I agree. It seems like the Cowboys really were, for the longest time, larger than life, larger than the league itself, America's Team. Now four expansion teams and a salary cap later, they're just another team with a hole in the roof.
Ugh, I hate that.
How were the Cowboys' "America's Team?" It was just a stupid marketing tool to make money. In NY, you won't find any Cowboy fans anywhere. Everyone either likes the Jets or Giants, and they especially hate the Cowboys because they are in the NFC East with the Giants.
Right now, the NFL stands for "Not for Long" because you can't stay on top for long. The past two years, both teams who went to the Super Bowl (Pats/Rams in 02' and Bucs/Raiders 03') didn't make the playoffs the next year.
Football is the most popular sport in the US, so how could it be in a bad era?