OT: Last Cowboys Game in Texas Stadium
Posted: Sun Dec 21, 2008 5:58 amThis is sad ... I grew up 5 miles from Texas Stadium, graduated from high school there, watched tons of football games, went to some amazing concerts...
I agree with the writer ... the place has always been ugly, but the memories are great ones.
_____________
COMMENTARY: CEDRIC GOLDEN
Last roundup
After 36 years, Texas Stadium to close up shop
By Cedric Golden
Saturday, December 20, 2008
To see Texas Stadium from the outside, the viewer isn't immediately drawn to thoughts of perfection. It's not something you would see on the cover of Architectural Digest nowadays.
Texas Stadium is ugly. No doubt about it. When you're pulling up to the old house that opened in 1971, there's no denying its homely exterior, a dull mix of blue and white that's legitimized only by the blue stars that cover its sagging shoulders.
But once you're inside the house, it brightens up. The field is tidy, the end zones painted that oh-so familiar shade of blue. The only thing bigger than that huge blue star at midfield and the Ring of Honor encircling the stands are the memories that arose on the turf and in those locker rooms.
If walls could talk, Texas Stadium would rival Oprah.
Thirty-seven years after the stadium was built at a cost of $35 million, the Dallas Cowboys' contest tonight against Baltimore represents the 291st and final regular season game at Texas Stadium. There's a chance the Cowboys could have a playoff game in the stadium next month, but it's unlikely, so this likely represents the final chance to see the Cowboys in Irving. A new stadium is long overdue, and team owner Jerry Jones will move the team into a billion dollar-plus facility next season.
That state-of-the-art facility in Arlington will trump Texas Stadium in every area, except in historical significance . The soon-to-be former home of the Cowboys ranks up there in NFL lore with Lambeau Field in Green Bay and Soldier Field in Chicago.
"The first time I walked in there was to play a preseason game in 1975,'' said former Cowboys linebacker Thomas "Hollywood" Henderson. "For a kid coming from a small black college in Oklahoma (Langston University), it was just impressive to see that place. I can say this because I'm black: It was like going from a slave ship to a yacht."
In his second game at Texas Stadium, Henderson took a reverse handoff from Rolly Woosley on a kickoff, raced 97 yards for a touchdown against the St. Louis Cardinals and slam-dunked the ball over the goal post. He was but one of many Cowboys who captured the imagination of fans in this state.
Henderson played with a linebacker named D.D. Lewis, who unlike Henderson wasn't particularly fast. Other players were much stronger than he was, too, and unlike teammates Harvey Martin and Ed "Too Tall" Jones, Lewis never played in a Pro Bowl.
But he stands out this weekend as an important figure in Texas Stadium history.
As the Cowboys prepare for their last hurrah in Irving, his name has rolled off the lips of Cowboy historians and fans alike . And it's not because of any play he made during his 13 seasons with the Cowboys. No, it's because of one thing he said to reporters in the locker room more than 35 years ago.
When asked about the Cowboys' popularity, he said, "Texas Stadium has a hole in its roof so God can watch his favorite team play."
Lewis' statement — he says he never claimed it as his own but was quoted making it — epitomized what the Cowboys stood for in the 1970s, when they became known as America's Team. There was a polite arrogance about them. From coach Tom Landry's Baptist preacher suits topped off by his familiar fedora, to the selfless efficiency of quarterback Roger Staubach, to the brazen Doomsday defense, to the mind-numbing speed of running back Tony Dorsett, the Cowboys not only played to the state of Texas, they played to an entire nation.
We caught a glimpse of that football palace every Friday night during the opening of the prime-time soap opera "Dallas." Diehard Cowboys fans will tell you it had to be midday when that overhead scene was shot because a shadow is covering half of the field.
In Mac Engel's book "Texas Stadium: America's Home Field," Staubach wrote in the foreword:
"There was not a bad seat in the place. It was almost as if everyone in the family room sat on the couch to watch a game played on the carpet in front of them. There was a family element to Texas Stadium, too. The fans all seemed to know each other, and they all knew us."
Top moments
The memories at Texas Stadium are too many to recount: Clint Longley's 50-yard pass to beat the Redskins on Thanksgiving Day in 1974; Staubach's touchdown pass to Tony Hill that secured the 1979 NFC East title and beat the Redskins in his last regular-season home game ; and Emmitt Smith surpassing Walter Payton for the NFL's career rushing mark against Seattle in 2002.
Those are just a few.
If Lewis is right, God has watched 312 Cowboys games in Irving since 1971. God surely knows the Cowboys have a 213-99 overall record at Texas Stadium (197-93 in the regular season and 16-6 in the playoffs). And he will have the best seat in the house Saturday, even if many television viewers will be forced to flee from their homes to find refuge in the home of a friend with the NFL Network. Those watching will see 100 ex-Cowboys take the field after the game and a video tribute revealing the five top moments in stadium history.
Once the mecca of NFL stadiums, Texas Stadium was the first to incorporate suites for its high-roller fans, the first to feature its cheerleaders at midfield and the first to immortalize its legends with a ring of honor.
It was a beautiful marriage, but like most marriages, it wasn't perfect.
After losing to Baltimore in Super Bowl V, the Cowboys moved into 65,708-seat Texas Stadium five games into the 1971 season. What followed was a rise to power in the NFL , with four more Super Bowl appearances and two championships coming in the '70s.
The stadium's tenants labored through the forgettable 1980s, when the 49ers, Redskins and Giants seized power from them in the NFC . Jerry Jones purchased the team in 1989, a deal that included the blasphemous firing of Landry and the hiring of unproven college coach Jimmy Johnson.
