Boys Will Be Boys: The Glory Days and Party Nights of the Dallas Cowboys Dynasty

I sat down one Saturday to read Boys Will Be Boys, about the 1990 Dallas Cowboys, and couldn't put it down. This book chronicles the hard partying team that won three Super Bowls in four years and is definitively the team of the 1990's.Given the drinking, drugs, women, and super hard partying this team engaged in during their run in the 1990's it is simply amazing that they were able to win championships. I'm not sure if it is a testament to just what phenomenal athletes these men were, or their dedication to football and winning despite their debauched lifestyle off the field. According to this book it seems nearly the entire team, with the exception of a few like stars like Troy Aikman, were engaged in a wild years long party off the field, while racking up wins and championships off of it.Michael Irvin, the Hall of Fame wide receiver and guard Nate Newton appear to be the ringleaders of this band of imbibers. Of course Irvin has been busted enough times with drugs and women that it comes as no surprise. What is surprising is just how pervasive the lifestyle was. Certainly we all know there are a handful of players on every team that lead pretty wild lifestyles, but how a team that seemed to be immersed so deeply in drinking and womanizing (and presumably other illicit activities as well) could be so successful is really amazing.Another completely bizarre character is defensive end Charles Haley. Basically run out of San Francisco by his teammates for his horrible behavior, he nearly fit right in with the Dallas Cowboys. This nasty fellow was known for exposing himself to his teammates and constantly harassing them and stirring up trouble. Only professional athletes could ever get by with the horrendous behavior and bizarre antics of Haley.There is also plenty of other inside information about the 1990 Cowboys. We learn more about Troy Aikman and his leadership on the field. And of course there is great detail about coach Jimmy Johnson who turned a blind eye to off field behaviors as long as the team kept winning. We follow how he turned a losing team into a powerhouse with adroit drafting, his arrogant yet winning ways, and his falling out with owner Jerry Jones, when two Texas sized egos found they could not coexist. We also get a view of the inevitable decline after the inept blowhard Barry Switzer took over as head coach.All in all this was a wildly informative book about a wild but winning team.

This was a behind the scenes story of the 90s Cowyboys dynasty. The book starts with a brief history of the Cowboys under Tom Landry, then moves on to Jerry Jones, Jimmy Johnson and the creation of an incredible team of players and coaches who made magic on the field. In the locker room and off the field was an entirely different story. While partying, women and drugs had started with success, the Jimmy Johnson era did not find things getting much out of hand. Johnson was a disciplinarian who demanded much from his players. While not all players were fond of him, they did respect him. It was interesting to learn about the cliques, shenanigans and more that went on behind the scenes. When Jerry's ego got too big, Jimmy was out and Barry Switzer was in. Switzer was the opposite of Johnson and the Cowboys steamed out of control. It's amazing they won another Super Bowl. The excess took on new proportions and there was no place to go but down. My favorite bits were the biographies, it was interesting to see how many came from broken homes and poverty to football glory and not all could handle it. A snapshot of an era in time that hasn't been repeated winning wise. A must for any Cowboy fan.

