Emmitt Smith is sick of hearing ‘Go Birds’ and has some thoughts for Eagles fans
“Now all of a sudden over the last 20 years, [the Eagles] win two Super Bowls and they think they’re the best thing on the planet,” the Hall of Famer lamented.
The Eagles have found plenty of success in the last eight seasons — making the playoffs seven times, claiming three NFC titles, appearing in three Super Bowls, and hoisting up two Lombardi Trophies. Meanwhile, the team’s NFC East rivals, the Dallas Cowboys, have been experiencing a serious drought.
It’s been nearly 30 years since the Cowboys appeared in an NFC championship game, giving them the longest active conference title game drought in the entire conference — by a full 15 years. For nearly three decades, the franchise has been plagued with meaningless wins and postseason losses, and Hall of Fame running back Emmitt Smith is not happy.
“I’m sick of it,” the Cowboys great said recently on Dallas sports talk radio station 96.7 FM The Ticket. “We have allowed others to nitpick at the star [logo] and make fun of the star … Now all of a sudden over the last 20 years, [the Eagles] win two Super Bowls and they think they’re the best thing on the planet, and everywhere I go I hear, ‘Go Birds.’ I’m sick of hearing ‘Go Birds.’ I’m always asking where are you going? You still got a long way to go to catch us.”
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Smith played the majority of his 15-season career with the Cowboys — earning eight Pro Bowl honors, four first-team All-Pro nods and was named the league’s Most Valuable Player (1993). Along with quarterback Troy Aikman and wide receiver Michael Irvin, Smith helped lead the Cowboys to three Super Bowl championships as they became the first team in NFL history to win three Super Bowls in four seasons (1993, 1994, 1996).
Since then, it’s been downhill for the franchise. The last time the Cowboys advanced past the divisional round was in 1996 and they have just five postseason wins in that time. By comparison, the Eagles won four postseason games just this year — and have won 20 total since 1996.
“That part bugs me,” Smith said. “It bugs me because in my heart, I truly believe our organization should be contending for an NFC championship and even a Super Bowl at least once or twice every decade, because every team recycles every decade.
“For us not to be there for over the last 30 years is a crying shame.”