Mike McCarthy announced the Dallas Cowboys’ theme for the 2023 season: “carpe omnia,” a Latin term that means to “seize everything.”
McCarthy created the tradition of giving every year a theme and mantra for the season. He says the theme was selected because it expresses what he was looking for out of the season — to “take it all.”
He feels that selecting the appropriate theme needs to illustrate where the team is in “their progression to winning a championship.”
“I think it’s very difficult to win a Super Bowl in this league. There is no question about it … But sustained success is, I think personally, is a bigger challenge,” said McCarthy.
Mike McCarthy says the Dallas Cowboys theme for the year is "carpe omnia" which means "seize everything"
— Jess Nevarez (@JessNevarez_) September 6, 2023
Mike McCarthy Announces 2023 Dallas Cowboys Theme
There will also be an empty photo frame outside the team room that symbolizes the possibilities ahead.
“A picture says a thousand words, but the reality is an empty frame is everything because it’s all the possibilities and capabilities of what’s in front of us. We are going to do every single day everything we can possibly do for that frame to be part of the history and tradition of the Dallas Cowboys,” said McCarthy.
He said when he announced the theme to the team, it wasn’t a big speech but rather a talk about “the why” because of how important that is.
Last season, the theme was resilience, a word that was repeated throughout the season across the Cowboys’ organization.
McCarthy’s History With Latin Terms
McCarthy was asked if he ever used the term “carpe diem,” and he said he did in the 2010-2011 season for the week of Super Bowl 45.
Carpe diem is Latin for “seize the day,” which McCarthy and the Packers did as they won the Super Bowl against the Pittsburgh Steelers 31-25 at Cowboys Stadium.
Back then, McCarthy would do weekly themes as opposed to the yearly themes he does now.
He said, “Hopefully, it has the same success” for the Cowboys this season.
9 years ago today, the Packers defeated the Steelers in Super Bowl XLV in the first and only Super Bowl at AT&T Stadium. Mike McCarthy has had quite a record in Dallas. pic.twitter.com/viTBiSWsu1
— Gil Brandt (@Gil_Brandt) February 6, 2020