Original subtitles

Right around when I was about to get drafted, I started having the same

I'm in the locker room, and I can't get my shoes on.

I don't even know where to begin.

The game's about to start.

I just wanted to get down the tunnel and onto the field.

But I'm still trying to get my shoes on.

I just couldn't do it.

Touchdown, Cowboys!

What do you think that dream means?

I think it's just not being able to do what you feel like you're supposed to be

doing.

You know, I'd grown up in Oklahoma.

175 -acre ranch.

My dad's pound for pound the toughest man I know.

Was very strict.

I hauled hay in the summers, in the mornings before school, fed the pigs,

goats, the chickens.

I was treated as a grown man from him by the time I was about six years old.

There's a lot of good that comes from that.

You grow up in a hurry.

But deep down, I always wanted to prove that I was as tough as he was.

It was always yes, sir, no, sir.

That's the kind of kid he was in class.

I remember the very first time I really kind of noticed him. He threw beautiful

passes, but he wasn't real vocal.

He was a quiet leader.

People come up to me and say, I can't believe you knew Troy Aikman or you

Troy Aikman. And he does come across as being very intense.

But Troy's a very sensitive person when you get to know him.

I'm not this outwardly emotional guy, but I've got a burning desire to be

I've always been willing to do whatever's necessary.

First choice, first round, Dallas selects Troy Aikman, quarterback, UCLA.

Troy Aikman is the number one football player in the United States today coming

out of college.

Aikmania has been pervasive in Dallas. Being the number one pick as a

quarterback puts you in an exclusive club.

Everyone is wild about Troy Aikman. New Cowboy owner Jerry Jones made Aikman the

highest made NFL rookie in history.

This is one of the flagship franchises of the NFL.

This is the Dallas Cowboys.

And it just got big.

Fast. He's what every one of us expects in our sports hero.

I start to have that same dream.

Over and over and over.

I'd wake up in sweats.

All the time.

What a read by Eggman!

The savior of the franchise.

Hey, Robert. Hey, guy. How we doing?

Robert.

Even though we had just drafted Troy Aikman, we knew heading into the 1989

season... Ben.

Hey, Larry. ...that Herschel Walker was the marquee player of the Dallas Cowboys

and the Dallas market.

Wow, it's Herschel Walker.

Herschel Walker.

I would say that people would rather watch that game than any NFL game that

can think of.

It's Herschel Walker. It's Wobbles Herschel Walker, you know what I mean?

The best player in the NFL at that time.

I started writing poetry, as a matter of fact, in high school because I read a

Sports Illustrated article on Herschel and he wrote poetry.

Remember any of the phones?

They weren't great, I'll tell you that.

Back in their glory days, someone wrote that the Dallas Cowboys possessed enough

scars to fill a galaxy.

Well, these days, they only have a shooting star.

America's team has become Herschel's team.

Herschel to the left. Herschel dancing down the sidelines. And now they can

watch him dance a pas de trois.

Here's the thing you need to understand about Herschel Walker.

Herschel Walker, he was a man.

Herschel Walker was the top player in the NFL.

He was one of the best athletes in the world.

Herschel Walker was making a large contract.

Yes, I'm talking about my 73rd person, but I know that. I reckon that's

bragging. I shouldn't do that. My mom's going to get mad at me.

Sellout crowd. Game 1 of the 1989 season. The Cowboys against the New

Saints. I'll never forget when we got to New Orleans for our opening game.

I'm thinking, we just got the number one pick in the draft in Troy Aikman.

And we have the best running back in the league.

We may have this NFL figured out right as we come through the door. Boy, this

going to be fun.

I'm going to have the greatest time of my life. I mean, I had my whole career

out ahead of me and a lot of optimism.

These cowboys want to establish something.

They want to start a tradition of winning.

That was our time.

That was our time.

Let's show the world who we are.

Watch for the blessing.

Here it comes.

Wow. That's a big welcome to the NFL for Troy Hagen.

Splitbacks. Hagen's back once again.

That is back. It's complete.

Ooh, they put a thumping on us.

Quarterback can't do anything.

Ooh, right there.

Hagen.

Intercepted by Brett Maxey. It was a complete thorough butt kick.

And the Cowboys are held zero points.

That's a rough way to start the season.

After the first game, I looked at the players and I said, you know, I didn't

come here to lose. I said, you know, this shit stops right here. He said,

done losing around here.

And, of course, we weren't. We lost the next seven in a row.

If the Cowboys lose again today, it's not good for the Cowboys.

It is now week seven in the NFL, and Jerry, the Cowboys 0 -6, still no wins.

Well, it is hard to say you're making progress when you're 0 -6.

We have made some progress.

This is why you don't fire Tom Landry. We're dealing with a couple old country

bumpkins. A devastating loss for the Cowboys. They've gone from America's

to the worst team. That season was just terrible.

