Dallas Stars Must Serve As Saving Grace For DFW Sports
By Josh Clark
The DFW sports community is currently suffering one of its worst overall years in a long time. Only the Dallas Stars seem to have a chance at saving the city. That being said, it may be a good time to hop on the bandwagon.
Christmas Eve, a day typically filled with joy and anxious anticipation, was spent in disappointment and embarrassment by full Dallas sports fans. And no, it’s not because of anything the Dallas Stars did.
The Dallas Cowboys, a team known as the centerpiece in Dallas sports history, were eliminated from playoff contention on Christmas Eve. They fell at the hands of the Seattle Seahawks, another team vying for one of the final playoff spots in the NFC.
With the loss, the Cowboys missed the playoffs for the sixth time in the last eight years. But falling short of the postseason this year is a bit more depressing than it has been in years past. That’s primarily because of the high expectations that the team set for themselves last year.
The Cowboys were one of the best teams and biggest surprises in the NFL in 2016. With two rookies (Dak Prescott and Ezekiel Elliott) starting at arguably two of the most important positions, the Cowboys went 13-3 and won their division.
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There were talks of Super Bowl contention going into the season, but those are completely diminished now in what was an awkward and off-putting season to say the least.
It also put yet another damper on the Dallas sporting world, leaving the city in serious jeopardy.
There are only a handful of cities in the United States that possess at least one team from each of the “big four” sports leagues (NBA, NHL, NFL, and MLB). Dallas is lucky enough to be one of those cities, along with Boston, Detroit, Los Angeles, New York, and Washington D.C., to name a few.
But there’s one thing that Dallas doesn’t have that the other big cities have, and that is recent success. While the other cities have seen recent success in the form of championships or simply consistently good teams, Dallas is struggling to find its footing.
The Cowboys, as mentioned above, are still trying to find consistency. Their last Super Bowl victory was in 1995, and they have only managed to pull off three wins in the playoffs since then. The history and popularity of the franchise is quickly being overshadowed by doubts about management, coaching, and the team’s overall ability to “get the job done.”
2016 was a terrific year and brought a lot of Dallas Cowboys fans out of the woodwork. But this season has all but sent them scurrying back to their habitats. It was an ugly year and most Cowboys fans are simply begging for next Sunday to hurry up and pass by so they can begin preparing for what will hopefully be a bountiful 2018 season come September.
Then you have the Dallas Mavericks. While the Mavs are the most recent Dallas team to win a professional championship, they are now likely the furthest Dallas team from another one. After winning the NBA Finals in 2011, the Mavs management imploded their lineup. As a result, the next few years were filled with trying to fill the holes created after that 2011 season with washed-up and subpar players that had already passed their prime.
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After 12 straight years of making the playoffs (2001-12), the Mavs missed the postseason in 2013. Since then, they have yet to pass the first round of the playoffs. They had their worst season of the 21st century last year, posting a 33-49 record.
And this year, things look to be getting worse. The Mavs are currently one of the worst teams in the league at 9-25 and cannot seem to get any sort of momentum together. While the future could be bright with recent draft choices and signings, the management’s inability to lock down premier talent in the summers has contributed largely to their downfall. And with the Western Conference being as stacked as it is, it’s likely that the Mavs won’t be contenders again for a few years.
Then we have the Texas Rangers. It seems like just yesterday they were back-to-back AL champions and fell just short of two World Series titles. Now they are struggling to even make it to the playoffs/get out of the divisional series.
The Rangers have made the playoffs in just two of the past five years, and have fallen victim to the Toronto Blue Jays in the first round both times. They missed the playoffs last year due to inconsistencies in their bullpen and a lack of strong, starting pitchers. They have had a relatively quiet offseason so far, leading one to believe that this season may not hold a lot of promise either. It doesn’t help that the World Series champions are in their division, either.
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As an avid Dallas sports fan for my entire life, I’ve seen these teams hit the ebbs and flows. There have been good seasons and bad seasons, but there just doesn’t seem to be the consistency that can be found in other big city markets.
That being said, the Dallas sports market needs help. And as it seems right now, there only looks to be one team that can save them. That team is the Dallas Stars.
With the Cowboys out until September, the Mavs apparently tanking for an early draft pick, and the Rangers still searching for a way to get past the first round, the Stars could be the city’s only hope at success.
That’s a big role for a hockey team from Texas, but this Stars team is proving that they can answer the bell when needed.
Over the past few games, the Dallas Stars seem to have found what works. They are picking up the pieces after an average start to the 2017-18 season and are catching fire with each passing game.
They currently sit in the first wild card spot and are dangerously close to cracking the top three in the Central Division. But it’s not just their recent success that makes them a potential savior for DFW sports.
The Stars are a fun, energetic, and charismatic team composed with a delicate balance of youthful exuberance and veteran leadership. They are a passionate bunch that is creating chemistry and turning into a potential contender in the Stanley Cup race. There are still some kinks that they must work out, but they are definitely moving in the right direction.
A few days ago, our own Tom Dorsa wrote about how the Dallas Stars are less stressful than other DFW sports teams. Now it seems that the Stars are DFW’s only hope at claiming some sort of success.
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Big-city markets like Dallas thrive on success. If some of their teams are doing bad, they always need at least one team doing consistently good and bringing hope to the community. If a city goes 0/4 with their teams, the results are often disastrous and depressing.
This year, the Dallas Stars seem to be that team. So it’s time to hop on the bandwagon if you haven’t already, DFW sports fans. The Stars hold a key to potential success while the other three teams are apparently stuck in mediocrity. Join in while you can.