Party! Considering the Cold War was more about spending than spies, the answer was "Chernobyl," the 1986 nuclear meltdown in Ukraine.
At that moment, we learned, the Russian empire was crumbling. The money was running out, the resources thin. It resulted in a meltdown of very high and real proportions.
On some level, the Dallas Cowboys letting the subscription to their domain name run out coincidentally a hour after they fired Wade Phillips Monday was their Chernobyl.
It was a moment when you knew that things were not write for the Cowboys on a much more historic level than losing some games.
I wonder: Is everything all right with Jerry Jones and the critical infrastructure of the Cowboys' organization?
For months we've heard unsubstantiated rumors that Jones has been hurting for money having to pay off the construction and maintenance costs of that behomoth in Arlington.
There was the inability to find a sponsor for naming rights to the stadium. All of this on top of the collapse of the American economy several years ago and the rumors that those effects could be hitting Dallas-Fort Worth (tell that to the thousands who've been jobless the last three years).
On top of this are the contracts. Paying Jason Garrett a large sum to be an assistant. Giving large paydays to Tony Romo, DeMarcus Ware, Miles Austin, Marion Barber, Bradie James and Leonard Davis.
Then this season. The disappointment on the field possibly affecting how many people show up to the remaining home games including the annual marquee match-up on Thanksgiving. A game against the Saints that could have 75,000 fans donning gold and black.
Then, at this franchise's possible lowest point on Monday, right when Jones is almost forced to make the first ever mid-season coaching change, the website goes down.
Organizations usually set it up to where they automatically re-subscribe their domain name(s) every year to the point that there are no bills or letters. For whatever reason, the Cowboys didn't do this. I would assume someone got fired for this. But it's a telling detail of the state of things, I think, at Valley Ranch.
Not that Jones and Co. don't have the money to support their domain. He and they do. Not in the same way the Russians probably didn't have the money to maintain proper levels at Chernobyl.
Then, days after firing Wade Phillips and general managing a 1-7 team, Jones is caught on camera at a Las Vegas club with a young blonde girl, who probably just wanted her picture taken.
Jones looks weird. I don't think I've ever seen him not in a jacket of some kind, rarely without a tie. In the photo, he's wearing aggressively expensive jeans and a long-sleeved shirt. From the neck down, he'd look like a 35-year-old salesman from Addison. From the neck up, he looks like death.
Unfortunately for Jones, the game doesn't let up. Jon Daniels or Joe Nieuwendyk aren't in Vegas or Cabo San Lucas or Europe. Their jobs don't end even (especially) if Daniels' season is effectively over in terms of games.
How many other NFL GMs are partying this week? Most are poring over practice squads, tape, conversations with other GMs and owners. Many are trying to make their team better no matter how close or far away they are from the playoffs.
Right now, Jones is in charge of an NFL franchise in utter ruins. He can apologize for fans and season-ticket holders all he wants. All of that perceived sympathy is gone. Jones is trolling Vegas in jeans that probably cost as much as most of us spend on clothing for six months, while many people idiotically have 30-year payment plans on season tickets.
Jones just doesn't get it. Does he?
