Before we immerse ourselves in two weeks of Patriots and Falcons super-hype, allow us to bid temporary farewell to a downtrodden fan base that seldom receives its fair share of sympathy and admiration. Last October you were inundated with tales of the long-suffering Indians fan and, of course, even sadder -- the long-suffering Cubs fan.
At least those teams advanced to the World Series with Chicago finally bringing an autumn celebration to Wrigley Field. So let us now recognize the plight of the truly misfortunate.
Let's hear it for the long-suffering Cowboys fan.
We are now talking about 21 years without a fresh Lombardi Trophy to plant on Jerry Jones' office shelf, but also without so much as a visit to an NFC Championship Game.