True fans ride or die with their favorite sports teams, no matter what. They forever cherish the moments of magic but can never quite shake the moments of heartbreak. For Shaquille O’Neal, that team is the Dallas Cowboys, thanks to his upbringing in Texas.
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The Diesel grew up watching Cowboys legends like Roger Staubach, Tony Dorsett, Troy Aikman, and Emmitt Smith. But the player he admired most was defensive end Ed “Too Tall” Jones.
O’Neal revealed his love for Jones during the latest edition of his Big Podcast. When the subject of the Cowboys came up, the four-time NBA champion shared that he was such a big fan of Jones, he used to tell people that Jones was his father.
“Reason why I’m a Cowboys fan is when I was young, I used to tell people ‘Too Tall’ Jones was my father. That’s why I like the Cowboys,” O’Neal revealed with confidence. He was quite proud of the lie. Being a big guy and a natural charmer, you can only imagine how many people he might have convinced that it was true.
As if that wasn’t enough, Shaq then professed his “ride or die” dedication to the Cowboys, and claimed that he has never, nor will he ever, jump ship. “And I don’t ever switch up. I’m not one of these guys that, you know, whatever team is hot, you switch up. Cowboys till I die,” he stated.
It’s nice to hear someone support the team so passionately, because for the Cowboys, it hasn’t been easy. The franchise hasn’t reached the Super Bowl since 1996 and has suffered some gut-wrenching losses that have surely kept fans up at night. But O’Neal is no ordinary fan.
The Los Angeles Lakers legend told commentator Rich Eisen just a season ago that he believed the Cowboys could still make the playoffs, even with a 3–6 record. That kind of optimism can only come from a glass-half-full type of fan. Of course, the Boys didn’t end up making the postseason.
O’Neal is always thinking about how the franchise can improve. Back in 2022, he suggested that owner Jerry Jones bring in Cowboys icon Deion Sanders as head coach, pointing to Prime Time’s success at the college level. Honestly, the Boys could do worse than Deion.
Instead, Jones and the Cowboys went with Brian Schottenheimer. It’s not a bad choice by any means, but with how stacked the NFC East is, breaking their nearly three-decade Super Bowl curse still feels like a long shot.
