‘America’s Team’ is part nostalgia, part reminder where Cowboys haven’t been in 30 years

In the early going of “America’s Team: A Gambler and His Cowboys,” there’s a moment when Jerry Jones, far and away in the starring role, drops one of his many lines that might give Cowboys fans an eye twitch.

When reflecting upon the Cowboys’ watershed victory over the San Francisco 49ers in the 1992 NFC Championship, the Cowboys owner tied the emotion of the moment to his time with the Arkansas football team, when he, teammate Jimmy Johnson and a few dozen other Razorbacks defeated Nebraska in the 1965 Cotton Bowl to secure the national championship.

“It’d been almost 30 years since I’d had that same feeling,” Jones tells the viewer in the series’ third episode. “And now with the Dallas Cowboys, it wasn’t just a dream to be a part of winning.”

Bad news for the 1993 version of Jerry. Another 30-year wait is in your future.

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Dallas Cowboys owner and general manager Jerry Jones in Netflix’s trailer for its docuseries “America’s Team: The Gambler and His Cowboys.”

Courtesy: Netflix

“America’s Team,” the eight-episode docuseries set for release Aug. 19, is a lot of what you might expect from a documentary about Jerry Jones and the most valuable sports franchise in the world. It’s big, bold, shiny, glamorous. A former President of the United States makes an appearance less than 10 minutes into the first episode.

But the series is also laced with moments where the viewer, especially if they so happen to be a Cowboys fan of a certain age, will be hit over the head with ironic quotes and cold reminders of how long it’s been since this franchise has achieved anything close to the level of greatness required to win three Super Bowls in a span of four seasons.

Whether it’s Jones reminiscing about the P.T. Barnum-esque words of wisdom from his father (“You gotta make it look like it works whether it does or not, by mirrors or smoke or wire, you got to look the part.”), or a comment from a local former sports broadcaster who had a longstanding feud with the Cowboys owner.

“Who the hell’s he hired?” asks former WFAA sports anchor Dale Hansen, who was interviewed for the series. ”Coaches that nobody wants?”

And that was even before Hansen knew Jerry’s pick to lead the Cowboys into the 2025 season.

That said, “A Gambler and His Cowboys” is sure to be an informative and enjoyable watch for sports fans in general, and it’s a virtual must-watch for Cowboys fans, of any age. Co-directed by brothers Maclain and Chapman Way, who are also responsible for the “Untold” documentary series on Netflix, “America’s Team” is packed with entertainment value, thanks in large part to the staggering amount of access given to the Way duo.

Jerry, Jimmy, Barry Switzer, Troy Aikman, Emmitt Smith, Michael Irvin, Deion Sanders — they’re all major players in the series, sharing open and honest stories with a fun, spaghetti-western style backdrop that’s so perfectly befitting for the series’ subject matter.

Former Dallas Cowboys receiver Michael Irvin in Netflix's trailer for its docuseries...

Former Dallas Cowboys receiver Michael Irvin in Netflix’s trailer for its docuseries “America’s Team: The Gambler and His Cowboys.”

Courtesy: Netflix

But the web of storytelling also stretches to outrageous characters such as Charles Haley, longtime foes like Steve Young and Jerry Rice, titans of industry like Phil Knight and Rupert Murdoch. Assistant coaches, old staff, former beat reporters … if they were anywhere around the ’90s Cowboys and they’ve still got a pulse in 2025, there’s a good chance they are in this documentary.

There’s not a lot of new ground covered, not many shocking revelations, but behind testimony from Johnson, Switzer, Aikman, Smith and especially Irvin, “America’s Team” does delve quite deeply into the old ground. Nearly entire episodes are devoted to the Jerry-Jimmy rise and fall, the acquisition of Sanders, Irvin’s trial for cocaine possession and how Jones came to purchase the Cowboys franchise in the first place.

Another thing it makes clear: Jones and Johnson still disagree on quite a bit of stuff. To this day if you tried to get them in a room to nail down which one gets credit for the Herschel Walker trade, you’d be in that room for a while.

Jones obviously gets more screentime than anyone else, and while his quotes are sometimes frustrating, there are more humanizing moments from the now 82-year-old Cowboys owner, too.

Jones’ kids, Stephen, Charlotte and even Jerry Jr., offer a lot to the series, and the patriarch of the Jones family gets emotional numerous times while discussing his relationship with them, or with his wife, Gene, or with Johnson or Irvin or a number of others.

There are many tearful moments from Jerry. And there are a few quick shots of his famous JerryDoodles during his interviews as Jones scribbled away absentmindedly on a pad throughout the series. Something for sharp-eyed fans to keep watch for.

Jones makes clear that the 30-year wait cuts him deeply. And he’s not the only one. Aikman, Irvin and Smith all share disappointment that often borders on grief when telling of how their time with the team ended, and where things have gone since. At one point Smith recalls being the last man standing during his record-breaking run in 2002 that set the NFL’s all-time rushing record, the championship ’90s teams having mostly dissolved by then.

“I was thinking when it happened,” a tearful Smith said. “Troy Aikman’s gonna put the ball in my stomach. Daryl Johnston’s gonna be the guy who leads me up the hole. And we’ll all celebrate together. That’s what I was thinking, but as life would have it, things don’t always work out the way you think.”

There are high highs, and there are low lows, all broken down throughout an eight-episode span that emphasizes in no uncertain terms what a giant strike of lightning in a bottle the 1990s Cowboys were. When things were going well, when Jimmy and Jerry were buds, Aikman, Emmitt and Irvin were cooking and the talent on the field matched the level of the drama surrounding it? This thing was an absolute machine.

It’s crumbled under Jones’ reign in the 30 years since, leaving Dallas fans with fodder that makes for an easily digestible eight hours on Netflix but isn’t much of a substitute for the greatness of what once was.

Twitter: @coylio33

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