Dec 16, 2012; Arlington, TX, USA; Dallas Cowboys fan Marshall Keisling (age 9) cheers for his team during the game against the Pittsburgh Steelers at Cowboys Stadium. The Cowboys beat the Steelers 27-24 in overtime. Mandatory Credit: Matthew Emmons-USA TODAY Sports

7. Feeling a Part of Something Larger Than Yourself

This one kind of relates to all sports but it pertains even more to the sports franchises that have a national following like our Dallas Cowboys certainly do. In an eerie way, we feel a part of something.

My name is Renny Mason. I live in Dickinson, Texas with my wife Amber, my unborn daughter Gracelyn and our dog Maggie. Yes I am a staff writer on The Landry Hat, but the entire staff here are all just die-hard Cowboys fans (who just so happen to also love writing). We all live in different parts of the country with our families and we live our daily lives the best we know how.

On Sundays however, when the Dallas Cowboys play football, I instantly become something larger than Renny Mason in Dickinson, Texas. I become a troop manning my battle station! I become a warrior adorned with my battle colors, ready to march on Redskin country! I become an extended member of the Dallas Cowboys Football Organization!

And after we win on Sundays, I mask in the glory and stare down upon my defeated adversary still cloaked in my team’s colors. When we lose, my colors still fly high and proud! The Dallas Cowboys are one of the most prolific sports organizations in the entire world, they are bigger than one single person. But when that one single person, turns into millions united across the globe, our voice becomes louder and we are a force to be reckoned with.

The Dallas Cowboys are but one team, we are but one fan base, but ALL together…We are strong and united! As I often tweet on Sundays, “Troops, MOUNT UP”

Nov 22, 2012; Arlington, TX, USA; Dallas Cowboys fan cheers for her tema during the game against the Washington Redskins during a game on Thanksgiving at Cowboys Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Matthew Emmons-USA TODAY Sports

6. Making Friends for Life

Here WE are again, “strong and united.” Y’all tell me if I’m alone on this or not. I don’t care where it is, or what I’d doing at the time, if I see that all too familiar star, I’m saying hello and shaking that person’s hand. Tell me I’m NOT the ONLY one that does this because my non-Cowboys friends make fun of me all the time for this exact thing! I’ll see someone wearing Dallas Cowboys gear from head to toe and I proceed to walk over to them and say hi, or at the very least give them a very enthusiastic high five as I’m walking by.

And never once has anyone been rude to me or acted shy in any way. I’m not exactly sure what makes Cowboys fans so close, or welcomes us to spark up a conversation with a complete stranger. But you see that’s the thing; I don’t ever consider them “strangers.” To me anyway, they are simply my brothers and sisters in arms. To me, they are family (but we will get to that reason later). I can’t tell you the amount of close friends I have made just from sparking up friendly conversations with fellow Cowboys fans.

I manage a Cowboys trivia page on Facebook (Cowboys Trivia for Cowboys Nation) and I currently have almost 200 fans on the page to make up a small but manageable group. Fans on my page live all around the country (California, Indiana, New Jersey, Nevada etc…) and I interact with them a few times a week when I post my trivia and also just chat about the team.

Many of them I have grown so close with, they are now also my friends on my personal Facebook account and not just my trivia page. I wish them all happy birthday and we even talk about movies and other personal stuff. They congratulate me on my wife and I having a baby next month and always ask if my daughter will be a Dallas Cowboys cheerleader (to which my wife always says no). Have I ever personally met any of them? Nope, not a single one. What ties us together? You guessed it, the Dallas Cowboys! You know who you are; Fred, Jamie, Jordan, Brittany, Jake, Ray, Eddie, John etc…Love you guys!!

No matter if we win, lose or tie, if you want to make friends in this world… just put on your Cowboys jersey! No team in the NFL has the camaraderie we share as Dallas Cowboys fans. When I visit Dallas every season, I am engulfed by…MY FRIENDS, MY PEOPLE!

….I sure hope you will stay tuned next week for the conclusion of this Top 10 list with reasons 1-5. A few more reasons from the hater countdown may or may not show up…We shall find out!