Dallas Cowboys Stadium

Back in early February, I had the good fortune to visit Dallas Cowboys stadium as part of a company outing. I have waited for two months to post these pictures to my blog, because I have been holding out for some photos of the key moment, ones that I did not take and had to wait for. For those of you on Facebook, you have probably seen most of these before, but I wanted to put them in this format that I find easier to browse than the Facebook photo gallery (and that my Dad can also see).They moved the Tom Landry statue from the old Texas Stadium. It sits outside the main entrance of Cowboys Stadium. (Apparently just in time, too! http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7gJT-hadmN0).

In the area where my group was being fed, they had this interesting fountain with colors and timed jets.

And here is that fountain after I figured out how to lengthen the exposure on my camera. Unfortunately, while this fixed the brightness issue on pictures, it made many too fuzzy and blurry. My apologies for that.


What's striking about the size of the place is that it doesn't look nearly so large from the outside as it does from the inside. I think it may have to do with the fact that half the stadium is underground. Once inside, you begin to appreciate the enormity.

The massive arches that span the stadium are the topic of some wonder. Here's where one of them enters the building, simultaneously strengthening the wall while holding up the ceiling.

If you ever wondered how those big displays are created (and I have), wonder no more. Each block has a red, green, and blue LED that can be controlled just like a TV.


This is an example of the typical seats used in the stadium.

Note that the luxury suites have much nicer chairs....

Here's the end of the stadium my group was occupying. That's the "Ford platform" and the "Dr. Pepper Pavilion" or something like that....

This is the opposite end of the stadium, where the go-go dancers appear on deer stands during games.

This is a sadly blurry picture of my co-worker Dexter (waving) and another LSI person munching away in the Ford pavilion.

Dexter and I clambered down to the field to get some pictures, not knowing that a legitimate tour was to come later. That's one small step for a man, one giant leap for Cowboys fans everywhere....

Here's a good look at the endzone from field level.

From the absolute center of the field, you can look upwards through the score/videoboard and see this star on the top.

Being on the field where you can only dream of playing makes you do weird things, like pretending to lunge for fumbled balls (or perhaps peanut M&Ms?) in the endzone.

Here I am holding up the goalpost.

In a fit of pique, I decided to tear down the goalpost to celebrate actually being on the Cowboys' field. Fortunately, it was too well grounded and the fever passed.

Here's a shot of Dexter standing where the Cowboys run onto the field on gameday. Yes, last-second restroom stops are apparently available to the right.


Our group also had a visit from some of the Cheerleaders, who signed pictures and posed for photos.

Yes, they're pretty and very nice (but of course, that's their job, isn't it?)

I followed along with a tour group when I realized they were forming. Here's our tour lead describing the luxury suite in which we were standing. He (and all the other help at the stadium) was nothing but friendly and professional, despite the mean demonic eyes.

YES!! We're going in!
Here I am standing in front of Jason Witten's locker (and Miles Austin's and Tony Romo's). Obviously, I would've stood in front of Billy Bates' locker if he still had one, but he's been retired for something like 15 years now.

Now comes the time for "THE" event. This is what has taken two months to get posted. For those of you who have seen the Facebook photos, it is now time to reveal the FULL story. At this point of the tour, we were taken out onto the field. Now Dex and I had already been out earlier (probably illegally), but this time there was one difference. Somehow, a partially aired-up football had been left near the endzone where my group entered the field. One guy picked it up, and you can guess what happened next. Yes, I was lobbing passes and catching a football in the endzone at Cowboys Stadium.

BUT WAIT!!! It got better. I've never had much chance to be a football player. I grew up playing soccer. While it was always mostly a pipe dream for me to be an NFL player, the one position where I MIGHT have had a shot was at.... kicker, naturally. So there was little I would rather do than to say I kicked a field goal at Cowboys Stadium. For crying out loud, the net was even up behind the goalposts just DARING me to try. I managed to clear a little space out and asked someone to hold the ball at the 10-yard line (at least what would have been the 10...the fieldturf was pulled up and folded just over the 10-yard markings, so it was really on foam). With a few (maybe 6) people paying attention, I lined up for the equivalent of an extra point. I was a little nervous because one really shouldn't be kicking a (slightly flat) football in a crowd of 30 people milling about the endzone, especially when you rely on many of them for your livelihood. But who knew when I would ever get such a chance again, so I stepped up and swung. The nerves (combined with some wag who noticed enough to shout "CHOKE" right as I kicked) made me tentative and I hit a weak corkscrew off to the left that would've embarrassed Nick Folk even during his slump.

