Dak Prescott feels urgency to win Super Bowl after turning 30

Five days into training camp later this month, the Cowboys probably will roll out a cake for Dak Prescott‘s 30th birthday. Maybe he blows out the candles and makes a wish for the Super Bowl.

Yes, Prescott does feel some mounting pressure as he flips another life decade to win big on the football field. Reaching the playoffs probably is no longer going to cut it as a goal.

“One thousand percent,” Prescott told reporters, Saturday, as he played host to his annual football camp for kids at The Star. “Just understanding injuries and what I’ve been throughout my career and understanding that you don’t have forever to play this game. I’m blessed for every moment that I get. Just trying to take it with a sense of urgency.”

When it comes to the Super Bowl, the Cowboys have been holding steady at urgent for decades. Dallas hasn’t made (or won) a Super Bowl since Jan. 28, 1996 when Troy Aikman, Emmitt Smith and Michael Irvin helped dispense with the Steelers. Back home in Louisiana, little Dak Prescott was all of 2. We doubt he remembers Super Bowl XXX. The Cowboys haven’t even sniffed an NFC championship since the 1995 season.

So does the Super Bowl and his 30th birthday line up for Dak Prescott? We shall see. But he does concede he feels like an older soul on the football field.

“I’ve always felt older I guess,” he said. “Just being 30 doesn’t necessarily bother me. Knowing that I am the old guy, going into year eight, seeing some of the young guys, some of the rookies and seeing the difference in eight years. It’s fun and challenging at times, knowing that I stay connected and stay in the now with what’s cool and whatnot. But this game is beautiful. It doesn’t matter how old you are because you play this game like a kid.”

Tom Brady felt like a kid until he retired at 45 earlier this year. Aaron Rodgers will be 40 days after Thanksgiving. He thinks he’s got a Super Bowl left in him. That’s why he switched from the Packers to the Jets. Plus, there were at least 17 quarterbacks who started NFL games last season who were 30 or older. It’s just that the 20-something QBs are snatching the attention, from Patrick Mahomes, Lamar Jackson and Joe Burrow to Josh Allen, Justin Herbert, Trevor Lawrence and Tua Tagovailoa.

It’s definitely a young star’s game, but we’re assuming there’s room for a geriatric 30-year-old with a star on his helmet.