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It’s a pretty remarkable thing to see how the NFL has turned its product into a can’t-miss year-round event. The six months of games? That’s merely the beginning of the madness these days it seems. That’s especially true when it comes to the Dallas Cowboys.
A few weeks after each Super Bowl, the frenzy that is player free agency kicks off, followed closely by scouting combine and then the draft as the spring inches towards the summer. But over the past few years a new NFL event has become one of its marquee calendar boxes of the entire year, seemingly out of nowhere: the NFL schedule release.
What once consisted of a press release and small segments on SportsCenter and the local news is now a prime time spectacle. Teams now produce high-concept videos to accompany the release of their schedules after the league has spent a week or so teasing fans and news outlets with small leaks for various prominent games like opening night, Thanksgiving Day and the increasing amount of games played in other countries.
Callin' up '24 like…
Limited single game tickets 🎟ï¸: https://t.co/ORdxNRPPZ6 #DallasCowboys | @SeatGeek pic.twitter.com/vmfKGxntph
— Dallas Cowboys (@dallascowboys) May 16, 2024
For example, we got word before Wednesday that the Dallas Cowboys would begin its 2024 campaign with a road game on Sunday, Sept. 8 against the Cleveland Browns. We even found out it would be a 3:25 p.m. game, which is notable in that the ‘Boys have regularly had their first games played at night. We also found out before Wednesday that Dallas will face the New York Giants for its annual Turkey Day game.
As the NFL’s popularity has continued to rise, so too has the importance of social media when it comes to getting the league’s message out. And to that end, the Cowboys have become one of the teams that seems to go to the greatest lengths to put together a schedule release video that will get people talking, and more importantly, perhaps, sharing on their socials.
Again, with team owner Jerry Jones front and center, the Cowboys delivered. And making yet another appearance in a Cowboys schedule release video is none other than noted super-fan and hit-making rapper Post Malone, who starred in the schedule release video for the 2021 season.
In the video, Jones and Posty, along with team QB Dak Prescott and Hall of Fame wide receiver Michael Irvin made prank FaceTime calls to fans from each of the teams Dallas will face in 2024. Some of the fans happened to be famous faces, including Jake Paul, oft-shirtless comedian Bert Kreischer, and Eli Manning, the former Giants QB.
As usual, the Cowboys will face each of their NFC East rivals twice. This year that means former Dallas defensive coordinator Dan Quinn will be on the opposing sideline when Dallas plays against Washington in Week 12 and again in the final game of the regular season in Week 18.
There are some other notable matchups to look forward to, including games against NFC rival San Francisco 49ers in Week 8, much-improved in-state rival Houston Texans on Nov. 18 and a Week 17 match-up against the Philadelphia Eagles, a game that could very easily decide who wins the NFC East.
David Moore of the Dallas Morning News wrote that the Cowboys better be ready for the season to start, judging from how the schedule is stacked.
“Five of the team’s first seven games are against teams that made the playoffs last season. Three of those teams won their divisions,” Moore noted. “Three of those five games are on the road – at Cleveland to open the season, at Pittsburgh on Oct. 6 and another clash with San Francisco on Oct. 27.”
Here’s to hoping that the 2024 season will be much kinder to Cowboys fans than the 2023 season was.