We're playing San Francisco. I ran a post corner.

You got somebody down. It looks like Michael Irvin's hurt.

The guy pushed me back.

That's how I ripped my ACL.

I sat out the whole season, and it went from ugly to worse.

Touchdown, Jerry Rice. This team is struggling, but we've got the great

Walker. Dallas must cash this in. Walker at the goal line.

And then all of a sudden, they announce that they're going to trade him?

A radio friend of mine says the Dallas Cowboys have just traded a Rolls Royce

for five at Hoyotas. Herschel Walker to Minnesota for five players. The great

Herschel Walker.

For these guys?

No one had ever even heard of these guys. I couldn't believe it. That trade

Russell Walker was like, oh, Jesus, what are these guys doing?

The Dallas Cowboys may have been had.

And to sweeten the deal, Cowboys owner Jerry Jones paid an additional $2

for Walker to waive his no -trade clause.

We're the worst team in the league, and we just traded our best player for five

nobody.

The one good player we've got, now he's not even here.

I don't think the Cowboys will ever be the same until the JJs go back to

Arkansas. They've embarrassed us. Cowboys are no good.

It's going to come back to haunt the Cowboys.

I was getting my ass kicked every day.

Everyone saying, you should take your ass back to Arkansas.

Who in the hell does he think he is?

The devil has come to Dallas in the form of Jerry Jones.

Dallas has been shut out in the big goose egg. In 89, we lost 15 games.

They only played 16, though.

At the end of the season, I would drink.

Yeah, it is the worst year of my life.

Now, Cowboys tied the record for most losses in NFL history.

Well, if I'm being honest, having only one win.

And my first year in the NFL wasn't even my biggest problem.

We were losing a million dollars a month, cash flow.

I couldn't pay the bills.

And consequently, there was a great risk that I would lose the team.

So I drank a little bit to get to go to sleep.

And that's not necessarily good, but I drank.

Then all of a sudden, 2 or 3 o 'clock in the morning, heard that first cricket.

My eyes would be open.

I'd be up for the day.

Larry Jones.

I lived at our Valley Ranch headquarters 24 hours a day.

During that, I developed heart arrhythmia.

It's when you never sleep and your heart starts beating faster.

But thank God.

I had Jimmy Johnson.

That's who you want in the foxhole with you.

I really don't have a lot of outside interests. I don't really spend a lot of

time doing anything other than football.

I live three blocks away from this complex, and so I'm pretty well involved

football 12 months of the year. I take very little vacation time. I live by

myself. He figured it would take 100 % commitment.

So he told his wife of 26 years that it was time for a divorce.

I called Jerry. I said, somehow, some way, we've got to jumpstart this.

Somehow, some way, we've got to get better talent and more players.

And I said, Jimmy, now you're going to empty your bucket in your way.

I'm going to empty my bucket in my way, and we're going to do it together.

But ultimately, we were optimistic because we had an ace up our sleeve.

Welcome to the NFL Draft.

Any thoughts on who might go for a running back?

Dallas is in a position to take one.

Now, the thing people didn't realize about the Herschel trade, there was

actually a catch.

If we cut five players, then Minnesota would have to give us five bigs, one for

every player.

My clan, who was the general manager, conjured up this idea that since we were

losing so many games, he thought we would fall in love with the player and

to take the player rather than the pick.

I called my clan up. I said, Mike, we're going to release the players.

And he said, I don't believe you'll do it. We did it. And we got the pick.

We've got all these draft picks.

Hang on.

How do we get the maximum out?

So when we got in the draft room, we knew how great Coy was.

We knew how great Michael was.

But the one thing that was going to be the backbone of that offense, running

football.

Now the running back we had our eye on was under 5.

And his speed was not a... Blazing speed.

But that Herschel trade allowed us to take risks.

Buffalo Bills select James Williams, defensive back, Fresno State.

Pittsburgh Steelers are now on the clock.

We were sitting there with the 21st pick, and the guy we wanted was still on

board at 17.

We said, man, if we're going to take a running back, let's trade up and get who

we actually want.

Pittsburgh has traded this choice to Dallas.

All right.

So the Dallas Cowboys jumping up.

Robert, go ahead and turn it in.

So the Cowboys made the trade. They aren't going to sleep on it. They know

exactly what they're going to do.

Okay.

You got us in front of that.

There's no chance for the Cowboys.

Well, pretty good.

How would you like to put a star on him?

With the 17th pick in the 1990 NFL Draft, Dallas select

Emmitt Smith, running back from Florida.

That day, in my mind, I was tricked out.

My fit was something that was in style at the time.

But it became here, man.

You have to understand.

Him, it's a country boy.

Not much going on in Pensacola. They don't know anything about coups.

