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Dad turned off the tv.
There was a long silence in the house. Nobody really knew what to say.
It was December 21, 1986 and something had happened that had never happened in my lifetime.
The Dallas Cowboys had lost to the Chicago Bears 24-10 to finish the season 7-9.
To finish with a losing record.
The Cowboys don't have a losing record! That just doesn't happen.
I remembered my senior year when they missed the playoffs and everyone was in shock.
But this.
This was unfathomable.
This did not happen.
And worse.
The people on tv were saying the game had passed Tom Landry by.
Are you kidding me?
You might as well go into a Baptist Church and insult Jesus Christ. That's the equivalent of insulting Tom Landry in Texas!
It was not a good holiday season for favorite teams. Texas A&M got blown out in the Cotton Bowl by Ohio State. The Aggie quarterback threw more touchdowns to the Buckeyes than he did his own team.
The New York Giants won their first Super Bowl. Beating the Denver Broncos. This after John Elway led The Drive to beat Cleveland in the AFC Championship Game.
"The AFC don't play defense. That's why they don't win the Super Bowl." More wisdom from my father.
And I turned 20 years old.
I took Beth out to dinner that night and then went home, took a warm shower, got ready for bed.
While brushng my teeth, I saw in the medicine cabinet a jar of Vaseline.
Well, it was the middle of January. It wouldn't hurt to throw the ball at home with the stuff.
Just to see.
So, I kept pitching, kept working on my grip, getting used to the Vaseline.
Then....
"Mister James? David Laken, General Manager of the San Diego Padres and I would like to invite you to join the Padres in Spring Training."
No freakin' way....
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