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Troy News: December 1999 - January 2000
Troy News Archives
December 1999 - January 2000

January 26, 2000 - Cowboys facility at Valley Ranch, Irving, Texas. Troy appeared at a player's press conference which followed the press conference announcing that Dave Campo had been named the Dallas Cowboys new head coach.

He was asked about the offense, and whether he thought it needed freshening up. Troy said, "The objective offensively is to score points and that's what we're trying to accomplish. My belief offensively is that if you think you can just line up and run the ball down people's throats and not be able to throw the ball you're going to struggle. The teams that have had success scoring points in this League for the last several years are teams that are effective throwing the football. And that's an area that we have not been as effective as we'd like to be. The years we went on to have success and win championships and be successful offensively are the years that yes, we were able to run the football, but we were also able to throw the football very well, and the emphasis over the last couple of years has been placed on the running game and we have not been as efficient as we need to be in the passing game and without that -- we proved one thing last year. You can run the football pretty good and not score points and lose games.

"And you've got to be able to make big plays and if you can make big plays running the football -- and get 25 or 30 yards running the football -- that would be great. But that doesn't happen in this League. You've got to be able to make the big plays to score points and that's what lacked in our offense."

He was asked whether the transition would be easier with the new coach coming from within the organization. "Players are pretty resilient. I think they adapt pretty well. I think like when Chan came in the players were very open to that and handled it well...but it helps in having a guy who knows the players, knows the system, knows what we've been all about for the last 10 or 11 years and Dave brings that and he's got tremendous respect within the organization. I don't know him at the level that the defensive players do, but those guys have had tremendous respect for the job he's done and the person that he is and in a short period of time the entire football team is going to see that as well."

He was also asked whether loyalty was a factor in Dave being named head coach. "I think just saying, well he's been in the organization for 11 years that that then means he should be named the head coach I think is misleading. I believe he has earned the right to be the head coach for this football team because of what he's done when he was here, and not just because of the years spent."

Watch all of Troy's remarks online at the Dallas Cowboys web site (requires RealPlayer)

January 13, 2000 - Troy appeared on the KRLD-AM 1080 radio show "The Tightends Show" hosted by teammates David LaFleur and Eric Bjornson.

Troy commented about the firing of Cowboys head coach Chan Gailey. "It's always difficult when you have good people and things don't work out for those people," Aikman said. "There was no one more dedicated to the football team and no one more willing to try to help this football team win. Unfortunately, things didn't work out. . . .I had a very good working relationship with Chan. I know there's a lot of speculation as to what that relationship was, but the reality is we struggled offensively. . . .There are times when I look at last season, and it's disappointing because we had much higher expectations. But considering everything that happened, guys fought through adversity and showed a lot of character."

January 9, 2000 - The Cowboys capped off a disappointing season with a disappointing wild card playoff loss against the Minnesota Vikings, in Minnesota, 27-10. It was the largest margin of defeat they had all year. You can listen to Troy's postgame interviews online (these Require RealPlayer).

January 2, 2000 - While playing the New York Giants in the final game of the season, Troy became one of only three players in Cowboys' history to play a game in a Dallas uniform in three different decades (80s, 90s, and 2000s). Mark Stepnoski claimed the same distinction in the same game. D.D. Lewis is the only other Cowboy to have played in three different decades. He played in the 60s, 70s, and 80s.

December 24, 1999 - Troy is now the leading touchdown passer in Cowboys history. Troy's two touchdown passes against the New Orleans Saints brought his career total to 156, surpassing Danny White (1976-1988), who finished his career with 155. Roger Staubach (1969-1979) finished his career with 153 TDs. Don Meredith (1960-1968) had 135. Troy threw two additional TD's against the Giants in the final game of the season, bringing his career total to 158.

December 19, 1999 - The Cowboys suffered a disappointing last-second loss to the New York Jets at home 22-21. Watch Troy's postgame press conference at the Dallas Cowboys web site (requires RealPlayer).

December 12, 1999 - Troy and several other Cowboys players nearly missed this game due to the flu, but Troy battled through it to have one of his better games of the season. The Cowboys beat the Eagles 20-10. Troy achieved a couple of milestones with this game: his touchdown pass was his 153rd, tying Roger Staubach for No. 2 in team history. It was also the 100th game victory of his career, including the playoffs. Watch Troy's postgame press conference at the Dallas Cowboys web site (requires RealPlayer).

December 5, 1999 - Cowboys lost to the New England Patriots 13-6 in a Sunday night game. Watch Troy's postgame press conference at the Dallas Cowboys web site (requires RealPlayer).

December 1999 - In a December nationwide Harris Poll, Americans were asked to list their favorite sports star (not football star, SPORTS star). Troy Aikman placed third overall (Michael Jordan and Joe Montana beat him). In a poll of just women, Troy placed second.

December 1999 - Neiman Marcus is famous for offering expensive, exotic, and one-of-a-kind items in its Christmas catalogs. And although Dallas Cowboys QB Troy Aikman takes up pages 30-33 in the December 1999 edition of Neiman's "The Book," you won't be able to put Troy under your Christmas tree this year. You will, however, be able to order the Zegna Sports casual apparel he is modeling ($95.00 for a pair of shorts????). From the catalog: "Pictured here, Aikman also exudes the cool confidence of an icon with nothing left to prove, an athlete who goes out and just does it. But even during his downtime, he likes to look good and feel comfortable."


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