Future Looks Cowboy Blue : Super Bowl: Not only are the champions young, but they will be hurt little by free agency.

Dawn came quickly for the Dallas Cowboys.

The dawn of a new day.

Possibly the dawn of a new era.

Owner Jerry Jones, Coach Jimmy Johnson and Super Bowl MVP Troy Aikman attended a news conference Monday morning, only 14 hours after their 52-17 victory over the Buffalo Bills in Super Bowl XXVII at the Rose Bowl in Pasadena.

None of them slept much on the night they regained the glory of the 1970s, when Dallas was in five Super Bowls, winning two.

This newest edition of the Cowboys has a shot at similar success in the 1990s.

For one thing, they are the youngest team in the NFL.

For another, they don’t expect to be hurt too badly during the off-season by free agency. The contracts of only six players will run out.

The biggest name among those is running back Emmitt Smith, but he is only a three-year veteran, two years shy of free agency. The contract of another star, defensive lineman Charles Haley, has also run out, but Dallas has the right of first refusal with him.

That leaves backup quarterback Steve Beuerlein, who is expected to leave; center Dale Hellestrae, receiver Kelvin Martin and fullback Daryl Johnston. Johnston, who has played only four years, is not affected by free agency.

Jones isn’t worried about being able to keep the team together after taking the Cowboys from 1-15 to a Super Bowl champion in four seasons.

“That will burn a hole in your brain,” Jones said. “You don’t forget that 1-15.”

Aikman, who had only a hour’s sleep Sunday night, was bleary-eyed Monday morning as he received his MVP trophy and the keys to a car after completing 22 of 30 passes for 273 yards and four touchdowns. But he hasn’t forgotten his rookie season, when Dallas won only one game.

“We all had some doubts as to whether or not what we were doing was going to pay off,” Aikman said. “At that stage, when you’re 1-15, it’s hard to see the light at the end of the tunnel.”

And now?

“It really hasn’t sunk in,” he said. “It means a great deal to me, as it does to everybody in our organization. Obviously, we went in with the idea of winning and coming out Super Bowl champs, but I don’t think any of us realize the impact or to what magnitude we were able to do it.”

So what’s ahead for America’s newest sports hero? A trip to Disneyland? Endorsements?

“I feel that once so many players get in a situation like this and they win a Super Bowl, they take it too far,” Aikman said. “They lose focus as to what got them to that position.

“I won’t do anything that will take away from my preparation for the upcoming season.”

That won’t be easy. Aikman usually was successful at fighting off onrushing Bills like Bruce Smith and Cornelius Bennett Sunday. But, as he will soon learn, fighting off endorsement seekers will be a different matter.