The vibes are, as the kids say, immaculate for the Dallas Cowboys at the moment. After a rough start, there’s plenty of reason for optimism.
They had their first complete game and easy Sunday in a 37-22 Week 5 win against the New York Jets to somehow have a .500 record after five games, Ryan Flournoy is showing that he could be a valuable player the rest of the way, and the defense looks to have turned a corner.
And, for good measure, they have a very beatable Carolina Panthers team on deck for their Week 6 matchup. Against all odds, America’s Team could very well have a winning record through six games.
So, what is Jerry Jones doing to help the team focus on this pivotal matchup? Well turns out he’s behaving more like a frat boy rushing the field after a major upset than elder statesman, getting caught on video giving Jets fans the middle finger.
Unlike most of those collegiate ne’er-do-wells though, Jerry is actually being held accountable. It’s being reported by Adam Schefter that the league has fined the Cowboys owner $250,000.
While it’s certainly a large number, it’s likely chump change for someone with Jones’ financial resources. Now, you might be asking “Did Jerry at least apologize?"
Well, sort of. As reported by ESPN from Jones’ interview with 105.3 The Fan in Dallas:
"There was a swarm of Cowboys fans out in front -- not Jets fans, Cowboys fans. The entire stadium was brimming with enthusiasm of Cowboys and certainly late in the game.”-
"[The gesture] was inadvertent on my part because that was right after we made our last touchdown, and we were all excited about it. There wasn't any antagonistic issue or anything like that. I just put up the wrong show on the hand. That was inadvertently done. I'm not kidding. If you want to call it accidental, you can call it accidental.”-
As I tell my four year old nephew when I catch him sneaking an extra pack of Scooby-Doo fruit snacks (RIP original blue Scooby), I don’t think Jerry is apologizing because he feels bad. I think he’s apologizing because he got caught.
So, in true Jerry fashion, the erstwhile owner simply couldn’t stay out of the news for long, bringing unwanted attention to himself instead of his team. Yes, at the end of the day, this is a relatively harmless incident.
But, in context of everything that has happened in the last two months, fans deserved a week to savor a big win and the opportunity for another. Instead, Jerry couldn’t even give them that.