The silence of the lambs was nothing compared to the silence of Dallas Cowboys fans after the NFC Wild Card playoffs: despite another dozen-win campaign, further postseason heartbreak awaited the Pokes, victims of the 48-32 shellacking at the hands of the seventh-seeded Green Bay Packers.
While Green Bay has since been eliminated by top-ranked San Francisco, Dallas is left licking its wounds as it searches for answers.
Those cuts are still fresh if the latest edition of "The Kelly Clarkson Show" is any indication.
Monday's episode saw the eponymous pop star interview accoladed actress Jodie Foster, on hand to promote her appearance in "True Detective: Night Country," the latest edition of HBO's anthology drama/thriller series. Before getting down to business, Clarkson and Foster bonded and clashed in gridiron affairs.
Clarkson, a DFW native, admitted that partaking in fantasy football had her rooting for other teams on a part-time basis but said she grew up watching the Cowboys. Foster knew exactly what she meant, as she carried Cowboys tight end Jake Ferguson on her own team. Invoking Ferguson's name led Clarkson to vent, as she named the tight end "one of the only people who showed up at our playoff game!"
To that point, Ferguson was responsible for most of Dallas' scoring in an ultimately futile comeback effort, earning three touchdowns on 10 receptions that totaled 93 yards.
Foster readily admits to being a "Green Bay fan" (Ferguson played at Wisconsin) and offers her condolences for the Wild Card incident, but that does nothing to appease Clarkson, who playfully replies with a sheepish "Suck it." Adding insult to Clarkson's injury, the production conjures up photos of Foster with a "cheesehead" cap on her head and a Packers Super Bowl ring borrowed from a friend on her finger.
Clarkson expresses jealousy and a desire to put the ring on, claiming "any Cowboy fan would!" The ring appears to be earned from the Packers' last Super Bowl run in 2010-11, one that ended with a 31-25 victory over the Pittsburgh Steelers at the Cowboys' pad of AT&T Stadium (then known as Cowboys Stadium).
Clarkson and Cowboys fans have long been waiting for a moment like this: the loss to the Packers extended Dallas' dubious streak of no NFC title game appearances to 28, the third-longest active drought in the NFL.
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