One of the requirements to being a San Francisco 49ers is not liking the Dallas Cowboys.
New England Patriots quarterback Tom Brady, who grew up as a 49ers fan living in northern California, will play against the Cowboys on Sunday at Gillette Stadium in a much-anticipated Week 12 matchup.
The 42-year-old veteran, during his Wednesday press conference, joked about the dislike he had for Dallas while watching the great Cowboys-49ers matchups during his childhood.
"I've really not liked the Cowboys since coming out of the womb, as a Niners fan," a smiling Brady told reporters. "But, no, I've got a lot of respect for those guys. They've actually had a great winning organization. They've got a lot of great players in their history, guys that I've just -- as a Niners fan -- you know, you play the Cowboys and every time they hand it off to Emmitt Smith it's a 5-yard gain, and you'd pull your hair out. And throw it up to Michael Irvin, and Troy Aikman was such a great player. The defenses, Ken Norton and Primetime (Deion Sanders). I think the history of great players, the tradition -- getting to meet Roger Staubach over the years, he's been such a cool guy, someone to really look up to. And then what they're currently doing with the team they have, one of the most talented teams in the NFL. They're playing great on offense, on defense, and it's going to be a huge challenge for us."
The 49ers and Cowboys have a long, storied rivalry that includes many classic matchups in the NFL playoffs, including six NFC Championship Game meetings from 1970 through 1994. In fact, the Cowboys or 49ers won every Super Bowl over a four-year span from 1992 through 1995.
Brady has enjoyed plenty of success versus the Cowboys. He's 4-0 with 1,164 passing yards, nine touchdowns and two interceptions in his career against Dallas. Sunday's game shouldn't lack drama, especially with both teams hungry to improve their standing in the playoff races.
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"I love it. I love the opportunity to compete against great teams this time of the year as Thanksgiving approaches," Brady said. "It means a lot for both teams. Every time we play at home it's important to us. Late in the year, we only have so many more chances to go out there and put on a great performance. We'll try to do that."
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