You know, they don't know anything about swag. That's what you wore. Yeah,

that's what I wore, bro. That's what I could afford.

Oh, my God. It was horrible.

Is it?

You ain't in it?

Why are you in it?

With the camera.

When I got to the Capitol, I said, Mike, man, I want to become the all -time

leading rusher. He busts up laughing.

Are you kidding me? You're coming all the time. Man, take your ass to sleep,

dude. You tripped. Let's just try to win a game.

Welcome to training camp.

Ease it down.

How's it feeling?

Feeling a little tight?

Let the mind control the body, not the body controlling the mind.

Right, Emmett?

Let the mind control the body.

Stretch it out, stretch it out.

Work down, work down, straddle that leg.

Come on now, let's go.

I want to brother stretch out. I got to be like that. Everybody up here, real

quick. I want a tough practice, a hard practice. We're going to knock some

heads.

So how would you describe training camp?

The way we practice, you can't do today.

What the hell have you been doing?

You ain't broken a sweat all damn day. You chugged your ass down the field.

Let the mind control the body, not the body control the mind.

You've got a lot of young players from the Herschel trade.

And my philosophy was, you've got to push the players beyond their limits.

So how do you do that?

It might be respect.

It might be fear.

JJ is already losing some of his players. One player says, he treats us

-year -olds. I have no respect for him. They're not in the shape that I want

them.

Measuring tests to see if you are in condition.

The 16 -1 team, you run a mile, you sprint a mile to show you're ready to

I was on my 6th or 7th or 8th one, and I saw this kid on the ground just

couldn't breathe.

Jimmy comes up, what the fuck is wrong?

Are you part of this group?

Asthma my ass. Get over there on that other field and have some asthma.

You're on the wrong field to have asthma.

I'll hang my ass. Get out of here.

Jimmy was a complete asshole.

Rookie running back was cut on the spot today.

I don't want, I've got asthma.

I want the job done.

But I laugh at what other people call hard work.

Michael Erd was deemed putting out a workout clinic today.

There were some older guys that played for Landry.

And I told Coach, here's a list.

These must go.

Jeff Rohr received the news about being cut early in the day. Like there is a

presidential line, Michael had a straight line to the person that was

decision. There are people here worried about being cut. I'm not so much worried

about being cut. We need to quicken this because we got to get somewhere.

Higman hands the ball off to Emmitt Smith for no yards.

They've had virtually no offense.

Total ineptitude on offense.

And the Cowboys lose today.

Jimmy told us, I'm here for one reason.

It ain't about my family. It ain't about my kids. It ain't about my wife.

I'm through with all of that. I'm here to win.

That marks another Cowboys loss.

And if you can't help me win in some form or fashion, you gone.

Cowboys have now dropped three out of four.

The big problem was?

This offense, I cannot understand the rhyme or reason behind it.

And the Cowboys finish with another losing season and an offense that

continues to struggle.

Let me say, okay, this ain't going to happen next year.

This is awful.

We have a young team. We have a team made up of...

More draft picks over the last three years at a high level than any other

in the NFL.

But I don't think there's anybody in this organization that feels like we've

really accomplished something yet.

Jimmy wanted more.

And in his research, he found no return.

When I was a kid growing up, I'd watch football forever.

After a safety makes it Dallas 3, St. Louis 2, the cards are on the wing. John

David Crowe picks up 20 yards. Balance has always been the key to the best

offenses I've seen.

So our approach was when the defense is geared up to

take away the pass, run the ball.

And if they stop the run, throw it.

When I'd seen Troy play at UCLA a lot, he was the most accurate passer I've

seen. He didn't hit between the eights. He picked out an eight and hit the eight

he was throwing to.

The biggest thing that Norv did with me was stressing that we've got to speed

you up. We've got to speed you up.

And that took a lot of work to get right.

It sounds so straightforward, but there's beauty in simplicity.

With Norb, I learned when I hear step, I'm going.

I just had explicit trust that the receiver's going to be where he was

to be.

And Aikman drops back, and he's going deep to Michael Irvin. What a throw by

Aikman. That's a 43 -yard catch to Michael Irvin.

Norb had a play called a bang eight.

It's a four -step. I run a little slant route.

You got to catch him. Get here.

When the ball leaves his hand, he'll see the smoke on.

It's smoking like a rocket. And then he just gets right there and stops.

And looks up and says, go ahead and catch me. I said, thank you, man. The

Cowboys open up the season with a victory.

Two days or so right now with anybody else.

Boom! Here comes all the defense. He gets there too late.

Boom! What, Troy?

You can put that bang eight right on you, buddy.

Going for the end zone. It's caught for a touchdown by Michael Irvin. I may get

knocked out, but that ref is going to say first down.

Great route, great catch.

