When the Dallas Cowboys ticket office opened Thursday morning, the staff took orders for 50 season tickets in the first hour, with expectations of selling another 150 10-game packages for an average of $400 by the end of the day.

	Jerry Jones has a lot at stake with the hiring of Bill Parcells, his fifth Cowboys coach.

Even before he uttered his first word as the team's new coach, it was apparent that Bill Parcells sells.

"The first three months of the year are usually slow, but thanks to Bill Parcells, we should be very busy," said Joel Finglass, the Dallas Cowboys' director of ticket sales, who hopes to sell 5,000 new season ticket packages in the winter months.

Despite three straight 5-11 seasons under former coach Dave Campo, the Cowboys have not seen a slowdown at the box office. Although the season-ticket base has declined to fewer than 40,000 -- down from a high of 54,000 the team sold during its glory years in the mid '90s -- the team managed to extend its consecutive home sellout streak to 104 straight games this season. Even with the bump in ticket sales that followed news of Parcells' hiring, there are doubters who believe the cash cow that is "America's Team" can avoid a revenue slide without a turnaround on the field. Take away Emmitt Smith, a centerpiece on the Cowboys' three championship teams in the '90s and the NFL's all-time rushing leader, and it could speed up the process quicker.

Last summer, brand consultancy firm FutureBrand named the Cowboys the second most valuable sports brand, trailing only the New York Yankees. But Sebastian Shapiro, who coordinated the firm's study, said the Cowboys could face fan erosion if things don't shape up.

"Hiring a coach of Bill Parcells' caliber is a signal that they are looking to turn it around," Shapiro said. "But if they don't have another brand moment in the next couple years, like making the playoffs, we're going to see a change in that fan base."

A desperate situation?

If Bill Parcells is unable to turn around the Cowboys' fortunes on the field, the team's other brand extensions could suffer. In addition to owning the Cowboys, Jerry Jones also owns the Dallas Desperados, an Arena Football League team, and the Cowboys Golf Club, the only NFL-themed golf course, which opened last year in Grapevine, Texas. But David Carter, principal of The Sports Business Group, said the assorted business ventures could help solidify the Cowboys' name. "Diversified brands also have more avenues to promote the core brand and, if handled well and swiftly, can actually use these additional brand extensions to their benefit," Carter said. Although his team has hit hard times, Jones doesn't think his Cowboys are worth any less. In his negotiations with the Alamodome, Jones wants at least $4.8 million from the city in order for the Cowboys to call San Antonio its training home over the next four years, according to a source. The city council only allotted $800,000 total. An easy compromise isn't expected any time soon.

Although Dallas is considered a strong media market, it does not rank near the top of the list on fan loyalty.

"Dallas, unlike Boston and Chicago, has always had a base of fickle fans," said Gerald Scully, professor emeritus of economics at the University of Texas at Dallas and author of "The Market Structure of Sports." "Texans just hate losers. Maybe that's their residual Wild West spirit."

"Jerry Jones is still making money hand over fist, but at some point there has to be a decline," Scully said. "They have sold themselves as 'America's Team' for years, but that has long faded."

Finglass said he believes that as long as Jones is the owner, the Cowboys fan base will not erode.

"The Cowboys have an infinity," said Finglass, who claims the team brings in more young fans than others in the league. "We have a history that goes way back, and we have a future that there is no end to. When children are born, Dallas Cowboys fans buy a cheerleader's outfit for their little girl and jersey for their little boy."

Although a second NFL team arrived in Texas this year, it's not clear that the Cowboys will lose any kind of battle for the sports entertainment dollar anytime soon. Alex Rodriguez's impact on Texas Rangers attendance has been minimized by the team's lackluster record, but the Mavericks and the Stars are doing extremely well. Off to a 25-5 start this season, the Mavericks have the best record in the NBA and have sold out 48 straight home games, while the consistent Stars, which captured the Stanley Cup four years ago, have a sellout streak of 207 straight home games.

Still, Cowboys tickets on the secondary market sold for double their face value this season, said Scott Baima, owner of Texas Tickets, a ticket brokerage firm based in Dallas that sold about 1,000 seats this season.

"There's still demand for tickets and I haven't seen it hit rock bottom yet," Baima said. "Three more 5-11 seasons might do that though."

Others, like Finglass, disagree. With only eight regular-season home games, they contend, the Cowboys will be able to fill every seat. Notre Dame has sold out 214 of the last 215 home games, the one non-sellout a casualty of a scheduling fluke for its game against Air Force in 1973.

Mavericks owner Mark Cuban says that winning percentage and ticket sales don't always go hand-in-hand.

The business of the Tuna

Dallas Cowboys owner Jerry Jones is paying a pretty penny for Bill Parcells and he might plan to make some of that money back by marketing his new head coach. Minutes after Parcells took the podium at his press conference, Cowboys fans could find two Parcells-themed T-shirts ("The Big Tuna in Big D" and "Dude, We're Getting A Tuna") for $19.99 on the team's official Web site. "We're throwing them out there for fun," said Bill Priakos, the Cowboys' vice president of merchandise. "This is not to make a lot of money. We're only making 300 of them to have something immediately available for some of our fans. Hopefully, in the future, we can have fun and test his sense of humor." Parcells got the nickname "Tuna" while he was the linebackers coach with the New England Patriots. After being subjected to many practical jokes, Parcells asked if he was "Charlie the Tuna," the mascot of the StarKist tuna brand. At the postseason awards banquet, the team reportedly gave out a "Tuna" award. Despite the natural connection, there won't be an immediate endorsement opportunity for Parcells. "I'm not aware of any negotiations," said Bill Spain, senior vice president for Del Monte Foods, which acquired StarKist on Dec. 20.

"The quality of marketing and salesmanship is far more important than their record at this point," Cuban said. "There is enough history and star power that if they do a good job on that side, they will be a force for a lot of years to come."

Cuban said that while the Parcells' hiring might move tickets "because people think they need to get the tickets now before other do," an able sales force and a stress on fun at games will be more important if a turnaround on the field doesn't happen immediately.

"Look at the (Chicago) Bulls, (Toronto) Raptors and (New York) Knicks," Cuban said. "They are at or near the top of the league in tickets sold, despite their losing records. It's because they do a great job in both selling tickets and focusing on game presentation."

To that point, Finglass says that his staff, with more than 20 full-time salespeople, is the largest in the NFL.

A more direct relationship can be found between winning percentage and merchandise sales.

"Can we still remain near the top of the league in merchandise sales if we have 10 straight 5-11 seasons?" asked Bill Priakos, the Cowboys' vice president of merchandise. "No. But I don't know where the downside starts because we haven't found it yet."

Despite the team's third straight losing campaign, merchandise sales were brisk in the 25 Dallas Cowboys pro shops this year, Priakos said. However, sales increases are somewhat deceptive because the Cowboys are the only team in the league that opted to handle its own distribution of merchandise in exchange for guaranteeing the NFL a royalty. As a result, new Cowboys apparel can no longer be found at gas stations and is limited to retail at the team's pro shops and at J.C. Penney's in five states. A merchandise program built around Emmitt Smith breaking the rushing record this season also may have contributed to the rise in sales.

The Cowboys, much like the Green Bay Packers and the Oakland Raiders, are also in a different category than most NFL teams.

"A team with a storied history has a greater upside and a smaller downside than other teams," Priakos said. "But you can't survive forever without having an uptick. Every fan I speak to knows we won't be here forever and that Jerry cares about winning more than anybody."

Darren Rovell, who covers sports business for ESPN.com, can be reached at darren.rovell@espn3.com