<P> Ryan told the NFL Network for their Top Ten Nicknames show: </P> <P> I saw all these fans in away stadiums . Hey, they're the most popular team in the country . How can I use that? Why don't we call them "America's Team"? </P> <P> During the Cowboys' first game of the 1979 season, a nationally televised game against the St. Louis Cardinals (Dallas won 22 - 21), the television announcer for CBS introduced the Cowboys as America's Team and the name just stuck . </P> <P> Dallas' Hall of Fame coach Tom Landry originally did not approve of the appellation of America's Team . He felt that it would give opposing teams extra incentive to play harder . Eventually he gave in and actually came to like the name . The nickname was coined at the height of Landry's then - NFL record 20 consecutive winning season streak, during which Dallas appeared in 12 conference championship games (counting the 1966 - 67 league championships) and five Super Bowls, and was exemplified on the field by the iconic Hall of Fame quarterback Roger Staubach, but the team's popularity has continued over the decades during periods of both mediocrity and dynastic success . </P>

When did the dallas cowboys become americas team