And the defense will need to adjust to slow down these throws to Irvin. That

should open up some space for Emmitt to get to work.

The previous year, our offense was too complicated.

Complication makes you think too much.

Simple location allows me to do one thing, and one thing only, play fast.

Play fast.

And Jimmy wants the team to play fast.

That offense was geared up for Troy, Michael, and myself to have success at

highest level.

That's why we say, by land or by air, we will win this game.

That was our DNA.

Now, at that point in the season, we're 6 -5, and we had a good football team.

But we weren't great.

You know,

it's kind of fun when you really know who the best team is.

Right now you have to say the undefeated Washington Redskins and it gives

everyone something to shoot at

This

was

the biggest game we played and we're gonna see how good we really were

game for 8 -5.

Adversity.

Everybody has it.

But only the dogs can rise above it.

It took two

years, but our offense, they was going to wreck your world.

There was no one there because they were all playing passing fouls. Aikman was

so bad.

Troy Aikman is emerged as the best quarterback in the NFC.

It'll be a prayer up in the air.

Touchdown! The Cowboys lead.

The Cowboys have the lead.

Washington was the cream of the crop.

And we were beating them.

Troy Aikman is emerged as the best quarterback in the NFC.

That game has slowed down for you.

Troy was clicking on all cylinders.

Blue 88!

Hut, hut!

Aikman is down.

Aikman took a big hit just after he let it go.

In a world of pain, that does not look good.

Eggman would appear to be through for the day.

I got rolled up on.

hyperextended my knee and was done.

It was going to derail the season.

It was horrible.

Oh, my God.

It's just so hard to get through a game.

Michael, stop.

He's not coming.

He's not coming.

He's watching like, get my quarterback. I need my quarterback.

I need my quarterback.

In the third quarter, Dallas leading 14 -7. Now coming in to replace Troy Aikman

is the backup quarterback, Steve Berling.

As a backup quarterback, I was being given an opportunity that I could not

up. Fortunately for me, I was always able to step into those situations with

confidence.

When something like this happens, you get a guy like Steve Berline who hasn't

played a lot, the offense has to get some rhythm here.

I said, Steve, don't worry about what the damn coach called. Just throw me the

damn ball. You want to stay in the NFL?

You just throw me the ball. Don't worry about what he calls.

Mike and I immediately started clicking.

He wanted me to always understand that I was never wrong going to him.

Cowboys have found a way to make Michael Irvin the go -to guy.

I had confidence in him, and he knew.

that I needed him to make those plays.

Their undefeated season is slipping away from them, and it all comes down to one

quarter.

I told everybody in our huddle, nothing's going to change.

Let's go win this ballgame right now.

Dallas at the Washington 23, leading 14 -7.

Flex is on. Furline stands and throws it left.

24. The Redskins.

21.

Remarkable show.

Go on the road into that stadium and beat the undefeated Washington Redskins.

It said we could play with anybody.

And we knew it.

There wasn't many folks.

thought that there's any way in the world that the Cowboys could come close

the Redskins. Hey, super job of working. Hey, super job of believing.

Just like what we talked about at practice. Hey, when you ever go after a

gorilla, you don't ever hit him lightly. You hit him with everything you got.

Yeah!

We wanted to come in here and rock the world, I guess, as these guys are saying

right now, and it's been fun. We had a great time out there. Erline stepped in

and did a great job, and I just hope Troy gets back soon, and hopefully we

go out next week and win another one.

The

ligament

on the outside of the knee was the one that... Troy Aikman has problems with.

Guzman says Aikman's injury is rare, but also that it's not serious.

I'm probably being the ultimate optimist, but I think that if I miss

ballgames, that I would definitely be ready to go for the fourth.

From Texas Stadium in Irving, happy Thanksgiving, everyone. The tradition

continues on this holiday.

Troy wasn't able to play.

So I knew that I was going to have a chance to make a run for at least three

four weeks.

Through the first four years of my NFL career, I was scratching and clawing for

everything. I mean, nothing came easy.

He's a good quarterback. I got confidence in him, and I believe

around has confidence in him also.

I mean, I felt bad for Troy.

But with Berline, I got more carries.

Emmitt Smith.

Emmitt Smith. Emmitt Smith again.

And with that, Smith now leads the

league in rushing. During that win streak, Jimmy pulled me aside and said,

you're the guy. Guy's a talented player. He is an overachiever that's talented,

and he's healthy. Everybody wondering whether Steve Berline can deliver? He

Me getting heard.

uh was obviously frustrating and then berline was playing at a different level

berline has just been looking top form came right in and filled troy's shoes

quickly when you get into a zone like that it's contagious berline's playing a

heck of a job and quarterback we're just gonna tear him up no doubt baby they

got on a hot streak to secure a playoff spot and that's four wins in a row this

is the best they've looked all season

Now let's clinch the playoff spot with one regular season game left to play.

