In hindsight, turning #11 into a pair of 1s was, quite literally, the most obvious move. There’s a visual symmetry to it.
But that still doesn’t mean it was the right move.
I’ve been a Dallas Cowboys fan all my life. And I gotta say, over the last 30 years, the number of times I’ve been accused of being a “bandwagon fan” has dropped precipitously each season.
So at least, there’s that.
Wasn’t always this way, of course. Back in the 1990s — when music was cool and my hair hadn’t fallen out (yet) — it seemed like everyone was either a Cowboys fan, a Bulls fan, or a Yankees fan. Three out of four years in college, MY Dallas Cowboys were YOUR Super Bowl champions.
Oh, there was something magical about that star…
My youngest boy is Micah: Micah P. So, when the Cowboys drafted Micah Parsons, it almost felt like it was Divine Intervention. And then, when Micah P. (the player, not my kid) became a generational pass-rusher, we were over the moon.
My son even has a specialty-made “Micah P.” #11 Cowboys jersey that he wore during games. (It made it way more fun to schlep beers from the ‘fridge for Daddy.)
And now… Micah Parsons is gone. Traded last week to the Green Bay Packers for a pair of first rounders and a 30-year-old defensive tackle.
Stupid, stupid, stupid!
Dallas Cowboys quarterback Dak Prescott is overpaid, but still a very good player. Maybe top-12(ish) in his position. And that’s not horrible at all.
But it also means there’s at least 11 quarterbacks better than him!
Meanwhile, Micah Parsons is probably the scariest, most disruptive pass-rusher since Lawrence Taylor. He has flaws, but make no mistake: He’s a legit game-wrecker.
In a sport with a salary cap, I’d rather build around the generational talent than the top-12(ish) quarterback. At any given time in the NFL, there’s at least a dozen players already on Dak Prescott’s level.
But there’s only one Micah Parsons.
So, congrats to the Packers on instantly becoming a Super Bowl team, and I’m totally confident the Cowboys will draft the next Patrick Mahomes with the #32 pick in the 2026 draft. Way to go, Jerry Jones: Everyone else in the league is playing checkers, and you’re playing Pictionary, or something.
Curses and drat!
PRedictions: The trans movement is about to suffer a brutal, unforgiving backlash. This is no “dress rehearsal” either: It’s gonna be a long, cold winter for ‘em.
The way conservatives talk about trans people is beginning to remind me how liberals talk about Israel: It occupies an oversized importance in our psyche.
That’s not in anyone’s best interest, because the trans movement — and trans people — aren’t one and the same.
In fact, most of the “leaders” in the trans movement aren’t trans at all.
Instead, they’re run-of-the-mill leftwing activists who’ve weaponized the pain and suffering of trans people to attack the REAL enemy: “traditional Judeo-Christian values.” To these activists, trans people are “useful idiots” — disposable martyrs for a litany of leftwing grievances.
The Minnesota school shooting was an honest-to-God cultural turning point. We’re in a different PR world now, and the biggest danger for conservatives is overreaching. That’s the most likely way the political pendulum will swing all the way back (and then some), costing us our gains.
My advice: Attack the movement. Sympathize with the people.
That’s the smartest PR play. Plus, it’ll prevent the pendulum from rebounding with a vengeance.
PRojections: The beauty of binary comparisons is that you don’t have to be perfect; you’ve just gotta be better than the other guy.
Here, the GOP is doubly blessed: The “other guy” was the withered husk of a shrunken head, Ol’ Joe Biden.
A new poll was released last week, “Most Americans think Trump is doing better than Biden, new Harvard poll says.”
From the article:
Back in office for seven months, most American voters think President Donald Trump is doing a better job in the White House than his most recent predecessor, a new poll suggests.
Among respondents, 54% say Trump has been better than Joe Biden as president, according to the Harvard CAPS/Harris poll for August. Pollsters added that this has improved when compared to Trump’s numbers in July, which were 3 percentage points lower.
More voters, at 57%, also believe Trump deserves credit for pulling off meetings toward peace between Russia and Ukraine, the poll showed. As for Biden, 60% of voters said he could not pull these meetings off with world leaders.
[…]
Pollsters also found that 14 out of 15 of Trump’s policy positions they asked about receive majority support, including lowering prescription drug prices for Americans at 86% and deporting undocumented immigrants who have committed crimes at 75%.
Meanwhile, CNN’s #1 data cruncher, Mr. Harry Enten, reports, “The Democratic brand is in about as good a position as the Cracker Barrel rebrand.”
Check it out:
Re: party registration, the Dem brand has about the same appeal with the American voter right now as the Cracker Barrel rebrand does with the American consumer. Bad, Bad, Bad.
— (((Harry Enten))) (@ForecasterEnten) August 26, 2025
GOP is in its best position in the 4 key swing states with party reg (AZ, NV, NC & PA) in 20+ years. pic.twitter.com/ZWmtnkupuV
During the midterms, the GOP will struggle mightily. Historic headwinds aren’t easily vanquished.
But certainly, there are growing reasons for optimism.
PRaise: To the Virginia GOP for defying these headwinds and rapidly making up ground:
Three recent polls seem to indicate that over the past six weeks, the race for Virginia Governor has tightened.
A Virginia Commonwealth University poll showed Democratic candidate Abigail Spanberger leading Republican Lt. Gov. Winsome Earle-Sears by 12 points in July.
An Aug.19 poll from Roanoke College then showed Earle-Sears down by seven points.
And this week, the Republican polling firm co/efficient showed Earle-Sears down by five points.
Election Day is in November. If the GOP pulls off the upset, it’s an excellent indicator that they’ll also win the midterms.
Full disclosure: Virginian Attorney General Jason Miyares — who’s running for reelection — was a buddy of mine at James Madison University. I can vouch for him as a lifelong conservative. If you can afford it, I hope you donate to his campaign.
Full disclosure, part II: My college buddy who became trans was NOT Jason Miyares. (Just to be clear.)
PRedators: The one upside of the Bidenization of the Dallas Cowboys and/or the boneheaded decisions of our octogenarian owner-slash-general manager was this: Maybe if we suck badly enough, we’ll get a top draft pick!
And wouldn’t you know, the latest Manning progeny is playing in Texas: Arch Manning, whose uncles Eli and Peyton were #1 overall draft picks. (His namesake, Archie Manning, was only picked #2 overall. Very shameful.)
Turns out, we might not need the #1 draft pick to take Arch Manning.
Yesterday, he completed 17 of 30 passes for one touchdown and one interception in a loss to Ohio State. His arm looked weak; his decision-making shaky. As CBS Sports noted, “Texas is the first AP No. 1 team to lose its season opener since BYU beat Miami to open the 1990 season.”
Perhaps, as Eli was to Peyton, Arch is to Eli: Maybe each new Manning is like a Xerox printout that gets fuzzier with each iteration?
(Or, perhaps, Arch will figure it out next week. Still lots of football to go.)
But until then, I hereby dub Arch Manning “Shemp.”
Nyuck, nyuck, nyuck.
