FRISCO - Our old pal Curt Menefee? He gets it.
Menefee, the former DFW sports anchorman who has risen to fame as the host of the NFL of FOX studio show, can easily explain what makes the Dallas Cowboys special in terms of their occupation of so many slots on the big stage of the NFL schedule, as just released last week.
The Cowboys are likely always going to be on TV more than most. Because ...
Of what we've long called "Love to Hate.''
Our version of the phenomenon? The Cowboys have not reached an NFC title game or a Super Bowl going on three decades now. ... but that's immaterial. What they are and what they've built goes back so far and is so entrenched in the sports fan's psyche that even fans who "hate Dallas'' actually "Love to Hate'' Dallas.
Again, a point that Menefee, during a recent interview on the "Awful Announcing Podcast," smartly notes.
"Win or lose, people may say they hate it that the Cowboys are on television so much, but the reason they are is because win or lose, people watch them," Menefee admitted. "They're that franchise. And I don't know if there's another in sports that's like that anymore."
"People used to talk about the Yankees, or the Lakers, and I think some of that 'hatred-watching' has waned everywhere, except the NFL" the FOX host continued. "I think people still watch the Cowboys to see them win or to see them lose. And it doesn't matter what their record is."
Bingo.
This year, the two teams with the busiest national TV slates are the Kansas City Chiefs and the Dallas Cowboys. The Chiefs are a perennial Super Bowl contender in this era and feature everything from a superstar QB in Patrick Mahomes to a superfan in the form of Taylor Swift, the girlfriend of Chiefs tight end Travis Kelce and the biggest celebrity on the planet.
And what do the Cowboys of 2025 counter with?
Reasons to love 'em.
Reasons to hate 'em.
And reasons to watch 'em.