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One of the fun lead-ins to big NFL games is listening to the teams speak about the looming matchup because it’s often interesting and sometimes even a little cringey. And that’s why we make you aware of Buffalo Bills left tackle Dion Dawkins.
Dawkins is an outstanding football player. Not pretty good, but outstanding.
But as a sage on the state of the NFL, he’s a total failure.
And the evidence of that is he thinks the Bills are America’s Team.
ORCHARD PARK, NEW YORK – NOVEMBER 03: Dion Dawkins #73 of the Buffalo Bills looks on prior to a game against the Miami Dolphins at Highmark Stadium on November 03, 2024 in Orchard Park, New York. (Photo by Bryan Bennett/Getty Images)
Dion Dawkins: Bills Are America’s Team
“The Buffalo Bills are America’s Team,” Dawkins told reporters this week. “You know, I don’t want to take away from no one else, but, I think that they call the Cowboys America’s Team. But the Cowboys were America’s Team because they were very good in that time of life.
“Now the chapter has changed. And now we have Josh Allen, where we’re America’s Team in my eyes. And we play the team that is also America’s Team. And it’s two just really good teams colliding.”
So, some stuff to unpack here.
The Bills play the Kansas City Chiefs on Sunday. It is a huge game with playoff seeding implications and a battle between friends Patrick Mahomes and Allen.
KANSAS CITY, MISSOURI – OCTOBER 16: Patrick Mahomes #15 of the Kansas City Chiefs shakes hands with Josh Allen #17 of the Buffalo Bills after the game at Arrowhead Stadium on October 16, 2022 in Kansas City, Missouri. Buffalo defeated Kansas City 24-20. (Photo by David Eulitt/Getty Images)
Dion Dawkins Good But Wrong
But to his main point, Dawkins isn’t delivering a horrible take (yes, he is) because it ultimately is one man’s opinion and doesn’t change anything or actually cause other people’s opinion to shift.
But, secondly, there cannot be two America’s Teams. The last time America had two teams was during the Civil War and that wasn’t fun.
Finally, there is no metric by which the Bills would be considered America’s Team.
None.
They’re a fun team. They’re a plucky team. Their fans are awesome and travel well – kind of like the Packers and Steelers and others.
LAS VEGAS, NEVADA – FEBRUARY 11: Patrick Mahomes #15 of the Kansas City Chiefs holds the Lombardi Trophy after defeating the San Francisco 49ers 25-22 during Super Bowl LVIII at Allegiant Stadium on February 11, 2024 in Las Vegas, Nevada. (Photo by Jamie Squire/Getty Images)
America’s Team Wins Championships
But to be America’s Team, you have to start by winning some championships – plural. Because America is No. 1 and we love winners. And the Bills haven’t done that, unless you count their four consecutive AFC East division titles, which is fine but not the ultimate goal even by their own standards.
And now a little history lesson: The Cowboys were nicknamed America’s Team in the 1970s, ‘80s and ’90s because of their grand successes and popularity.
They won two Super Bowls under head coach Tom Landry and made five Super Bowl appearances during that time, so an NFL Films employee coined the term when he recognized there were Cowboys fans across the country.
The Cowboys continued that legacy with a team Jimmy Johnson built in the early 90s that won three more Super Bowls in four years.
NEW ORLEANS, LA – JANUARY 16: Head Coach Tom Landry of the Dallas Cowboys gets carried off the field by his players after they defeated the Miami Dolphins in Super Bowl VI at Tulane Stadium January 16, 1972 in New Orleans, Louisiana. The Cowboys won the Super Bowl 24-3. (Photo by Focus on Sport/Getty Images)
Cowboys Days As America’s Team Passed
Great.
But that era has obviously passed. Tom Landry was fired. Jimmy Johnson was fired. And the Cowboys haven’t been to a Super Bowl in over a generation.
You know who’s been making a lot of Super Bowl trips lately?
The Chiefs.
And if we must anoint a America’s Team today, the Chiefs are it.
The Chiefs are working on a three-peat of Super Bowl championships, having won the last two and being the only undefeated team left in the league this season.
So, yes, they’re great. But they’ve also done other things that makes them America’s Team – the list of which is quite substantial.
The Chiefs didn’t bow to cancel culture when it came to punter Matt Ariza or kicker Harrison Butker.
The team owned by the conservative Hunt family visited the Joe Biden White House twice and made it about America and not politics.
Washington, DC – June 5 : President Joe Biden is presented a jersey from Quarterback Patrick Mahomes and Tight End Travis Kelce as he welcomes the Kansas City Chiefs to celebrate their win of the Super Bowl LVII, at the White House on Monday, June 05, 2023, in Washington, DC. (Photo by Jabin Botsford/The Washington Post via Getty Images)
Chiefs Embody America Values
The Chiefs are among the small number of NFL teams that keep football mostly about football, so they didn’t go out and celebrate Pride Month on social media.
And even amid a rough offseason, the Chiefs stayed the course and handled business. So they show resilience, which is a deep-rooted American trait and value.
The Chiefs draw a lot of attention on and off the field with the Taylor Swift following and the Mahomes commercials that also feature coach Andy Reid and tight end Travis Kelce.
They are embedded in our culture. That makes them America’s Team.
And that makes Dion Dawkins only half-right about which team is America’s Team.
