the cowboys became america's team in the late 1970s.
when did the cowboys become america's team?
in the late 1970s
on november 9, 1978, united video inc. – which stepped in to oversee uplink responsibilities in lieu of southern satellite systems – uplinked the wgn-tv signal from a satellite relay facility in monee, illinois to the satcom-3 communications satellite for redistribution to cable systems and c-band satellite providers throughout the united states. this resulted in wgn-tv joining the ranks of wtbs to become america's second national "superstation" (independent stations distributed via satellite to cable providers within their respective regions, or throughout the country) and becoming the first of three independent stations to be redistributed on a national basis before the end of 1979: ktvu (now a fox owned-and-operated station) in oakland, california was uplinked by the sss-holiday inn joint venture southern communications systems in december 1978 and wor-tv (now mynetworktv owned-and-operated station wwor-tv) in new york city was uplinked by newhouse newspapers subsidiary eastern microwave inc. in april 1979. it was also the first tribune-owned independent station to be distributed to a national pay television audience: united video would later uplink wpix (now a cw affiliate) in new york city in may 1984; netlink began distributing kwgn-tv (now a cw affiliate) in denver in october 1987; and eastern microwave inc. began distributing ktla (now a cw affiliate) in los angeles in february 1988) and the first superstation to be distributed by united video (with wgn and wpix being joined by gaylord broadcasting-owned ktvt (now a cbs owned-and-operated station) in dallas–fort worth in july 1984 and, after it assumed retransmission rights from eastern microwave, ktla in april 1988). (wpix, ktla and kwgn have primarily been distributed within their respective regions of the united states, although all were intended for national distribution; dish network made all three available nationally for those who subscribed to the provider's a la carte superstations tier prior to its decision to halt its sale to new subscribers in september 2013, while netlink originally distributed kwgn as part of its "denver 5" out-of-market package for c-band and 4dtv subscribers.)
wgn america
in 1993, he missed all of training camp and the first 2 regular season games. the cowboys lost both contests with rookie derrick lassic running in his place. with the season in jeopardy the cowboys relented and reached an agreement, making smith the highest paid running back in the league. smith posted 1,486 rushing yards, 9 touchdowns and helped the cowboys become the first team to win a super bowl after starting the season 0-2. he also received the league mvp and the super bowl xxviii mvp award. on october 31, his 237 rushing yards against the philadelphia eagles set the single-season franchise record. his career signature game came in the season finale against the new york giants, with the cowboys desperately trying to clinch the nfc east title and a first-round bye in the playoffs, smith suffered a first-degree separation in his right shoulder during the first half, but still finished with 229 total yards and played a key role in a 16-13 overtime win.
emmitt smith