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It's changed pretty dramatically in the last ten years, but the Cowboys up until around 96 were consistently rated (yes, the NFL checks this stuff) as both the most loved and hated team in the NFL. During their ninties success stint, they sold more apparel than any other team, and, IIRC, nearly twice as much as the next most popular team, and as much as the entire bottom half of the league (It's been over ten years since I read the article, but the numbers were pretty impressive). The Cardinals hated them because the only time they sold out a home game was against the Cowboys, and the Cowboys would have as many fans as the Cardinals did. They had a run of something like six years where they sold out every home and away game. Even in New York, you would hear the Moose call when Daryl Johnson got a carry. Other teams hated the Cowboys because they had fans in every stadium.

One guy on the thread hated the Cowboys because of the Vikings loss in 75, the Packers hated the Cowboys because they put them out of the playoffs three straight times in the ninties, the Steelers hate O'Donnell more than they hate the Cowboys, the 49ers have actually lost more title games to the Cowboys than they've won.

As I noted earlier, though, several Cowboys players aren't counted because they made their names with other teams. I also think the Hall of Fame has kind of an affirmative action policy. A good player on a team that hasn't had success is going to get in faster than a player on a team that already has representatives.

During the sixties-seventies, there was definitely a prejudice against the south and west in the NFL. Except for the 49ers and Rams (49ers started in All-American Football League and Rams moved from Cleveland), there wasn't an NFL team west of Chicago/Green Bay or south of the Mason-Dixon line. The NFL only expanded because of pressure from the AFL (the Cowboys, Saints, Vikings and Falcons were created to keep the AFL from getting market share, not because the NFL wanted them). For the first about fifteen years after the expansion, there was definitely a northeastern slant to both the officiating and the commentating.