Getty Cowboys LB Micah Parsons.
Micah Parsons learned a difficult lesson after the Dallas Cowboys were bounced from the opening round of the playoffs. Even though the iconic franchise calls itself “America’s Team,” fans around the country love to see the Cowboys lose.
That does not sit well with Parsons, who was unanimously selected 2021 NFL Defensive Rookie of the Year on February 10.
“I didn’t expect to go out like that,” Parsons said of Dallas’ 23-17 loss to the San Francisco 49ers in the NFC wild-card round during a February 9 interview with Bleacher Report, via The Athletic. “That’s one bad thing about the Cowboys: When we lose, everybody is happy we lose. It just builds something inside. I think next year is going to be a different type of hunger for me.”
Why do so many people root against “the star”? Parsons, who studied criminal justice at Penn State, has it figured out. He spoke about it February 9 while making the rounds on the Super Bowl’s Radio Row.
“They’re jealous. There’s envy,” Parsons said February 9 on “The Jim Rome Show,” via The Athletic. “Regardless of what happens, we’re still a top organization, and people hate it. They hate it. They want their team to be the Cowboys so bad.”
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Micah, Jerry Offer Super Comments on Cowboys
It turns out, Parsons’ opinion on the Super Bowl differs slightly from that of the man who signs his checks, Cowboys owner/general manager Jerry Jones, who remains unable to move past his club’s loss to the 49ers.
“When ya’ll hear what sounds like — over these Los Angeles hills — when you think they got one of these mountain lions with its tail caught, that’s me screaming into my pillow for not being in that Super Bowl,” Jones told TMZ.com on February 10.
Parsons, meanwhile, is standing by his rookie prediction that Dallas will reach the big game within the next three years.
“I do really believe that. I see the guys around me and all the guys want it,” Parsons told Bleacher Report, via The Athletic. “If we clean up the little things, oh my gosh, the sky is the limit.”
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CeeDee Gets Candid
Elsewhere during pre-Super Bowl festivities, Pro Football Talk caught up with Cowboys wide receiver CeeDee Lamb, who spoke honestly about the downturn of Dallas’ offense, which contributed to the team’s early postseason exit.
“I just feel like we got away from what we originally started the first 7-8 games,” Lamb said February 10, via The Athletic. “When we popped out 6-1, we were very aggressive. … I felt like in the middle of the season we slightly got away from it.”
Lamb led the Cowboys in receiving amid his second NFL season, logging 1,102 yards and six touchdowns on 79 catches, grading out as Pro Football Focus‘ No. 8 WR among 118 qualifiers.