"The Dallas Cowboys is America's team. Just like England, everyone knows who England is in the soccer world. But both of those teams just can't get over that hump, even though they got superstars all over the place." Rob Gronkowski said it plainly, and it's hard to argue with him.
The former Patriots tight end made the comparison while discussing the FIFA World Cup, and the parallel holds up better than most hot takes do. England haven't won a major tournament since the 1966 World Cup. The Cowboys haven't won a Super Bowl since the 1995 season. Both franchises carry a weight of expectation that almost never converts into silverware.
England's talent gap isn't the problem
That's what makes it genuinely baffling. Under Gareth Southgate, England assembled squads that would make most nations envious — Kane, Bellingham, Saka, Foden, Rice, Sterling. In Euro 2020, they reached their first major final since 1966, led at Wembley, and lost on penalties to Italy. In the 2022 World Cup, they were minutes away from forcing extra time against France before Kane blazed a penalty over the bar. In Euro 2024, Bellingham's stoppage-time bicycle kick against Slovakia, a penalty shootout win over Switzerland, and Ollie Watkins' late winner against the Netherlands carried them to a second consecutive European Championship final — where they lost 2-1 to Spain, becoming the first nation to lose back-to-back Euro finals.
Three near-misses. No trophy. England have now turned to Thomas Tuchel ahead of the 2026 World Cup on home soil in the USA, hoping a new voice breaks the cycle.
Dallas knows this feeling intimately
The Cowboys have reached the postseason 13 times since their last NFC Championship Game appearance following the 1995 season — and haven't won the George Halas Trophy once. The 2016 team went 13-3 and looked like the start of a dynasty. They lost in the Divisional Round to Aaron Rodgers. The 2021 offense scored 530 points, the most in the NFL that year. Out in the Wild Card. The 2023 squad, with Prescott finishing second in MVP voting and CeeDee Lamb rewriting franchise receiving records, entered the playoffs as heavy favorites at home and got dismantled 48-32 by Green Bay.
Gronkowski summed up the shared psychology well: "They always have passion for years. They always have enthusiasm that they're going to get over that hump. And then they always come up short."
That's the trap both franchises are stuck in. The talent keeps arriving. The expectations keep building. The exits keep stinging. England's World Cup odds will attract serious money in 2026 — they always do — but the pattern says treat that optimism carefully. So does the Cowboys' playoff record.