But all was not lost. Enough people saw the attempt to make it something of a novelty, and soon there was a parade of folks lining up to attempt the same kick. That half of the people in the tour group were from foreign locales probably added to the "kicking" desire. Even one of the tour guides got involved and started playing the role of holder. That was a lot of fun, and while nobody looked to challenge Adam Vinatieri for an NFL roster spot this fall, a handful of folks managed to get the ball through. That was fun to watch, and I really admire the guys who kicked while wearing dress shoes. That's dedication.

But I wanted another shot. I managed to slip back into the line during a brief lull and lined up for a shot at redemption. This time, I was much more calm and focused, as everyone was now involved and having fun. This time I ignored the few shouts and the eyes of by now about 40 people and popped a powerful drive.

Only I missed.... again. I made the classic blunder of kicking it like it was a soccer ball. Those of you who have kicked both types of ball know what I'm talking about. There's a "soccer-style" of kicking a football that many pros use, but it's still fundamentally different than a typical soccer "shot" kind of hit. My powerful drive curved cleanly left and hooked two yards wide of the goal post. The first miss was excusable. The second was left me red-faced and ashamed. I was even wearing my Samba shoes, supposedly made for kicking things, and I couldn't make a simple extra point. I seethed and crucified myself for my worthlessness while another few people took their shot. By now, the group(s) were starting to move on and there were only a couple of people still trying kicks.

I wanted redemption. Yes, seeing Cowboys stadium was awesome, and it was loads of fun just to watch everyone trying to kick a field goal. It also felt good to think that I instigated it. But if I, the big Cowboys fan, the "soccer guy" wearing Samba shoes and a Bill Bates jersey, failed to make a simple extra point, I was going to regret it for the rest of my life. As I stood on the field, I thought of the infamous quote from former USA Olympic hockey coach Herb Brooks. Before the 3rd period of the game against Finland, when a win would guarantee the team a gold medal (they had already beaten the Soviets in the famous "miracle" game), the US trailed the Fins 2-1. According to witnesses, US coach Herb Brooks came into the locker room during intermission, and rather than spouting off a series of profanities or throwing chairs, he said just one thing. "If you lose this game, you'll take it to your graves." He then paused, took a few steps, turned again, said, "Your !#$@!#* graves," and walked out.

So while trying desperately to not appear desperate, I lingered around hoping for one more chance. There were now only a couple of folks left, plus the kindly tour guide holder and a photographer who had been randomly clicking pictures of the group. I asked if the holder would let me take just one more, and he agreed. At that point, the photographer said, "hold up a moment," then dashed behind me and set up for an action shot, like I needed the extra pressure. The holder tour guide gave me a quick tip and then lined up the ball while I settled into my stance. I just concentrated on blasting the ball through the uprights, and took my chance.

YESSSSSSSSSSSSSSS!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

I crushed the ball straight up and through as the camera flashed behind me. It was as good a kick as I could ever hope to strike (at least with a partially flat ball). It would've been good from almost 40 yards (an extra point is essentially a 20-yard field goal). It was the best kick of the night by anyone. The photographer jumped up and patted me on the back, saying, "I got a perfect shot! You can see the ball going right through and your leg is still in motion."

At that point, I was on cloud nine. I don't think I stopped smiling until I fell asleep back at the hotel a few hours later. The photographer told me he was going to drop off the pictures with the tour organizer so I could get the shot later. I already had this blog post in my mind on the bus trip back to the hotel.


After the tour ended, I went outside near entrance K to find a slab of concrete. Now this slab of concrete was special. All around the stadium, there are tiles with names on them that were purchased by fans to help defray the cost of the stadium. A group of Cowboys fans that I have been fortunate to communicate with via email for a decade or so ponied up the cash to purchase one of these tiles. Here's the proof:

And with that, I will say goodbye for another week (or at least until I feel like updating the blog again). I hope you enjoyed my tour and pictures from Cowboys Stadium. It really is a great experience, and I hope you get to see it some day, whether you're a Cowboys fan or not.

SAH