We believed that we were good enough to win the Super Bowl. I mean, I was happy

for the team and the way that we were winning and the way Steve was playing,

personally, yeah, it was tough.

I'm going to take this car as far as it'll go before it runs out of gas.

But the big question was, who's the quarterback?

Troy Aikman worked out in front of the press today. His message was simple.

I'm back.

From a personal standpoint, it was frustrating.

Yeah, I feel like I was ready last week and the knee feels good.

I would like to get out there and play some this week if their intentions are

start me in the playoff game.

I thought I was healthy enough to play the final game of the season.

Texas Stadium is sold out as it's been all season long.

As the Falcons and the Cowboys both head into the playoff battle in the regular

season finale.

Troy started saying that he felt like he could go. I didn't know if Troy was

saying he was healthy because we had won all these games. You know, it may make

you feel like you're healthy all of a sudden.

So as you can see, Troy is back from injuring his knee four weeks ago.

But he's not going to see any action today.

Jimmy. had told me that he wanted for me not to play so that I was 100 % the

following week for our wild card game in the playoffs.

That

11

-5 record, the best since 83, and the Cowboys are headed to the playoffs the

right way.

Fans said bon voyage to the Cowboys as they headed their first playoff game

against the Bears.

Did Jimmy Johnson have a tough decision, Steve Verline, Troy Aikman? Jimmy

Johnson will face a tough decision of a quarterback who has led him to five

tough victories while Troy Aikman has been down. Troy Aikman is my quarterback

of the 90s.

I was excited knowing the magnitude of what was about to happen.

I was going to be starting in Chicago in our first playoff game, only then to

read that I was not going to be playing.

Just, are you serious?

I mean, it seemed like it was, like, not even believable.

I went and visited with Jimmy, and I told him I was under the belief. He said

was going to be starting.

You know, he made it clear that this was a decision that he had made. I wasn't

worried about anybody's feelings, Troy's or Steve's, or I was just trying to win

a game. I am sticking with what I just got through saying a few minutes ago.

This week, Steve Berline will start.

Jimmy made his choice.

I was the guy.

I don't make the decisions right here. I just adhere to what I'm told.

So I don't know what will happen. I mean, a lot of things can happen. Steve

be leaving this team after all.

Jimmy wanted great athletes, but he wanted certain mentalities.

Passion.

Rage.

What Jimmy liked about me was that I was a...

a lot more vocal as a leader than Troy Abrams. I was a real emotional player.

And Troy was not a rah -rah kind of guy.

But you see, the Dallas Cowboys are about to go

the way of the Soviet Union, my friend.

Now, as a reward for winning five straight and getting Dallas into the

Steve Berline gets the start at quarterback today, even though Troy

fully recovered from his knee injury and is ready to play.

Pre -game introductions are already underway.

Let's listen in.

Steve Berline opens his quarterback.

What a job he's done.

Michael Irvin catches more passes than anyone.

Berline parts the signal. Hand off again. Smith diving over the top.

Touchdown for Emmitt Smith.

That's going to work. That's going to work. Good job, Steve.

Third and goal at the three.

Berline back to throw. Look at left.

Oh, it's a goal line.

Cowboys win.

Cowboys have not been on a winning streak like this since 1977 when they

the Super Bowl.

Two years ago, the Dallas Cowboys were 1 -15.

Last year, they were 7 -9, and today they are one victory away from the NFC

Championship game. That was progress.

Before the game, I'm sitting there playing catch with Troy.

He's winging the ball back.

I mean, everyone knew he was pissed.

But honestly, I liked the fact that I kept throwing the bench a little longer

than he wanted to be.

Cowboys will have the first crack of the ball.

Merline to throw.

And it's a good draw.

Touchdown, Detroit.

Merline never saw him run it. Rayburn.

Touchdown.

This place is wild, wild.

Unfortunately for me, that Detroit game was the end of the run.

Troy didn't get to play until the end of the game when he got thrust into

garbage time.

He was devastated.

Cowboys' six -game winning streak and their season stops, and the Lions move

beating the Cowboys 38 -6.

I think Jimmy

misread probably early on how important winning was to me and how dedicated

and motivated I was to win.

There was a time where I told my agent,

You know, you have to try to work a deal and get me traded.

With Troy, the Berline thing had a certain threatening aspect to it.

I was not alarmed by it, but I didn't dismiss it.

It could jeopardize what we were building towards.

And I said, Jimmy, it's Troy Eggman as our quarterback for the long haul.

You think it was a mistake to start Berline?

Was it a mistake?

I don't think so, because we were so poor in our past defense, it wouldn't

made any difference who the quarterback was.

The physical and mental aspect of our game is very complicated.

