In search of a way to motivate his team ahead of last weekend’s game against the Minnesota Vikings, Dallas Cowboys head coach Mike McCarthy elected to murder some produce to provide a spark.
According to Clarence Hill Jr. of the Fort Worth Star-Telegram, McCarthy packed a sledgehammer and an assortment of watermelons for the team’s trip to Minneapolis and then destroyed the melons in a team meeting on Saturday night
“I think like anything in this game, it’s important to have fun,” McCarthy said. “You’re always trying to create emphasis in your messaging. That’s really where it came from. We were just using the approach to honor the great comedian Gallagher and it’s an idea that came up and we went for it. The players were into it.”
“It was just all part of the messaging so we had a number of points of emphasis that we were trying to hit so a number of guys got to participate and once again I’d say it was a lot of fun. It was well received.”
.The melons represented various objectives the team was looking to accomplish against the Vikings. After taking out some of the melons himself, he gave some players the chance to hammer away as well.
The Cowboys snapped a four-game losing stream in a 31-28 win over the Vikings on Sunday. It was the team’s first win since losing Dak Prescott for the season to a fractured ankle in Week 5. It was also the first time the team had scored at least 20 points since losing Prescott as well.
Despite being 3-7, the Cowboys are right in the thick of the NFC East division hunt with a pivotal game against the Washington Football Team coming up on Thanksgiving. McCarthy didn’t rule out the chances of the team slaying more melons this week in hopes of keeping the winning ways going.
“That’s a great question,” McCarthy said. “We obviously have been fighting and scratching. The players have been great. So hey, if it’s not broke don’t fix it.”