"I thought this was our year" - Cowboys fan Shaquille O'Neal forced to wear a wig and sing after losing bet

Dallas Cowboys fan and NBA Hall of Famer Shaquille O'Neal would have been rightfully disappointed following his team's exit from the NFL playoffs, after their 23-17 defeat to the San Francisco 49ers in the NFC Wild Card game on Sunday.

But things went from bad to worse for O'Neal following the defeat when it became clear via social media that the former Los Angeles Laker had lost a bet because of the result.

Appearing on his own podcast, The Big Podcast, O'Neal revealed he had lost a wager with friend and co-host Anthony "Spice" Adams. As a result of losing the bet, O'Neal removed a towel that was covering his head, uncovering a gray wig atop his usually bald head.

On Twitter, Adams, who was drafted by the 49ers in the 2003 NFL draft, posted:

"Me and @SHAQ had a bet!!! Shaq is a @dallascowboys fan and y'all know I got drafted to the @49ers!! Of course I want the Niners to beat the Cowboys. So Shaq had to wear a wig the whole podcast and sing an original song!!!"

The San Francisco 49ers were understandably fans of O'Neal's new song.

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Cowboys will have to wait until next season

O'Neal believed it would be Dallas' year to win the Super Bowl. That's a feat they have achieved five times, though not since 1996, when they defeated the Pittsburgh Steelers 27-17.

After agreeing a 4-year deal with quarterback Dak Prescott in the off-season, worth $160 million, owner Jerry Jones believed it was time for his beloved team to return to the Super Bowl after a 28-year absence.

And he would've been mightily confident of reaching the 'Big Game' at the very minimum this season, particularly after such an impressive regular season, where they had the number one ranked offense and finished at the top of the NFC East with a record of 12-5.

This was enough to secure the number three seed in the NFC and a chance to host a playoff game in front of 80,000 fans, with the hope and expectation of winning.

NFC Wild Card Playoffs - San Francisco 49ers v Dallas Cowboys

In reality, Dallas crashed out of the playoffs at the first hurdle in controversial circumstances and plenty of questions will be asked of them in the coming weeks and months, leading into training camp at the beginning of next season.