You've even heard it said, you can't play football successfully with Sunday

school teachers.

If you wait around and try to get the player with the perfect character,

you've given yourself a handicap that's not necessary.

In fact, flawed individuals are some of my greatest role models.

Before the 92 season, 49ers called the Cowboys and said, would you be

in Charles Haley?

Charles Haley, always in relentless pursuit.

It's a Pro Bowl player.

Charles Haley has had a spectacular game today. He won two Super Bowls.

Charles Haley. He is as disruptive as a hyperactive child.

The only problem was, we heard some horror stories.

Charles always found a rookie that he wanted to pick on.

When I got to the 49ers, I happened to be that rookie.

You know, calling me a pussy.

Then in 92, I heard that Charles walked up into the general manager's office.

He pulled out his dick, pissed on his desk, and said, this is how bad

I want out of here.

How can a player...

Go against his coaching staff like this.

I joke with guys and I tell them there's three differences.

There's Charlie, Chuck, and Charles.

Charlie is the sensitive one. He's always crying.

Charles is the sensible one. And then Chuck, he's the asshole.

George Seifert was the head coach.

He was a micromanager.

I hated it.

So one day.

The head coach was talking, and then I just got mad, and I started yelling, and

then it went from being mad to rage, and where I

tried to hit the head coach.

Let me give you a secret. Whatever came to my head, I

did. I didn't give a shit.

I knew how Dicey involved him with the Cowboys might be.

But I'm a huge believer in rehabilitation.

The Cowboys called and said, I got to be on the next plane out.

And as soon as I get off, I walk down the tunnel. My God, every media and

was there. They were shining lights all in my eyes.

Then this hand sticks out.

Hi.

Welcome to Dollars. I'm Jerry Jones, the owner of the Dollar Cowboy.

He told me everything he ever did in his life. How much money he was losing.

$30 ,000 a day.

What the hell is going on? Whether we got up or slept in. I heard it all, dog.

I was really good at borrowing money.

Oh, shit.

And he said something to me that resonated.

He said, Charles, I got your back.

I said, I'm at the gate today. I'll always be at the gate.

I'll always be.

You ready to go, or did you leave your heart in San Francisco?

Man, when I first came to the Dallas Cowboys, those players.

They were dumb as hell, but they were very talented. I've never seen that much

damn talent. Oh, my God.

Crowd not making it easy for Rippon and the Skins.

Rippon setting up in the pocket. A great defensive play by Charles Haley.

I'm going to tell you something, man. There's a lot of crazy people in this

whole documentary.

But Charles Haley.

Haley's got it from behind and sacks it. Charles Haley.

There's a special kind of crazy, you know what I mean?

But every team in the national football league

needs a Charles Haynes.

Giants -Cowboys matchup coming up today.

Now watch him come off the double team right here and explode.

Charles played with an attitude and a nastiness that allowed him to just reach

levels that most guys just aren't able to get to.

When he smells blood and he smells half, he can go after him.

People might think split personality.

I just know how to push that button to go to race.

They needed a dominant player.

I'm a Zulu.

I'm a warrior.

After those first few games, a bunch of guys, they come to me, come on, let me

see your Super Bowl ring. I said, shit, let's go win one.

How you doing?

We're the youngest team in the NFL.

The future was ahead of us.

And I think we all started thinking.

That season, the team really got hot.

We started to realize that what we had was

so special.

With the Cowboys off to a 4 -0 start, there is no doubt this is Aikman's team.

A lot of people don't understand the greatness.

It didn't come necessarily on the field.

It was really the time that we spent off the field.

It made us accountable for each other

on and off the field.

before every game. And I would do our double trouble.

This right here, tap, tap, deuce, deuce, an 88.

He's deuce, deuce, I'm 88.

We double number.

And it was just a reminder.

Hey, I need you today. You need me today. Let's go do our job.

Welcome to the Los Angeles Coliseum to watch the high -flying Cowboys and the

Los Angeles Raiders.

I can't believe it. Look at all that blue out there.

Smith up the middle. Breaks a tackle. Comes right.

Touchdown Cowboys.

We're seeing a good offense that's working on all cylinders. They're making

things happen. Right now, the Dallas Cowboys are, I think, the best team in

National Football League.

For us to come in here and win in front of 91 ,000, that says something for our

football team. Our guys are young, but they're growing up in a hurry.

I thought every team was like our team.

We did everything together.

But not every team was like the Dallas Cowboys.

We were family.

AD to wing, Aikman back to throw. Oh, over the middle. The Cowboys 34 and the

Detroit Lions 3.

The Cowboys, they're a football team 8 -1 now that has answered every

They are proven to be extremely tough.

Michael's a special guy.

I walked right by the pizza.

I had a bite of that pizza. It is pretty good.

It's always been Roy.

