Moore or Less | No Filter
Thirty years without a title. Thirteen billion dollars in the bank. And somehow, everybody still can’t stop watching.
By Merv Moore — Shop in seagoville
“You don’t get to be the most hated team in America by being forgettable. You earn that.”
— Merv Moore, shop in seagoville
Let me be straight with you. I have been watching football for a long time. I have seen dynasties come and go. But I have never seen anything quite like the Dallas Cowboys.
Nobody else does this. Nobody else sits at the top of two completely opposite lists at the same time. Most loved. Most hated. Both. At once. That is not a problem. That is a superpower.
A Hard Rock Bet survey of 2,000 NFL fans found that the Cowboys were voted the most disliked team in the league. Twenty-one percent. Nearly double the second team on that list. The number was so high it was almost funny. Almost.
The Hate Is Real. So Is the Love.
Washington Commanders fans gave the Cowboys a hatred score of 46 percent. Eagles fans checked in at 38 percent. Saints and 49ers fans were not far behind. Those numbers come from that same Hard Rock Bet survey.
But here is the flip side. A Siena College Research Institute study of more than 3,200 NFL fans found the Cowboys are also the most loved team in the entire league. Nine percent named them their favorite. The Bears were next at five. Nobody else was close.
In the South, fifteen percent of fans call the Cowboys their team. That is not a fanbase. That is a movement.
“Thirteen billion dollars. Five Super Bowls. Zero titles since 1996. Jerry Jones is the best marketer in the history of professional sports.”
— Merv Moore, shop in seagoville
The Jerry Jones Equation
Jerry Jones bought this team for 150 million dollars in 1989. Today, according to Forbes, it is worth 13 billion. That is not a typo. That is the most valuable sports franchise on planet Earth.
No other NFL team is even close. The Cowboys have a bigger lead over the second most valuable franchise than most teams have over the bottom of the league. Jerry Jones turned a football team into a global brand while the product on the field was average at best.
That is either genius or madness. Maybe both. I honestly cannot tell anymore.
By the Numbers: America’s Team by the Facts
| Category | Number |
|---|---|
| Franchise value (Forbes, 2026) | $13 Billion |
| Super Bowl wins (all time) | 5 |
| Last Super Bowl title | January 1996 (Super Bowl XXX) |
| Super Bowl drought (as of 2026) | 30 years |
| 2025 regular season record | 7-9-1 (missed playoffs) |
| Most hated NFL team (Hard Rock Bet, 2,000 fans) | 21% (No. 1) |
| Most loved NFL team (Siena / St. Bonaventure, 3,200+ fans) | 9% (No. 1) |
| Super Bowl appearances (all time) | 8 |
| Price paid by Jerry Jones (1989) | $150 Million |
Thirty Years. Zero Lombardi Trophies.
Let me say that again so it lands. The Dallas Cowboys have not won a Super Bowl since January 1996. Thirty years. A full generation of Cowboys fans has never seen this team win it all.
They went 7-9-1 in 2025 and missed the playoffs. Their final game was a loss to the New York Giants, a team that finished 4-13. That is not just losing. That is a message written in the scoreboard for all of America to read.
And yet. The Cowboys are the most watched, most talked about, most argued over team in the NFL. Every week. Win or lose. How does that happen?
“The Cowboys don’t just play football. They perform it. And the whole country buys a ticket whether they want to or not.”
— Merv Moore, shop in seagoville
Overexposure Is the Business Model
Thanksgiving Day. Primetime. National media. The Cowboys are everywhere, all year, every year. That is not luck. That is Jerry Jones working the system the way nobody else in the league can.
When you see the same team every week, you form a strong opinion about them. You either love them or you cannot stand them. There is no middle ground with the Dallas Cowboys. That is the whole idea.
If these same coaches, players, and results existed in Jacksonville, nobody outside of Florida would care. The Cowboys generate hate because they generate attention. And they generate attention because Jerry Jones demands it.
The Fanbase That Will Not Quit
Here is what the haters can never explain. This team has not won a title in thirty years. They went 7-9-1 last season. And Cowboys fans are still everywhere.
In every city. On every continent. I have seen Cowboys jerseys in Bohol in the Philippines. I have seen the star on taxi cabs in Manila. Try to explain that kind of reach.
That loyalty does not come from winning. It comes from identity. Cowboys fans do not just follow a team. They belong to something. No amount of losing changes that.
“Cowboys fans don’t cheer for wins. They protect a legacy. That is a different kind of love entirely.”
— Merv Moore, shop in seagoville
So Which Is It? Loved or Hated?
Both. That is the answer. The Dallas Cowboys are the most loved and most hated team in America because they are both things at the same time.
They are too big to ignore and too flawed to fully support. They are rich enough to make enemies and beloved enough to fill every stadium they visit. They are America itself in shoulder pads.
Thirty years without a title and the whole country is still watching. Still arguing. Still buying jerseys and showing up on Thanksgiving Day like nothing bad ever happened. You tell me another team that can do that. I will wait.
