Admittedly, I don’t always know exactly how a Cowboys game is going to play out. For example, my pick of Dallas 19, Cincinnati 17 in the Sunday edition was off by a point. I apologize for that.
On the other hand, I can almost guarantee you that Cooper Rush will never be more popular than he is today. If he has plans to run for office, now would be a good time to declare his candidacy. That does not appear to be the case as the man is neither a self-promoter, nor an overzealous user of social media. Dig hard enough into his Twitter account — where he has 12,600 followers, roughly one-fifth of what our Cowboys writers manage — and you can find a picture of himself with 49ers backup quarterback Nick Mullens from a 2018 preseason game.
Not really sexy stuff.
That doesn’t mean Rush isn’t beloved, just that using 21st century platforms to maintain his appeal or shout his opinions isn’t his bag. But for the last half century, no one has been more beloved in the city of Dallas than the Cowboys’ backup quarterback. With the rare exception of the Aikman years, fans have been pining for change for as long as I can remember.
I sat in the Cotton Bowl end zone bleachers, hoping Craig Morton would get a chance (or even Jerry Rhome) in the Sixties. We liked Don Meredith but we didn’t love him, and the first time I ever heard the phrase “boo birds” was from Verne Lundquist on the Cowboys Radio Network describing the typical reaction after a Meredith interception.
That begat the ongoing battle between Morton and Roger Staubach, which went back and forth far longer than it should have. Although it was Staubach who led the Cowboys to the first Super Bowl triumph in the 1971 season, Coach Tom Landry was still holding open competition between the two during the 1973 preseason. Don’t think Tom couldn’t hear the cries of those who had a fondness for whomever was No. 2.
The most damaging support of a backup quarterback actually developed internally during the 1980′s. As Staubach’s replacement, Danny White led the Cowboys to three straight NFC Championship Games. Imagine someone doing that now and being challenged. But White’s teammates — many of them coming from the secondary known as “Thurman’s Thieves” — rather openly began to lobby for Gary Hogeboom to replace him.
Following a first-round loss (after a 12-4 season!), Landry succumbed to the pressure and awkwardly named Hogeboom the starter for the 1984 season opener. Once he got his chance, the love of Hogeboom could not have faded any faster. He threw twice as many interceptions as touchdowns (14-7), and White eventually replaced him but the Cowboys missed the playoffs for the first time in 10 years.
Aikman avoided any real controversy with Steve Walsh his rookie year because, frankly, anyone watching the games could see which one deserved to be playing. And Aikman retired one season after his final playoff appearance, not sticking around long enough to have fans crying out for a successor.
Tony Romo, of course, began as the ultra-popular backup, his undrafted Everyman story resonating as he provided fans a breath of fresh air after watching too much Vinny Testaverde and Drew Bledsoe on their last legs. Following Romo’s first victory in 2006, Coach Bill Parcells warned, “This will not go smoothly.’’ He was absolutely correct, and no one has confused Romo as any kind of man of the people or breath of fresh air for years.
When Dak Prescott got his chance following Romo’s preseason injury in Seattle in 2016, the only way he managed to maintain his rookie popularity was to win and win and win. Eleven straight to set a club record for a single season. But even as Prescott has developed as a quarterback, with this team’s continuing failure to advance in the playoffs, his popularity has ebbed. Bump into three Cowboys fans today and at least one of them will be saying, “Hey, Cooper’s 2-0, I think he can do what Dak does for a lot less than $40 million.”
And if what Rush did Sunday in maintaining his poise and believing in Noah Brown manages to ignite an 11-game winning streak, well, we can worry about that Dak-Cooper quarterback controversy at that point. Barring that, the soft-spoken Rush should do all he can to enjoy this moment of time in which the backup gets his chance before withdrawing back into the shadows. It’s the only way to really maintain one’s popularity around here.
Maybe even get that Twitter following up a bit.