I didn't think Troy could get shortened, but it did, yeah.

Michael is the guy who brought the energy.

Nobody was going to get in the way of him catching the ball.

We're playing Arizona.

And the cornerback was like, Michael, I'm right here. I'm ready, man. I got

all deep.

We're going to get him.

We're going to beat him up.

Okay. Thank you for waking me up today.

Back to the five.

It's been fought.

And it's gone by Michael Irvin. Gets away from the defender.

I thought you won't be with me. Where are you?

Touchdown, Dallas.

You should have left me sleeping.

How you gonna roll me up and I'm gonna rise up on your ass?

Michael Irvin is double covered, but he's got it anyway for another Dallas

touchdown.

This guy is so fun to watch. He's competitive and cocky and confident.

celebrates way too much.

George Turner, the offensive coordinator, has just done a fabulous

getting the best out of the weapons that they have.

You think of Troy Aikman, Michael Irvin, and you think of Emmett Smith, they're

the big three.

When we were named a triplet, it was like, okay, we're here.

Everyone's telling us how great they are. They have the best record in the

We've tasted success.

We like it. It tastes good. We want some more of it.

This is truly still America's team.

This city is amazing.

Especially when you're winning. The more you get, the more you want. I don't

call that greed, but if that's what it is, I'll take it.

The Cowboys were on the verge of making the playoffs.

And this town was ecstatic. I mean, it was really fun.

Jimmy didn't quite feel that way.

Even though we're winning, we're winning, we're winning.

Jimmy Johnson off with the headset. I don't think I've ever seen him that

Jimmy keeps getting more intense.

No! They didn't know what's up!

Nobody knew what's up!

When you have that much pressure and you know you have a great team, you want

the mindset of your football team to be what your mindset is.

Does everyone get how close we are?

We could go to the Super Bowl.

Late in the regular season, we lost with...

What we thought was going to be a win, but it wasn't one of these dejecting

losses to where you just feel like, oh, we're never going to recover from this.

After that loss, we get on the plane, and I am just fuming because of the way

played.

So the flight attendant starts to serve the meal, and I say, no, no meal.

They don't deserve to eat.

We couldn't eat, man. We were starving, man. We can't even eat on the damn

plate. Grown -ass men that just played a whole football game for you.

He was a dictator.

He was an asshole.

And he didn't care what guys thought about him. I want them to expect to win

every single time they go out. I want them to be nauseated, to be sick at

stomach when they lose.

Because that's how I felt.

We're about to go into the playoffs.

Meaningless game.

The backup running back fumbled the ball twice.

Jimmy cut him right there on the spot.

Most every coach will tell you that, you know, cutting a player is one of the

hardest things that they have to do.

I don't think it is.

I was okay with cutting that guy.

We need some urgency.

When the season finally ended,

Jimmy walks into the locker room to talk to the team.

We just had our best season, and he's starting into this speech about having

the division and the postseason, and he was giving us that moment that we had

never gotten. And that moment was about to happen.

And then the door to the locker room opened up, and he stops and turns

and it was Jerry and a few of his friends.

And Jimmy just stopped and said congratulations and went to his locker,

was over. And so we didn't get that moment that we thought we deserved.

I had to be demanding on those players to get them to go to a place that

normally they wouldn't go if I hadn't have pushed them.

The next night we had our Christmas party, and the guy said they're not

And I said, well, I've got to go. I mean, I'm the quarterback. I have to go.

I showed up.

There wasn't anyone there.

Jimmy and I were talking, and I told them. I said, players aren't happy. And

conversation led to another. We started talking about aquariums. And I said, you

know, I always thought about getting an aquarium.

I had three or four in my home in Dallas.

It's really a peaceful thing, seeing the fish, and then seeing the predators,

too, you know, fish eating other fish.

It was an outlet for me.

And then he says, hey, what do you say we go get you an aquarium after

So I said, okay.

So we did.

And the next thing you know, he came, put it together in my house.

So it just kind of helped build a relationship talking about things other

football.

After that, he'd come over with a six -pack of Heineken, and the aquarium was

my master bedroom.

And I had a chair in there. He'd just go plop down in that chair and drink his

Heinekens and watch the fish.

It was the beginning of a new chapter for us.

Going

into

the playoffs.

I did not dismiss what we had at risk here and the potential of us going home

with a loss.

But if we could get two more wins, we'd be competing for a Super Bowl.

The Cowboys will be going up against a familiar face today in the form of

34, Herschel Walker.

Herschel Walker, the former Cowboy and Viking, a new home in Philadelphia.

One man's trash is another man's trash.

Herschel Walker will take it!

This has been the renaissance of Herschel Walker. Herschel has carried

to the playoffs.

Fuck that Herschel Walker!

