One tradition that continues tomorrow is the Dallas Cowboys playing on Thanksgiving. But America’s Team didn’t always have Dallas’ undivided loyalties. WAMC's Ian Pickus speaks with John Eisenberg, author of Ten-Gallon War: The NFL’s Cowboys, The AFL’s Texans, and the Feud for Dallas’ Pro Football Future.
The football-mad state of Texas didn’t always look the way it does now, with the Dallas Cowboys, America’s team, playing in a super-stadium and the Houston Texans a legitimate force of their own.
Before football became the country’s most popular sport, a process hastened by wise television deals and the inception of the Super Bowl, college football remained king in Texas.
But thanks to an influx of oil money, the original Texans (today’s Kansas City Chiefs) and the Cowboys underwent a blood feud for Dallas’ hearts, minds and money, and though they lasted just three years in Dallas, their influence in raising the city’s football profile is still felt today.
