If you're unaware, that saying is allegedly written across the gates of Hell. Hell is where I find myself these days while watching the Cowboys, as I realize that I am descending into the pits of despair.

The reason? Al Davis still walks among us.

So I'm one of the old people that still get print media, in this case Sports Illustrated. As I read through the October 17th 2011 issue, I came across the piece penned about Al Davis, the mercurial owner of the Oakland Raiders. Ok, fine, renegade, hated, beloved, blah, blah, blah, not on the team I have rooting interest in, so I don't care.

And then... I find a subset "note", written by Jerry Jones about Al Davis, entitled "The Wisdom of a Maverick". In this piece, Jerry Jones espouses Al Davis' approach to the NFL, and details how much he learned from Davis when he first came into the league as an owner. When I began reading I was filled with a general feeling of uneasiness, but didn't really understand the full descent into madness that our owner had taken until the end of the piece, when I read the following:

"It's sad, Al leaving us now, for a lot of reasons. After so many frustrating years, the Raiders are showing signs of being the kind of team he loved to build. Exciting football, lots of big plays, players with personalities. Al was always a kind of film director. He wanted to win, but he also wanted to make it fun - he wanted a good movie. That was important to me when I bought the Cowboys in 1989. I always wanted to know that what we were doing was important, really important....worth striving for excellence every day you wake up. Al set up a great example. Although I'll miss him deeply, that's a pretty good legacy to leave."

Jerry Jones has taken his NFL ownership cues from Al Davis. Let that wash over you a minute. The owner of our beloved Dallas Cowboys  is following the crypt keeper's template of running the Los Angeles/Oakland Raiders, and applying it to the Dallas Cowboys. 

Let's compare, shall we?                                                                                         

Al Davis fell in love with players. JJ - Check.

                -Marion Barber, David Beuhler,

Al Davis had "transformation/project players" JJ - Check

                Isaiah Stanback, AOA, Drew Henson

Al Davis kept players longer than he should have. JJ -Check

                -Flozell Adams, Roy Williams, Emmitt Smith

Al Davis ran the team he "owned". JJ-Check. (Al, much like George Steinbrenner didn't own the team, but assumed control).

Al Davis was an egomaniacal power hungry quote machine. JJ- Check.

-"...and I would say I probably, if I had that to do over again, wouldn't comment period,"

They act alike, they look alike, and much like Santa and Satan, you never see them together anymore. I think Al Davis is in fact Jerry Jones. And that scares the crap out of me.

Benjamin Franklin said "The definition of insanity is doing the same thing over and over and expecting different results." I've got no doubt that Jerry Jones is insane. Until control of the team is wrested from him by Stephen's court order, the Cowboys will continue the same downward spiral they've been engaged in since the "Anyone can win with this team" quote was uttered.

Does any of this sound familiar? Attempted trade for Mark Ingram. "Special Teams" draft. Baseball players quarterbacking the team.  An insatiable need to trade first round picks for crappy wide receivers.
Constant attention whoring. It's all wearing on me. I read the blogs here diligently, and I know I'm not alone.

I know you root for the laundry. I've been a Cowboys fan for about 35 years, and that's not going to change, but....

This guy is sure making things difficult for me.