I am NOT a Cowboys fan and I while I’d love to praise this book for lifting the veil of achievement and revealing the underlying filth, it’s not the reason I enjoyed reading BOYS WILL BE BOYS. No, I found Jeff Pearlman’s book an enjoyable read because it was entertaining, revealing and remarkably balanced even though it takes the veneer off the “America’s Team” dynasty of the 1990s.Personally, my enjoyment of following professional football ended in the 1980s as the 90s ushered in the new (and ongoing) phase of big money, massive media attention and selfishness compounded by stratospheric egos; an era defined by individuals outshining teams. After reading BOYS WILL BE BOYS, I now clearly see that the seeds for this change were sown when Jerry Jones decided to purchase the Dallas Cowboys. There are plenty of examples of outrageousness associated with Super Bowl champions (the ’85 Bears come to mind), but the NFL “dynasties” associated with the 60s (the disciplined Packers), 70s (the blue collar Steelers) and 80s (the nice-guy 49ers) don’t hold a candle to the outrageous swagger associated with the Cowboys of the 90s.While this is the first Pearlman book I’ve read, his other books reveal a penchant for tackling more controversial sports subjects (Barry Bonds and Roger Clemons, for example). I was wondering if this book on the Cowboys was going to be an opinionated hatchet job to discredit a team with a huge fan base (and a hate-base that is arguably even larger). Instead of providing raw meat to Cowboy-haters (a sure bet for a bestseller?), Pearlman offers a refreshingly fair analysis of the 90s Cowboys that heaps equal doses of praise and scorn. Looking at this team and all its parts (players, coaches and owner) was like opening-up and examining an overstuffed Chipotle burrito … a messy pile of meat, rice and beans neatly wrapped by a soft tortilla. Starting with Jerry Jones purchasing the Cowboys, readers are taken on an entertaining ride that accounts for a good amount of football (three Super Bowl wins) and a whole lot of drama and decadence … a “sports-opera”. Many may know the framework of this dynamic team; its foundation is comprised of household names and sports legends (Jimmy Johnson, Michael Irvin, Emmitt Smith, Troy Aikman, etc.). But, rather than simply telling a story of how these men contributed to Dallas’ success, Pearlman weaves mini-biographies of each individual added to the storyline … revealing and intimate, these background stories certainly add depth to the book and explain (not justify) so much of the headline-making behavior I always associated with this team. I had no idea how bad the childhoods were for so many players and especially coach Barry Switzer.Pearlman pulls most of his material from a large number of former Cowboy players. But, there is a noticeable absence of certain names from his pool of sources, names that comprise a bulk of the book’s content: Jimmy Johnson, Jerry Jones, Troy Aikman, Emmitt Smith, Deion Sanders and Charles Haley. With that being said, contributions from Michael Irvin and Barry Switzer certainly add a degree of credibility (which is important, considering the scandalous nature of so many off-field events being detailed often included them).So what was so appealing about BOYS WILL BE BOYS? What I enjoyed so much about this book was that I received a better understanding of what those Cowboy teams were really all about … the good and the bad. While I remember snickering about the Cowboys 1-15 record in Johnson’s first season as coach, I appreciated reading how Johnson turned things around so quickly with his respected, but ill-received heavy-handed coaching style. Additionally, there is plenty of football discussed, including candid peer-commentary detailing the varying degrees of talent and work ethic of teammates. It is truly interesting how such a diverse group of players functioned so well (for a while) and how things started to unravel at the seams when Switzer replaced Johnson as the coach and an undisciplined team won a Super Bowl on sheer talent. Unlike other accounts of storied teams, those Cowboys seemed to celebrate their success, fame and wealth like no other and it eventually caught up with them (retribution). The mix of athletic achievement, big money, egos, drugs, alcohol, hookers, personality disorders and tension are the ingredients that make this book hard to put down. It is evident that the ego-driven Jerry Jones and the larger-than-life personas of “Prime Time”, Irvin and others are responsible for ushering in the materialistic, greedy and gaudy nature that constitutes the NFL we know today.It really doesn’t matter if you love or hate the Cowboys to enjoy BOYS WILL BE BOYS … I don’t even think it matters whether or not you like football. This book is simply a well-written and entertaining group of stories that reveals what really lurks behind the façade of glory associated with winning big in (American) professional sports.

I really enjoyed this - big knowledge of thr game or the cowboys are not needed as its such a great dynasty that the stories are great the balance between on and off field, scandle and empthy is really good also. A great read

Este fue un regalo para mi hermano, él es super fan de los vaqueros y le encantó.

Every cowboys fan must read this book. I'm sure, one day the 'boys will return!In the wait read this book :-)

Quer entender Jerry Jones e suas loucuras?Leia!Quer saber como os "trigêmeos" chegaram até aqui?Leia!Quer entender os Cowboys?LEIA!!!

Another great book. Couldn't put this one down either. Pearlman tells the whole story of the Dallas Cowboys, the parties the drugs. And finally the truth about Jerry Jones (Cowboys Owner) As if we didn't know. Pearlman tells about the decline after 95. Their last Super Bow.. And Barry Switzer. Well, you'll just have to read the book. For the die hard Dallas Cowboy fan.