Is Romantic Breakup The Real Reason Stephen A. Smith Hates The Cowboys?

Have you ever wondered where Stephen A. Smith's Cowboys hatred comes from? Could it be ... love?

DALLAS - Nobody bashes Dallas Cowboys fans more than ESPN analyst Stephen A. Smith. During his three-decades worth of work in sports media, Smith has made his distaste for the Cowboys very known, referring to Dallas fans as "cockroaches.''

Have you ever wondered where his hatred comes from? Of course, Smith knows how good the Cowboys are for television; our Mike Fisher has pointed out often that Smith is more of an "actor and performer'' than he is a sports analyst.

But is there more to the origin of whatever part of his animosity might be genuine? 

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On First Take on Friday, co-hosts Max Kellerman asked Smith point-blank: Have you had your heart broken by a Cowboys fan? To which host Molly Qerim Rose couldn't help but laugh and Smith answered "yes.''

Smith proceeded to say the heartbreak occurred in high school and that he doesn't know where she is now and doesn't care. 

A bit bitter, are we? 

And since, any time Smith has dated a woman who was a Cowboys fan, he says he ends it the minute he finds out the team she roots for. It is clear he takes extreme delight in trolling Cowboys fans and he knows that it pays in views. 

Speaking of that Cowboys TV gold ... Remember how heated it got between Smith and Michael Irvin when the Cowboys legend joined the show in 2018? 

Someone get @michaelirvin88 a towel. pic.twitter.com/94vkLZUP9h

— First Take (@FirstTake) November 5, 2018

Smith has said the Tony Romo argument between himself and Irvin is his favorite moment on First Take. 

Whether he is mocking Dallas' slogan, "How 'Bout Them Cowboys?" or calling Cowboys fans the most "disgusting nauseating fanbase in history"... Smith is a hater... or maybe he's just licking old wounds.

Or, given his "performance'' history, maybe there was never any old girlfriend at all.