what about them cowboys

“Them Cowboys” is almost always a reference to the Dallas Cowboys and the famous rallying cry “How ’bout them Cowboys?”—a braggy, celebratory line fans use especially after a big win.

What the phrase means

• The phrase is a mix of pride and smack talk, basically saying: “See? The Cowboys are legit. Look at what they just did.”

• It became iconic after head coach Jimmy Johnson shouted “How ’bout them Cowboys!” in the locker room after Dallas beat the 49ers in the 1992 NFC Championship Game, on January 17, 1993.

How it became a thing

• Johnson’s impromptu line came at the end of a fiery postgame speech, right as the young Cowboys were about to head to the Super Bowl and kick off their 1990s dynasty.

• The clip played constantly on sports TV, and the phrase turned into the franchise’s unofficial slogan through their three Super Bowl wins in the ’90s.

How fans use it now

• Cowboys fans yell or post “How ’bout them Cowboys” (or “what about them Cowboys”) after wins, clutch plays, or whenever they want to flex about the team.

• Haters and TV personalities also use it sarcastically when Dallas chokes or underperforms, flipping the same phrase into a jab.

Pop culture and internet life

• The line has appeared in commercials, TV shows, and endless memes, to the point that even non-fans recognize it as “the Cowboys phrase.”

• It shows up all over forums and social media as a shorthand for any heated Cowboys debate, from “this is our year” optimism to “they’ll break your heart again” pessimism.

So, “what about them Cowboys?”

• If you’re asking in the classic way, you’re channeling that same swagger Jimmy Johnson sparked in ’93—part celebration, part challenge.

• In online conversation, it’s a great opener to talk about whether the Cowboys are truly contenders right now or just noise, because the phrase itself is loaded with history, hype, and a little bit of trolling.

Information gathered from public forums or data available on the internet and portrayed here.