass balls.” This is also a compliment, I think.
    Why I remember it: It was the last game Grandpa Sid and Grandma Mabel ever went to, and they called us in Billings afterward to tell us about it. When my father was hanging up with Grandpa Sid, he said, “I love you, Pop.” And then he told me he loved me, too. I liked it when he would do that.
    Game number 6: January 16, 1996
    Result: Cowboys, 38; Green Bay Packers, 27
    What happened: The Cowboys, after a one-year hiatus, returned to the Super Bowl, this time under Coach Barry Switzer. They haven’t been back since. My father hated Barry Switzer. “That guy couldn’t coach a dog to lick his balls,” my father said. “How they got to the Super Bowl, I’ll never know.” My father talked about balls a lot.
    Why I remember it: As my condition was worsening, my father and I were growing apart more and more and weren’t talking as often or as nicely as we had before. When this game was over, my father said, “You’re the best football