FRISCO, Texas -- Sitting atop a stage highlighted by a bright white video screen background - each wearing a suit and tie with a microphone in hand - Emmitt Smith , Troy Aikman, Michael Irvin and Daryl Johnston shared a brief memory from the Cowboys' 1992 season during a reunion dinner Friday night at The Westin Stonebriar resort.
Those in attendance included the majority of the players that made up the 1992 roster, team owner Jerry Jones and Hall of Fame running backs Barry Sanders, Eric Dickerson, Marcus Allen and Marshall Faulk.
The event was sponsored by Smith and his wife Pat. The dinner was a kickoff to an annual weekend golf outing that is designed to raise money for Pat & Emmitt Smith Charities.
Several former players found time to share memories throughout the evening but no interview seemed to captivate the crowd more than when the "four triplets" - the name host Brad Sham used to introduce the four well-known offensive pieces that helped the Cowboys win three Super Bowls in four years - took center stage.
Prior to discussing the group that went 13-3 before dismantling its three postseason opponents by an average score of 38-15, Irvin got the crowd laughing as he advised Sham to make the interview session quick because he needed to use the restroom.
The four spent about 12 minutes reminiscing, each sharing a quick take on why the 1992 group was able to be so successful. Aikman and Smith focused on the team's ability to win tight games in the final minutes.
"We had a great ability to finish games," Aikman said. "We would have a three-point lead or a four-point lead where any little mistake at the end of a ballgame was going to cost you the game. We would get the ball with five minutes left and then we would go down the field and either kick the field goal that stretched it to 10 points or score a touchdown to stretch it to 10-12 points or whatever it was. That was something that we really took a great deal of pride in."
Smith added: "We knew that if we did get a lead ... we could go into a six-minute offense, which is a little bit different than a two-minute offense. ... I knew once we got within six minutes that they were going to give me the ball. I was excited about that.
"Daryl might not have been excited because [the opposing defense] had eight men in the box and he had to block two guys, but that's par for the course, right? By the way, we are the triplets because Daryl and I are one and the same."
Irvin wasn't on the same page as his two teammates when it came to the offensive play calls in the final minutes. Running the clock meant Irvin wasn't going to get the football.
"Jay Novacek and I, we hated that six-minute offense," Irvin said. "We were telling the defense, 'He's running right here.'"
Smith then interrupted Irvin by saying: "Everybody understood that you did not want to block. ... Keyshawn [Johnson] stole your line: Throw me the damn ball."
But Irvin wasn't close to being finished. The Cowboys' all-time leading receiver then explained how he would tell opposing defensive backs the plays when Novacek was designed to get the ball, knowing that it would leave Irvin in single coverage with a greater chance of getting a pass thrown his way.
"Jay's going to try and run an under, go and stop him," Irvin recalled of his conversation with opposing defenders. "Make sure he's covered so I can get the ball."
Johnston was the final member of the foursome to share his thoughts. While he cracked a few jokes about Irvin complaining in a similar fashion as he did in the huddle, Johnston focused on the importance of offensive coordinator Norv Turner. Turner spent three seasons calling offensive plays in Dallas before becoming the Redskins head coach in 1994.
"When Norv Turner walked in the pieces of the puzzle started to go into place," Johnston said. "What Michael could do, what Troy could do, what Emmitt could do, what I could do, what Jay could do, what we could do best is what Norv was asking us to do, and that gave us a tremendous amount of confidence."
Johnston added: "This '92 team, whether it was Bill Bates, Kenny Gant, Chad Hennings, all the guys you've heard talk tonight and have had a chance to meet, we all had a role on the team and we didn't accept the role, we tried to excel at the role."
A notable person not in attendance was the head coach of the 1992 team, Jimmy Johnson . However, the FOX NFL analyst did contribute a video message early in the evening, reminding his former players to find their seats and to be on time for dinner. Johnson tweeted Sunday that a previous commitment prevented him from attending.
Follow Jon Machota on Twitter: @jonmachota
