Last Sunday could not have been a better day for Dallas Cowboys owner, Jerry Jones.  

In route to their NFL-best sixth straight win of the season, the Cowboys pulled away from their division rival New York Giants to sit in sole possession atop the NFC East. DeMarco Murray became the first player ever to tally 100+ rushing yards in each of the first seven games of the season, Dez Bryant burned the Giants’ secondary all night through amazing displays of his superior athleticism and Tony Romo put on a performance that Jones claimed was his “best game [he’s] ever seen.”

As time ran out and Dallas had secured the win on Sunday, the cameras focused on owner Jerry Jones high-fiving friends and family in the press box in his “Palace in Dallas”. And when America saw the huge grin on Jones' face, that feeling that has remained dormant for what seems like an eternity in professional sports came back to the surface.  

America was reminded why it hates the Dallas Cowboys.  

Much like the New York Yankees of baseball, the Cowboys have seemed to earn the reputation as the most popular franchise of its respective sport. The team's lavish history, superior marketing, and mega $1.3 billion stadium have attracted millions of fans throughout Dallas, the country and the entire world in support of the Cowboys. And like the Yankees, you either love them Cowboys or you hate them; there's no in between.

But why is it that we hate the Cowboys?

It must be because of all their recent success. Or not.

The glory days of Dallas football are a thing of the past, as only distant memories remain of the likes of Hall of Famers Roger Staubach, Troy Aikman, Emmit Smith, and Michael Irvin lifting Big D to playoff appearance after playoff appearance and multiple Super Bowls. Dallas reached the Super Bowl eight times from the early 70s to mid 90s (tied for the most in the NFL) and won five of them (tied for second in the NFL).

But since the turn of the century, Dallas has managed to win just one playoff game in four postseason appearances. That’s tied with the managerially inept Jacksonville Jaguars! 

Not only have the Cowboys taken a turn for the worse from their winning ways as of recent, but they are losing in ways so unfathomable and unique that they deserve special recognition. The Cowboys have dropped their final game in each of the past three seasons, all of which would have propelled them to both the NFC East Division title and another trip to the playoffs.

In retrospect, Dallas’ early success this season doesn’t hold much weight taking into account their monumental pitfalls of the last few seasons.  

Jerry Jones' "glitz and glamor" ownership style has fueled hatred toward his Cowboys. (Abigail Klein/Flickr)

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So why is it that we hate the Dallas Cowboys?

It must be because of their starting QB, Tony Romo. But no, not because of his play on the field. Let us not forget the infamous botched extra point by Romo against the Seahawks in the first round of the 2008 NFL Playoffs. Tony Romo’s one career playoff win is pathetic, especially if he wants to consider himself in the same sentence as the quarterback all-stars of today: Peyton Manning, Drew Brees, Aaron Rodgers and more. Rex Grossman has more playoff wins and Super Bowl appearances than Romo. Rex Grossman!

But look at Romo’s play off the field! The quarterback has displayed an elite group of women cheering him on the sideline in Dallas, including country sensation Carrie Underwood, Hollywood magnet Jessica Simpson, and his current wife, Miss Missouri USA-winner Candice Crawford. It seems only Yankees’ shortstop Derek Jeter can match the dating history of Romo, drawing another comparison between the Cowboys and Yankees.  

So if it’s not Dallas’ recent success nor QB Tony Romo, why is it that we hate Dallas?

The answer is Jerry Jones. The face of the franchise, the owner, the president, the GM and, if the opportunity presented itself, the player-coach of the Dallas Cowboys.

In a poll taken by Sports Illustrated this year, Jerry Jones ranked #15 amongst the “Most Disliked Figures in Sports," throwing Jones into the same category as blatant racist, ex-NBA owner Donald Sterling, chronic cheater Alex Rodriguez and NFL scandal headliner Richie Incognito.  

Jones has been known to attribute a "glitz and glamor" ownership style to his Dallas Cowboys, as demonstrated by the monstrous AT&T Stadium (matching the size of Jones' outlandish ego) and the showmanship of the gorgeous Dallas cheerleaders. 

Furthermore, Jones has always been free to express his mind about the wide range of emotions around the successes and failures of his players and coaches, never shying away from controversy. In the past few years, Jones has guaranteed the Cowboys would win the Super Bowl before the 2013-2014 season (they didn’t even make the playoffs), has claimed QB Tony Romo is “the best in the business in the fourth quarter” (clearly not the case), has called out individual players and coaches during stretches of poor play and has been photographed in scandalous pictures with strippers on wild nights out. 

In order for the Cowboys to revitalize their reputation around the league, it needs to come from owner Jerry Jones. You never hear about New England Patriots owner Robert Kraft being portrayed negatively in the media, which explains how the Patriots have established themselves as a world-class franchise in the 21st century and Kraft is considered a mensch among NFL elites. Jones needs to make a point to remove himself from the lime light, as the combination of Dallas's recent woes and his circus performance in the media is detrimental to the Cowboys' future.

For now, much to the amusement of Jones, Dallas sits on a pedestal atop the NFL due to its early season success thus far.  And much to the amusement of NFL fans around the country, it will be fun to see if Dallas crumbles in the second half of the season.

Reach Staff Reporter Garrett Schwartz here.