From the moment he arrived in the “Lone Star State,” Michael Irvin was more than just a wide receiver; he was the catalyst of a new era for the Dallas Cowboys. A fiery competitor oozing with charisma, "The Playmaker" embodied the brash, high-octane spirit that would come to define the Cowboys' dynasty of the 1990s. 

As a member of the legendary "Triplets" alongside Troy Aikman and Emmitt Smith, Irvin carved out for himself a Hall of Fame career. A key figure in the team's three Super Bowl championships in the 1990s, Irvin’s story is interwoven in Cowboys lore and featured in “America's Team: The Gambler and His Cowboys.”

Currently airing on Netflix, the documentary chronicles Jerry Jones's 1989 purchase of the Dallas Cowboys, his rise to power, and the iconic 1990s dynasty he built with coach Jimmy Johnson, Barry Switzer, and all the highs and lows that made the team iconic and infamous.

Regarded as one of the greatest Cowboys ever, Irvin shared what it was like to shoot the docuseries about one of the most loved and hated professional teams in sports history and his journey as a Black man.

“I think it's about keeping trying to move forward because yesterday you can do nothing about it, but tomorrow you can do everything about that,” Irvin told BET. “When you put something like this out, all of us start calling each other, but we're all still great friends, and you just realize, man, we had those moments where we did so many great things, and we shared that world together. It was some of the best times of my life. There were great peaks, and we did have some valleys, but it was the greatest of times.”

Drafted by the Cowboys with the 11th pick of the 1988 NFL Draft, Irvin was fresh off winning the national championship with the Miami Hurricanes under Johnson. Going from a collegiate powerhouse to one of the worst teams in the NFL, Irvin explained how hard it was to experience so much losing.

“I was going crazy. From high school through college, I had only lost two games in three years. And I got to the league, and the losing was one thing, the approach was another. I was thinking that I was going to play against the best, but some of the guys were just there for the check,” Irvin recalled. “I thought that this was the highest level of competition. That was disappointing. On the other hand, that's what made the ride so great, because it wasn't something that was given. It was something that was earned and taken. We had to go earn it, and we came together to do that.”

The Cowboys became known as “America’s Team” in 1978, but the phrase meant so much more to Irvin. It connected him with his late father, who was a die-hard Cowboys fan.

“When I first got here, I would walk on that stadium before a game, and I would look up and see Drew Pearson and Roger Staubach in the Ring of Honor, and I would remember because my dad, who never saw me play in the NFL,” he said. “I would remember the moments when Drew Peterson would catch a pass, and my dad would go crazy, and say, ‘That's America's team.’ I was holding all of that in my head before I stepped on the football field. Then I would look at my helmet and say, ‘You're on this team now, go put it on their ass.”

“There was nothing like that playing for America's team, my dad's favorite team. We watched that game when Drew caught the ‘Hail Mary’, and that's what I thought about when I scored my first touchdown in the end zone,’ Irvin continued. “What I saw my dad do, wow, of that hell marriage, he will be celebrating when I score the first touchdown. He would be celebrating with me. I was able to bring back those moments with my father, even though he's in heaven.”

After experiencing a number of challenges, Irvin believes that he’s well-equipped to help others who are entangled in similar struggles. By unapologetically sharing his truth in the docuseries, Irvin says that he’s more than qualified to help others navigate their own obstacles.

“When God saves you and pulls you in from certain things, he's not saving you for you. God frees you to go back and get the rest of his people who are in the mess that you were in, to show them that if I came through it, so can you,” Irvin explained.

“I can give you the true story, since I am what they call the main protagonist, and I can give you the real deal," he went on. "What was so embarrassing back then, now that you're over it, becomes a badge that says, “I can talk to the people with that problem. So, it's time to tell the truth and try to help you.

When asked if there was ever a better trifecta than he, Aikman, and Smith at the wide receiver, quarterback, and running back position, the “Playmaker”  gave an emphatic answer in favor of “The Triplets.”

“I don't think there's ever been anyone like what we did. Joe Montana, Roger Craig, and Jerry Rice were bad boys. But to do it like we did, we are the baddest triplet group.”

For decades, the Cowboys have been the most polarizing team in pro sports. Whether you love them or hate them, the Cowboys will always dominate the headlines and the sports discussions. According to Irvin, this is exactly how it should be.

"You may call it hate, but I call it interest, no matter what side it's on. They know everybody's interest, and the currency in our business is the eye gate and the ear gate tuned in to what you're saying and what you're doing,” Irvin explained. “So that's why everybody uses them at the top of every sports show.

In addition to their feats on the field and all the controversies and drama that ensued off of it, Irvin wants viewers to take away from the docuseries that the Cowboys were more than just a great team. They were a close-knit family.

“This game is the toughest in the world because it requires everyone to be on the same page. There's no such thing as individual, isolated success. Everything is interconnected, interdependent on one another. I want people to take away the closeness of our team,” Irvin said.

“Everybody's always trying to talk about the greatest offensive line in the world, but all of those guys almost got cut before Emmmit got there," he added. "When he got there, we became one of the greatest running teams, but that's because of the closeness. We became one of the best teams because of the closeness. 

“We had talent, but we were a close group that won football games. And in this league, if you're going to win Super Bowls, you have to be what we were, and that's a football family,” Irvin continued. “Not a football team or football organization. You've got to be a football family.”