Distraught fan becomes sad meme of team's season from hell
Dallas Cowboys fans are doing it tough right now and one image perhaps sums up their plight, better than anything.
Already without injured superstar quarterback Dak Prescott, Dallas' 2020 took another painful turn in a chastening loss to the Arizona Cardinals.
WHAT A BEAST: 156kg Aussie behemoth's huge hit lights up NFL
'PRETTY SERIOUS': Eugenie Bouchard reportedly dating NFL star
VIRUS DRAMA: More stars reportedly test positive for COVID-19
The Cowboys were trounced 38-10 to leave them 2-4 for the new campaign - their playoff hopes seemingly slipping away further and further by the day.
It was a hard loss to take for Dallas fans and head coach Mike McCarthy, who admitted post-game that he did not do his job well.
That admission will be a further dagger into the hearts of Cowboys supporters, who have found themselves becoming the butt of jokes for fans of rival teams.
Two Dallas fans in particular have become a global meme after sad images of them were beamed to TV screens around the world during ESPN's coverage of the Cardinals game.
The footage showed the couple sitting in the stands, with the girlfriend doing her best to cheer up her devastated boyfriend.
The man had his head in his palm and looked on the verge of tears as his partner tried her best to console her shattered beau.
Tough scene for Cowboys fans. pic.twitter.com/vNcyze8yAt
— SportsCenter (@SportsCenter) October 20, 2020
One could go on and on describing how poorly Dallas played, but these pictures really do a perfect job of summing it up.
The Cowboys let around 25,000 fans into the stadium and all they got was a 38-10 loss and a chance to become a meme on Twitter.
Distraught Cowboys fans plastered across social media
The images didn't just stop with the couple though, with other memes flooding social media in response to the Cowboys' woes.
life of a dallas cowboys fan. 💔 pic.twitter.com/bukCVmP90x
— destiny vasquez (@desmvas) October 20, 2020
How I feel as a Dallas Cowboys fan every. single. game. pic.twitter.com/seml2sQDqz
— faith (@faithyborn) October 20, 2020
Dallas Cowboys fans summed up in one pic. pic.twitter.com/GU1LmaKAw8
— Ryan Silapan (@RyanSilapan) October 20, 2020
No team makes it harder to be a fan @dallascowboys #Terrible pic.twitter.com/KsT7P5Nhxu
— Jason Martinez (@JasonFA_elite) October 20, 2020
Life as a Cowboys fan Thread #DallasCowboys pic.twitter.com/xFv87u3fDc
— Courtney Couture (@406Couture) October 20, 2020
Dallas Cowboys fans are over it...#DallasCowboys #CowboysNation pic.twitter.com/cu35VGmaxf
— Kevin Gray Jr. (@KevinGraySports) October 20, 2020
What a year to be a fan of both Texas Teams #HoustonTexans #DallasCowboys pic.twitter.com/6QrT1qk2xR
— Troy (@arucsboaremaca) October 20, 2020
After the game, Dallas coach McCarthy uttered the phrase that never, ever makes a coach look good after a blowout loss: we were so prepared.
Mike McCarthy after Cowboys’ 38-10 loss to the Cardinals: “I felt like our preparation coming into the game was our best this year.”
— Jon Machota (@jonmachota) October 20, 2020
Preparation is meaningless if no one can execute on the field. And according to McCarthy, everything was bad - including him.
Mike McCarthy: “We didn’t play very well on offense, defense or special teams. Most importantly, I didn’t coach very well. I have a continuing issue with ball security on my football team.”
— Jon Machota (@jonmachota) October 20, 2020
Not only did the Cowboys fail in the basic areas of football, McCarthy admitted that his coaching was yet another albatross around the neck of this flailing team.
When things are going that bad on the field, it’s just a matter of time until it spills over and affects the team off the field.
Nine days after Prescott's injury and just one after their first post-Prescott loss, the first whispers of discontent from the Cowboys have begun to surface, as reported by NFL Network's Jane Slater.
#Cowboys players initially bought into keeping things internal. Now as they sit 2-4 the discontent is leaking out. On the coaching staff “totally unprepared. They don’t teach. They don’t have any sense of adjusting on the fly.” Another “they just aren’t good at their jobs”
— Jane Slater (@SlaterNFL) October 20, 2020
with Yahoo Sports US
Click here to sign up to our newsletter for all the latest and breaking stories from Australia and around the world.