The Cowboys-Eagles rivalry is one that’s never needed much extra juice. The team’s meetings have provided plenty of memorable moments and a fair bit of bad blood over the years. Cowboys fans are quick to point out that they own a significant edge in the all-time series, 70 wins by Dallas to 54 by Philadelphia.
And the Cowboys are favored in the upcoming installment, Monday night’s contest in AT&T Stadium.
So in advance of a game that needs no bulletin board material, Eagles head coach Nick Sirianni went out of his way to provide some anyway. The rookie coach showed up to his Thursday press conference wearing a T-shirt that read ‘Beat Dallas” in big block letters.
His choice of wardrobe was, unsurprisingly, the first topic of inquiry for the assembled media.
“I just know how heated the rivalry is,” the 40-year-old Sirianni explained. “It’s the rivalry that feels to me like, since I’ve been in the NFL for the past 14 years, this is the one that feels most like the college rivalries. That’s pretty special. Those are always games, in college, that are legendary games… They play those clips over and over and over again. It’s the same thing here. You make plays in this game, they’re going to be shown for a long time.”
Nick Sirianni has on a “Beat Dallas” shirt.
Says it’s the closest thing in the NFL to a college rivalry #Eagles pic.twitter.com/E0lAEG62Hp
— Eliot Shorr-Parks (@EliotShorrParks) September 23, 2021
The first-year coach’s wardrobe has already gained a reputation. He’s recently sported custom shirts spotlighting quarterback Jalen Hurts and defensive end Brandon Graham. But this one may get a serious sales boost throughout Philadelphia over the next few days.
“Yeah, I’ll be wearing this all week,” he said. “My kids [have] got it, my wife has one. We’ll be wearing them.”
Sirianni, on the job since January, confirmed what many among the Cowboys faithful have known for years: that America’s Team lives rent-free inside the heads of Eagles Nation pretty much all the time.
“I can’t tell you how many times since I’ve been here when I’ve had an interaction with a fan, and it’s like, ‘Hey, beat Dallas,'” the coach said. “And I think that’s really cool. I think that’s awesome.”
Sirianni has also apparently taken time out of the week to give his players a history lesson in the rivalry. That, according to eight-year veteran offensive tackle Lane Johnson, who’s only faced the Cowboys 11 times himself (and has a 5-6 record in them).
Lane Johnson says Nick Sirianni showed Eagles in team meeting today a video of the history of the Eagles Cowboys rivalry pic.twitter.com/mEI03Kf5p3
— John Clark (@JClarkNBCS) September 23, 2021
As for his shirt providing bulletin board material for the 1-1 Cowboys, Sirianni brushed it off.
“I’m sure they’re going to have a picture of this shirt up. That’s fine,” he shrugged. “This is about a great rivalry that means a lot to this city, that means a lot to our building, and it’s a division game. I don’t know if anyone- our side, their side- needs anymore bulletin board material or if it’s even going to help, because we know how big the rivalry is and how much it means to both sides.”
But it apparently means enough to the Eagles’ side that their coach had apparel printed up. And he even intimated that he has another undisclosed shirt design waiting in the wings.
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