Troy Aikman, Philadelphia Eagle

Three years ago, the thought of Brett Favre wearing the purple and gold of the Minnesota Vikings was a thought so far off in the minds of the Lambeau faithful, so outrageous, it could hardly be considered loathsome. Of course, this hellish nightmare of high level football-treachery materialized this summer and, last Sunday, was brought back to town in the form of the most unsettling loss, perhaps, in the history of the Packers.

Scary for Cowboys fans, this backwards, ungodly scenario almost happened in Dallas in 2002.

According to the Los Angeles Times,Eagles head coach Andy Reid contacted Troy Aikman after Donovan McNabb went down during that season. Aikman, the story goes, was already honing his skills in the broadcast booth when Reid called, but gave the idea some serious thought--serious enough to send the shivers down the spine of any Cowboys fan worth his salt, at least.

This roughly equates, for Dallasites, to your girlfriend giving even a semblance of serious thought to leaving you for your worst enemy, someone as reprehensible, morally or otherwise, as Spencer Pratt or Justin Bobby... Well, any male cast member on the Hills. The thought, in and of itself, is insulting.

"Andy was giving me all the reasons why this would be good, why this would work," said Aikman in The Times.

The three-time Super Bowl champ told Reid he'd sleep on it, before calling the next day and declining. However, the decision wasn't based on any sense of loyalty to Dallas, but rather, the images of monstrous linebackers and malevolent defensive ends dancing in Aikman's head.

"So I went to bed that night and said, 'I can wake up tomorrow and spend a nice couple of days [at home] in Santa Barbara. Or, I can be in frigid Philadelphia getting my brains kicked in," Aikman continued. "So for me it was, 'Yeah, it would be kind of a fun story and it would be exciting, but where would it leave me when the season ends?' But I didn't weigh my decision on, 'Well, I wonder how the people in Dallas are going to feel.'"

Contact Us