Cowboys' and Mavericks' Premature Evacuations Disappoint

Sad when your team's best season coincides with its biggest disappointment, but both have rendered their regular seasons meaningless. The only debate is which one fell harder.

"I've heard people say the Cowboys' loss was worse than the Mavs, but that's ridiculous," says Doocy, in his 12th year covering Dallas sports. "The Mavs were the favorites to win the NBA title and they lost an entire series, not just one game on a weird Sunday. Cowboys fans don't want to hear this right now, but there are worse things than going 13-3 and losing your first playoff game. Just ask the Mavs."

Adds the 30-year veteran Hitzges, "The Cowboys are central to this city. It seems to ebb and flow with their wins and losses. This year fans, as they had every right, were expecting to win the NFC and go to Arizona for the Super Bowl. They were the clear favorites, and they lost at home. Any way you slice it that's a devastating loss."

With fans simultaneously spoiled and tortured, the net result of the losses is despair, depression, perhaps surrender. It's no fun living in Loserville. Even the most vibrant and recuperative spirit can only withstand so many confounding collapses.

We can dream Boston (Patriots, Celtics and Red Sox) and dread Miami (Dolphins, Heat and Marlins), but the truth is we're stuck in the mediocre middle with America's biggest conglomeration of teases.

If they're not careful, our teams will push us away from our cold beer and fanatical tailgating to some warm milk, soft cookies and the Cartoon Network—where we're absolutely sure the Roadrunner wins in the end.

Asked to compare last year's Seattle loss with this year's Giants loss, Romo told us what, painfully, we already knew: "They both suck."

What have we done to deserve this?