To die-hard New York Knicks fans, the NBA Championship win might still be a fever dream. Suddenly being on the doorstep of victory after 53 years of failure was a surreal experience, alright. Taking inspiration from them, Dallas Cowboys icon Michael Irvin is also raising his hopes for a similar result with his former team.

“Now that the @NBA season is over and the @nyknicks have gotten rid of the 53-year CHAMPIONSHIP drought !!! We must turn our attention towards @nfl Football and see if the @dallascowboys can now erase a 30-year CHAMPIONSHIP drought and get on top of the leaderboard just like “THE PLAYMAKER”!!!!!! You know I am ALL IN!!!!” Michael Irvin posted on X.

The image in the tweet showed Irvin placing a $100 wager on the Cowboys, with an expected payout of $12,350.

Irvin, along with Dallas greats Troy Aikman and Emmitt Smith, carried the Cowboys to three Super Bowl titles in 1992, 1993, and 1995. The nickname of ‘America’s Team’ stuck on because of how dominant this team was in the yesteryears. But since the Super Bowl in 1996, Dallas fans have been nothing but heartbroken.

The Cowboys haven’t reached a conference championship game in three decades, the fourth-longest active drought in the NFL. After 1996, Dallas has gone through eight head coaches, clashed with several of its own stars over contract negotiations, and dropped 13 of its last 18 playoff games, per NBC.

Irvin hasn’t been shy about his frustration either. Earlier this year, he made it clear he wasn’t happy with the direction of the franchise, saying the Cowboys “lost an opportunity” by not bringing in Deion Sanders as head coach.

This year, the Cowboys are giving their everything to bounce back from a 7-9-1 season. The Cowboys have had worse years in its history. but this is easily up there with the most painful ones. Quarterback Dak Prescott and wide receivers CeeDee Lamb and George Pickens outdid themselves. But the defense upended all of their hard work, finishing as the worst-ranked in the league last year.

Dallas has now overhauled its defense, starting right at the top. Christian Parker is making his debut as defensive coordinator for the first time in his career, and there’s a lot to be excited for. The Cowboys still have veterans like DeMarvion Overshown and a budding star in rookie defensive back Caleb Downs. Other notable additions include Jaishawn Barham and Rashan Gary. The changes also have the legends thinking.

“Things do feel a little different,” Emmitt Smith told Blogging the Boys’ RJ Ochoa.

Right now, not everyone is as convinced. In May, Kalshi showed that the Cowboys only had a 4% chance to win the Super Bowl. But this season could be the start of something good. The Cowboys, even with their many unknowns, were featured in ESPN’s list of NFC teams with the best playoff odds at 48.1%.

Prescott has also made it clear the playoffs are just the minimum this season, not the goal.

“It sucks. Definitely,” he said at a presser, about not making the playoffs in the last two years. “But we’re pushing. That’s our goal, that’s a minimum. When you have a team like this, and they’ve done everything they have in the offseason, obviously, we got to push and get better on offense, but when we know we’re already improving on defense, that’s the minimum. That’s everybody’s goal in here.”

The Knicks were weirdly on a similar path like the Cowboys. This year was the first time since 1999 that New York was in a Championship game, ending a gap of 27 years.

New York was a party for a few days straight after the Knicks won the Championship. The jubilation was a sight to behold, all because one team had clinched what eluded them for more than half of a century. Will Texas be in for such a celebration sometime soon?