Perhaps you are too young to know the yankee legacy, but back before television was big, there was one nationally broadcast team and that was the yankees. This was before drafts and free agency and all that good stuff, but all kids on sandlots everywhere wanted to be yankees. There was no skill in owning all the best players, once signed, the owners held all the power and the players were there as long as teams wanted them. This is how kids like Mickey Mantle in Oklahoma ends up a yankee, or Roger Maris in North Dakota.
(Think about all the Catholic kids who wanted one day to play for Notre Dame)
Anyway, once the scales were balanced in the 80's with free agency, the yankees sucked. Until along came George Steinbrenner, who, with the help of the league on many trades, spent so much money that the Columbus Clippers were a better team than many major league teams. They needed a reliever, go out and buy him. They needed a catcher, go out and buy him.
I will give them credit for one major move. They were willing to overpay for the very best guy. While other teams were trying to compete by being frugal and building teams with the 2nd or 3rd best 1B, the yankees were just outbidding everyone for the top guy. Hard to lose when not only do you have a team of All Stars, but also guys almost as good in AAA.
So now, with George gone and his kid running things, their spending will be slowing down. Now, we see what happens with their genius management when they can't merely outspend. They still have some leftover guys earning too much money, but they'll be gone soon enough. They still have the benefit of MLB wanting the biggest market teams to make the playoffs. Lets see where the future takes them. But by all means, lets not overrate their history considering all the help they've had over time.
As to the Cowboys, Jerry Jones is too much a believer in Al Davis to know how to build a team. He cares more about the money the team derives than building a team the right way. But who cares? That's just football.
P.S. It has been proven that every great event needs a common foe for all to hate. Not having the yankees would be like not having Darth Vader.
Just my opinion, of course.
