Texas is a football state — Friday Night Lights, Texas Longhorns, Dallas Cowboys, etc. And Dallas has most certainly always been a football town. But that tide began changing in 2010 when the Texas Rangers went to the first of two straight World Series — their first in franchise history. Now, it's apparently come full circle as the Rangers have passed the Cowboys in terms of popularity, according to a poll by the Scarborough Sports Team.
Rangers president Nolan Ryan came to Texas to pitch from 1989-1993, when the Rangers were awful and the Cowboys were beginning their 90s dynasty that saw them win three out of four Super Bowls.
He never thought he'd see the day come when the Rangers were polled as being more popular among DFW residents than the Cowboys. Now, for the first time in history, that is the case and DFW is now one of only 10 metro areas with a baseball and football team where the baseball team is more popular.
"The Cowboys were an extremely big attraction and draw, not just here but nationwide," Ryan said in the Star-Telegram. "They had such a history and popularity. The Rangers obviously weren't even close to having that type of fan interest, so I never gave it much thought about how we rated with the Cowboys."
According to the Star-Telegram, the poll asked DFW adults whether they have watched, attended or listened to a Rangers or Cowboys game in the past year. A "yes" answer is considered a fan, and 62 percent answered positively for the Rangers. The Cowboys got a 61 percent positive reaction.
