Mandatory Credit: Kirby Lee-USA TODAY Sports
2005
Dallas Cowboys: 9-7, 3rd NFC East
Star Wars Episode III – Revenge of the Sith: May 2005, $848.8 million box office
Despite not becoming the cultural phenomena that the original Star Wars movies of the 70s and 80s did, the final edition of the modern prequels brought with it the promise of answers.
How did Anakin Skywalker become Darth Vader?
What was the birth of Luke Skywalker and Princess Leia like?
What was that scuffle that Darth Vader and Ben Kenobi had all about?
These circumstances were enough to make me overlook Christensen one more time as the chronology of the series was never before closer to that first landmark film of 1977. I know that for me it was cool being able to see this film with old friends of mine from childhood in the same Ft.Worth neighborhood I grew up in despite the fact that I no longer lived in Texas. Those opening breaths of Darth Vader just after donning his shiny black helmet for the first time still ring in my ears to this day. They also mark the best performance, overall, by Christensen in the series.
At that point, I knew nothing of any new films that might be on the way, so it seemed like this might actually be it for Star Wars – way off on that idea.
Just over three months later, back home in San Diego, I would attend the Week 1 contest between the Cowboys and the Chargers at Qualcomm Stadium. In this case, the answers that Cowboys Nation were expecting included whether or not new veteran quarterback Drew Bledsoe could finally fill the void left by Aikman some five seasons earlier.
Well, that opening day win was exciting, especially while being among the 20-plus thousand Cowboys fans that were in attendance. Quarterback Drew Brees still wore a lightening bolt on his helmet and linebacker DeMarcus Ware, the eventual franchise leader in quarterback sacks, was playing in his first professional game.
How time flies.
With Star Wars seemingly over, the Cowboys embarked on a decent season that saw a great learning curve in the first-year 3-4 defensive scheme that Parcells waited a year too long to install. Dallas struggled to climb above .500 for the season and would miss the playoffs for the second-straight season following that unlikely trip just two seasons prior with Carter under center.
Like the Star Wars franchise, there was definitely a future.
Bledsoe would only last one full season as the Cowboys quarterback before giving way to that Romo guy the following season (2006) at the midway point. The Cowboys would make the playoffs in three of the next four seasons while finally winning a playoff game for the first time since January of 1996 following the 2009 campaign that earned another NFC East title.
Parcells was a short-timer in Dallas, only lasting one more season after ’05.
Next: More Star Wars Movies Bad For Cowboys?