They really wanted to get rid of Herschel Walker, so I said...

okay then, if they want to compete against Herschel Walker, we can compete.

And now with Herschel Walker on their team, the Eagles know they can win.

They've done it against the Cowboys for years.

The way we got measured, the way Jimmy measured us, was going up against

And that team beat the living crap out of us earlier.

There are rivalries in 12 -foot ball where one team seems to have sort of a

over another.

They were the bullies in the alley that you just really hated to face.

These are just people that don't like it.

There are 11 angry men who offer the Cowboys a clear and present danger.

The first time I played against them was on Thanksgiving, my rookie year.

Are the Eagles really bounty hunters?

Cowboys charged the Eagles with deliberately trying to injure Troy

bucks to take him out of the game. Jerome Brown jumps offside. The play is

Right, wrong.

And the brawl begins.

Kevin Gover looking more like Muhammad Ali.

Reggie White is a one -man gang out there.

They sacked Troy 11 times in one ball.

Unheard of.

Unheard of.

Under pressure, and down he goes. He's top.

One, two, three, four, five, six, seven. That's number eight.

That is the 11th sack by the Eagles.

Every game that I played against them, I remember walking off the field and just

thinking, man, what does it take to win a game around here?

He's hit, and down he goes. Another one for the Reverend Reggie White. I was

tired losing to Philly game after game after game.

For Dallas, Troy Aikman, one of the league's best young quarterbacks, will

to elevate his game and his team to the next level in this, his first ever

postseason start.

This is not just any other game.

I could feel the emotions, and I just felt my heart racing, you know, like I

just trying to breathe and trying to calm down.

I'm talking to the team. I said, here's how we're going to beat Philadelphia.

I said, you offensive linemen, I don't care if you have to grab them, you got

kick them in the nuts, you do whatever, don't let them hit Troy.

Bring it on!

You bet! You know I don't bet.

Don't bet.

The former

cowboy,

Herschel Walker, cutting half, looking left all the way, fires Walker.

Second and three. Walker dances into the secondary.

And Herschel exacts some early revenge here. Former home.

He would deny any emotion about this game.

But if you know him, you know the emotion is present.

I went into that game with a single focus.

I'm here to work. I'm here to beat the Dallas Cowboys.

And I'll be your hunk of beer. And the Eagles will bring on the field goal

33 yards out.

And that one is perfect.

And the Eagles draw first blood as they go up 3 -0.

Joe Aikman comes from the Cowboys' sideline.

My relationship with Troy was such that I realized to bring out the best in him,

I had to put the expectation on him that he was going to be the best ever. Not

just a great quarterback, but the greatest that's ever played the game.

Troy's the type of guy, he'll walk into a room, He may not even look at you.

Hey, how y 'all doing? He may walk away or he may put his head down or go on

about his business.

But when Troy walks into a huddle, that dude has never looked nowhere but in our

eyes.

It's a tough sport.

Reggie White with his first sack of the night.

There's some tough men that play it.

This is a tough guy, Troy Aikman.

And what we all hope to have is the respect of our coaches and those in our

locker room.

And the way you gain their respect is you prove to them that you're going to

show up.

And you play through pain. You play through injury.

It looks great. Drop set. Deep fall. Watch it all. It's fun. And who do you

think it is?

Michael Irvin.

That's it.

Top with a new doubt.

That's all I needed before I got my quarterback.

Play action.

Into the end zone.

Touchdown.

Cowboys take the lead.

Eagles defense is self -destructing. Richie White and Clyde Simmons aren't

into their boots.

And the Cowboys defense has just followed up first the walkers and set

draft.

When they got rid of me, I thought they were absolutely out of their mind.

But I had now come around to understanding the trade.

They did not have the draft picks that they needed.

They didn't have the players that they needed.

That trade changed the game.

Billy got to feel how good we really became.

We got faster, we got stronger, and we got meaner. That is an almost perfect

punctuation point to this Dallas Cowboy victory.

I knew what kind of competitor Troy was.

I knew that he wanted exactly what I wanted.

As the time puts away now, the final score is the Dallas Cowboys 34 and the

Philadelphia Eagles 10.

once he realized he and I were basically the same person.

I wanted everything that he wanted and I was willing to do everything that he

was willing to do in order to make it happen.

That's when our relationship really flourished.

Jimmy was intense.

But there were times when Jimmy would pull me to the side and look me in the

and he's like, you know I love you, don't you?

You...

I love you. Jimmy knows how to pour into a player, and a player pour out the

best he has every time, playing for Coach Johnson.

I understand at times I've been a little bit hard.

At times I've probably pushed it a little bit far.

But super, super job.

You are one game away from the Super Bowl.

One game away. How do we go?

The Dallas Cowboys felt like they could come into a candlestick bar.

and win that football game.

But it's not going to happen.