To Be a Star

The Blue Star of the Dallas Cowboys. What does it mean? What is its history? What does it represent? For many of us the “Star” represents Championships, Winning records, Glory, and Success. No team in sports history brings to it such popularity, love and devotion; yet on the other hand, such hatred, hostility and disrespect. When you have a team with such a long history of achievement, as do the Dallas Cowboys, it is bound to make almost as many enemies as it does fans. The Star represents “America’s Team” as given to it by NFL films in 1979, and the name stuck because the team truly has loyal fans in every corner of the United States and beyond. The Star also represents wealth; wealth in accomplishment, wealth in finance, and wealth of notoriety. The latter part not always being the good kind. At times in it’s history, the blue Star has been tarnished. Not by failure of winning, (for that in itself can never tarnish the Star) but by failure in character. Every team has these problems, but with a team as famous as the Cowboys, player flaws and mistakes become magnified for all to see. Yet at other times, players who have had problems in their career with the law or with their teams, have come to Dallas, been given a second chance, picked themselves back up, and became very successful; as citizens and as teammates. In doing so, bringing honor to the Star and polishing it even more.


As a child I was drawn to the Dallas Cowboys like a magnet. I first remember seeing Tony Dorsett and Danny White. And I saw that Cowboy Star on the TV screen. I wanted to be a part of that in some way, in any way. I knew when I saw that star that it was something special. My parents bought me Dallas pajamas with that blue star which I wore every night. I was teased some growing up for being a Cowboy fan, but I didn’t care, and I never abandoned them during the lean years in the late 80’s. And when they won their championships again in the 90’s, I felt proud inside to know I was not a bandwagon fan. After some lean years again in the early 2000’s, the Dallas Cowboys and the Star are now shining bright again, marching proudly down the path to glory and success. Another Superbowl trophy is just around the corner.


The big Blue Star. The star is one of the earliest shapes we learn as children, and the Cowboys have taken this iconic symbol, merging it with tradition, consistency, and success, and claimed it as their own. The blue star has become the pinnacle of helmet and sports recognition. So if you see a blue star somewhere, anywhere, odds are, you are going to think “Dallas Cowboys.” So ask yourself, what does the Star mean to you?

John A. Hildman III