It had been more than a decade since Rory McIlroy won a major championship. He was teeing it up at The Masters for the 17th time in his career and still in search of a Green Jacket. There was no shortage of golf fans who'd come to believe that it would never happen again for him, especially at Augusta National.
Does any of that sound familiar, Dallas Cowboys fans?
Three decades have passed since the Cowboys won a Super Bowl (1995-96) and that was also the last time Dallas made it to the NFC Championship Game. While there have been some tough periods, though, there have also been numerous close calls along the way. Dez Caught It. The Romo fumbled snap. Whatever the hell the Mike McCarthy playoff runs were. It's been one seemingly supernatural heartbreak after another.
At the same time, much like McIlroy, the Cowboys have still been good, sometimes even better than that. Dallas has made the playoffs in three of the past five years, winning the NFC East twice in that span. Furthermore, the two non-playoff seasons coincided with Dak Prescott injuries, which can be somewhat excused (though one can argue that didn't change much about the 2025 season).
This weekend at The Masters, though, the narrative changed for McIlroy. So why not let yourself believe that things can change for the Cowboys?
The Dallas Cowboys can find hope in the strangest of places, namely Rory McIlroy
Rory McIlroy is a Masters champion. It wasn't pretty as he tried to close it out, flirting with familiar heartbreak and disaster time and again throughout his final round. But he got it done. His commitment and persistence to chasing the dream of finally getting to the mountaintop again paid off. And that's something that Cowboys fans and the organization should take to heart.
Now, the game of golf and the NFL are different entities, to be sure. Rory doesn't have Jerry Jones and the Jones family manning the controls, which could easily be argued is the consistent issue that has held Dallas back during this three-decade Super Bowl drought. I'm aware of that.
At the same time, the quality of the Cowboys that we've seen often in the midst of that drought suggest that Dallas might not be as far off as they certainly feel to the fan base. The gut-punches of the playoffs have a way of making it feel that way. However, that's also why McIlroy represents the hope that fans should still hold strong to.
Whether it was at the 2024 US Open at Pinehurst, his litany of Masters shortcomings, falling out of The Open Championship an hour from his hometown on the first tee shot, or anything in-between, he had his share of scar tissue. But he consistently remained one of the best in the game of golf, and at a certain point, that was enough to get it done.
This isn't to say that the Cowboys can consistently just bang their heads against the wall without making changes. They have to evolve with the NFL, draft wisely, develop their talent, and so on. However, it is to say that McIlroy taught sports fans that it feels hopeless right up until the moment that it's not hopeless anymore.
It might not — and probably won't — happen in the 2025 season. I have my doubts about the Cowboys. But it can happen. The narrative can change and history can be rewritten. It doesn't always have to be like this and, eventually, it won't be anymore. Hopefully, we survive until that happens.