Mailbag: Bringing World Cup Passion to NFL?

(Editor's Note: Time to check the mail! The DallasCowboys.com staff writers answer your questions here in 'Mailbag' presented by Miller Lite.)

We saw such passion from fans during the recent World Cup with constant singing, chanting and general cheering throughout every game. It looked like everyone was having such fun. Do you think the NFL, and in particular Cowboys fans, can ever reach that level of enthusiasm on game days? – Matthew Rodriguez*/San Antonio, TX*

Nick: Honestly, if the Cowboys and every other NFL team played preseason games for three straight years and then every fourth year, played just a handful of games to decide the Super Bowl winner, which was played every four years ... then yes I think you'd say that kind of passion.

But it's just different. All the way around, it's completely different so I don't think it's even something you can compare. When you think about some of these countries that participated - this is really the biggest athletic event in recent years. To compare, the NFL puts that kind of event on every single week across the country.

Now, I was fortunate to go to one of the World Cup games and it was amazing - in its own way. I'm not dismissing the excitement of the game by any means. And yes, I got into the entire tournament, finding myself nervous watching Penalty Kicks between Croatia and Australia - standing in my living room. It was super exciting but I think you have to remember that the NFL puts on this kind of show all the time.

I would also say ... see what the Vikings do before a game with their chanting or even the Eagles or Jets spelling out big words such as ... Eagles and Jets. But seriously, there are some stadiums that have great traditions and passion and of course, the Cowboys are right there at the top.

Patrik: Some NFL fanbases never lost this energy, if we're being honest. Now, as for if the league can regain or gain it on the whole, I doubt it. I'm of the belief that people tend to be far more passionate about their country than any one sports team within that country. And that's what the World Cup provides: a chance for soccer/fùtbol fans to band together as a country to root for their players against every other country in the tournament. The NFL will simply never be able to match that level of patriotic fire, which isn't to say the league won't continue to grow or that American football fans can't show their fire.

But, let's be honest, the World Cup and the Olympics (as another example) are simply in different air than any single American sport. As for the Cowboys, there was once a time when Dallas fans were insane enough to face the Texas heat to lose their minds cheering loudly for this team, believe it or not. Utter the words "Texas Stadium" or "The Cotton Bowl" to a longtime Cowboys' fan that experienced that era and you'd better have a couple of hours to kill, because you're about to get all a reminder of what used to be on game days.