Husband and I traveled from LA to Dallas to attend the first regular-season game at the new Cowboys Stadium. A Cowboys fan forever, I'd never been to a Cowboys home game. I was so excited!
That morning, at the hotel, we checked the Cowboys website and found a Guest Services Hotline that had been set up to provide parking and other event information. We called and spoke to a very nice lady who asked if we had purchased a parking pass, and explained that we couldn't tailgate unless we had reserved a designated tailgating space. Too late now. OK, so we can't tailgate.
Kickoff was 7:20 p.m. (Football Night In America!), and we wanted to get there early. The nice lady cautioned that parking would be complicated by the Rangers baseball game that was starting at noon. The two ballparks share parking lots.
A lightbulb went off over Husband's head. The Rangers were playing the Angels. Let's go to the baseball game, hopefully watch our Angels beat the crap out of the home team, and then walk to the Cowboys game. Maybe we can park in the same lot for both games? The nice Guest Services lady said sure! The Rangers ticket office said sure! The parking attendant in the lot when we got there? Not so much.
Argue argue argue, but but but, they said they said, you can’t you can’t, no no no yes yes yes…oh, fine, go ahead and park here. Why, thank you!!!
So we sat in blessed shade as the Angels did indeed beat the Rangers, a delightful way to escape the humidity. I was taken by the small-town feel of this ballpark. It was bring-your-dog-to-the-game day, and there was a section reserved for the family pups, complete with shallow plastic pools. Lots of woofies wore Rangers shirts. At the end of the game, the announcer invited all the kids to come out onto the field and run the bases. Never heard of any such thing in LA. Lovely. Almost quaint.
Then, the walk to Cowboys Stadium, several blocks under a glaring sun and as-advertised Texas humidity. I didn't drink enough water, and I paid for it. Outside the stadium we bought some Inaugural Game merchandise, then entered the building. Part spaceship, part Taj Majal. Jaw-dropping. Fans piled in, oooing and aaaahhhing at the open design, the merchandise, and the piece-de-resistance: GodzillaTron!
OK, that's not what it's really called, but it's a perfect name. It's a double-sided, 60-yard-long video board. The largest one on this and 12 other planets. 7-1/2 stories high, the largest HiDef video board in creation is indeed something to behold. The board helpfully displayed video of important visitors such as John Madden, pre-game activities outside the stadium, videos documenting the stadium's construction, helicopter shots of the exterior (that's as close as they could come to a blimp flying over the game, I guess), and shots from inside the team locker room. That video board did everything imaginable--except tell you the score! There's no scoreboard! Just a little display at each end of the stadium. You need a magnifying glass.
Ninety minutes before kickoff, they opened the roof and the end zone doors, a 12-minute process. Out went the glorious air conditioning, in came the humidity. It made no sense in that weather to open the roof, but they had to trot out all their tricks on opening day.
And then, The Star. In the middle of the field was a cut-out of the Cowboys logo. Just a cut-out—you could see the star shape, but it was the same color and texture as the rest of the field. Five men guarded it during pre-game. Clearly, something was up.
At the climax of a ridiculously self-congratulatory but fun video that tracked the voyage of the shining, spinning star from somewhere in space to the floor of the stadium (through the open roof, of course), a bevy of balloon-holders standing in a star formation at the center of the field stepped back, and suddenly the star, the Cowboys logo, at the center of the field was unveiled, the turf covering it vanished, and fireworks spouted from the star. This, apparently, is the original star from Texas Stadium. The fans cheered wildly! A lot of pomp under the circumstances.
Now that the stage was set, the Cowboys took the field through a line of cheerleaders and a few flames. The New York Giants entered to enthusiastic boos. George W. Bush and his wife tossed the coin. Jordin Sparks sang the National Anthem as an American flag covered the entire field. Owner Jerry Jones surveyed his handiwork along with guests Billy Bob Thornton, John Madden and Commissioner Goddell.
At halftime, they dedicated the Ring of Honor. Names of great players in Cowboys history were unveiled in a ring around the stadium. As their names were read, their plaque was revealed and they were introduced to wild cheers. Troy Aikman, Michael Irvin, Emmitt Smith were there, and many not present were honored (Tex Schramm, Tom Landry). A living Hall of Fame.
Seating capacity is 84,000. For $29, you could buy a Party Pass, which entitled you to watch the game from the standing-room-only area in the end zone. Attendance was over 105,000, so a lot of people were standing. A lot. A whole lot. They oversold the Party Passes (although they said they didn't), and many people were forced to watch from outside the stadium. That lasted until a woman needed medical attention due to the oppressive heat and humidity. At that point they decided that the greater safety risk was making fans stay outside, and everyone poured in. Bodies blocked every door, every bathroom, every everything. I wondered where the Fire Marshall was. Husband speculated that he was probably in the Owner’s Box sitting between President Bush and John Madden.
So the game began. It was an exciting game, with several lead changes. Eli Manning threw better than Tony Romo, the Dallas D didn’t get in his way much, and the Cowboys (irritatingly) let the Giants spoil their stadium opener by kicking a field goal in the closing seconds.Sponsorship is everywhere. "Bank of America" is on the cupholders at every seat. There are two boards in one end zone that run perpetual video of Miller Lite. The "Official Jeweler of the Dallas Cowboys" selected a cheerleader as "Gem of the Game." The "Official Hairdresser of the Dallas Cowboys" featured a different cheerleader as Best HairDo of the Game...or something. The official something-or-other of the Dallas Cowboys sponsored a whatever-it-was of the game. Miller Lite sold for $10. A strawberry CowboyRita in a plastic souvenir glass was $14.
A joyful time was had by all in Jerry Jones' billion-dollar stadium, so montrous that the Statue of Liberty could be placed on the field and it wouldn't touch the roof. Even the Giants had a great time. (Damned last-second field goal.)
Thanks, Cowboys, that was fun. It was great to see my Cowboys. It's been a long time, since there's no pro football in LA.
But next time you open a billion-dollar stadium, see if you can win the freaking game!