Then came a rebirth. The stadium's creaky rafters watched over Troy Aikman, Emmitt Smith and Michael Irvin, as another three Super Bowl championships brought the Cowboys the title of Team of the '90s. Along the way, Jones was forgiven by some (not all because I know Dad still hates him) because winning has a way of softening hard feelings.
The stadium also was the scene for several notable non-Cowboys events.
Football fans from my hometown of Tyler remember the Class 5A Division II semifinal in 1994, when the John Tyler High Lions blew a 41-17 lead against Plano East with three minutes remaining in the game. After Plano East's furious comeback — fueled by three consecutive recoveries of onside kicks to set up touchdowns — the Lions trailed 44-41 with only 24 seconds to play. That was more than enough time for Roderick Dunn's game-winning, 97-yard kickoff return that won the team an ESPY award.
The Jacksons played Texas Stadium before Michael turned weird. So did Madonna, Guns N' Roses, Metallica, Garth Brooks, Paul McCartney and the Eagles .
Now the Cowboys are taking their act elsewhere and that homely stadium in Irving will soon close up shop for good.
The stands will be empty in 2009, but those walls will always remember what went on inside Texas Stadium.
Won't we all.
cgolden@statesman.com; 912-5944
I agree with the writer ... the place has always been ugly, but the memories are great ones.
_____________
COMMENTARY: CEDRIC GOLDEN
Last roundup
After 36 years, Texas Stadium to close up shop
By Cedric Golden
Saturday, December 20, 2008
To see Texas Stadium from the outside, the viewer isn't immediately drawn to thoughts of perfection. It's not something you would see on the cover of Architectural Digest nowadays.
Texas Stadium is ugly. No doubt about it. When you're pulling up to the old house that opened in 1971, there's no denying its homely exterior, a dull mix of blue and white that's legitimized only by the blue stars that cover its sagging shoulders.
But once you're inside the house, it brightens up. The field is tidy, the end zones painted that oh-so familiar shade of blue. The only thing bigger than that huge blue star at midfield and the Ring of Honor encircling the stands are the memories that arose on the turf and in those locker rooms.
If walls could talk, Texas Stadium would rival Oprah.
Thirty-seven years after the stadium was built at a cost of $35 million, the Dallas Cowboys' contest tonight against Baltimore represents the 291st and final regular season game at Texas Stadium. There's a chance the Cowboys could have a playoff game in the stadium next month, but it's unlikely, so this likely represents the final chance to see the Cowboys in Irving. A new stadium is long overdue, and team owner Jerry Jones will move the team into a billion dollar-plus facility next season.
That state-of-the-art facility in Arlington will trump Texas Stadium in every area, except in historical significance . The soon-to-be former home of the Cowboys ranks up there in NFL lore with Lambeau Field in Green Bay and Soldier Field in Chicago.
"The first time I walked in there was to play a preseason game in 1975,'' said former Cowboys linebacker Thomas "Hollywood" Henderson. "For a kid coming from a small black college in Oklahoma (Langston University), it was just impressive to see that place. I can say this because I'm black: It was like going from a slave ship to a yacht."
In his second game at Texas Stadium, Henderson took a reverse handoff from Rolly Woosley on a kickoff, raced 97 yards for a touchdown against the St. Louis Cardinals and slam-dunked the ball over the goal post. He was but one of many Cowboys who captured the imagination of fans in this state.
Henderson played with a linebacker named D.D. Lewis, who unlike Henderson wasn't particularly fast. Other players were much stronger than he was, too, and unlike teammates Harvey Martin and Ed "Too Tall" Jones, Lewis never played in a Pro Bowl.
But he stands out this weekend as an important figure in Texas Stadium history.
As the Cowboys prepare for their last hurrah in Irving, his name has rolled off the lips of Cowboy historians and fans alike . And it's not because of any play he made during his 13 seasons with the Cowboys. No, it's because of one thing he said to reporters in the locker room more than 35 years ago.
When asked about the Cowboys' popularity, he said, "Texas Stadium has a hole in its roof so God can watch his favorite team play."
Lewis' statement — he says he never claimed it as his own but was quoted making it — epitomized what the Cowboys stood for in the 1970s, when they became known as America's Team. There was a polite arrogance about them. From coach Tom Landry's Baptist preacher suits topped off by his familiar fedora, to the selfless efficiency of quarterback Roger Staubach, to the brazen Doomsday defense, to the mind-numbing speed of running back Tony Dorsett, the Cowboys not only played to the state of Texas, they played to an entire nation.
We caught a glimpse of that football palace every Friday night during the opening of the prime-time soap opera "Dallas." Diehard Cowboys fans will tell you it had to be midday when that overhead scene was shot because a shadow is covering half of the field.
In Mac Engel's book "Texas Stadium: America's Home Field," Staubach wrote in the foreword:
"There was not a bad seat in the place. It was almost as if everyone in the family room sat on the couch to watch a game played on the carpet in front of them. There was a family element to Texas Stadium, too. The fans all seemed to know each other, and they all knew us."
Top moments
The memories at Texas Stadium are too many to recount: Clint Longley's 50-yard pass to beat the Redskins on Thanksgiving Day in 1974; Staubach's touchdown pass to Tony Hill that secured the 1979 NFC East title and beat the Redskins in his last regular-season home game ; and Emmitt Smith surpassing Walter Payton for the NFL's career rushing mark against Seattle in 2002.
Those are just a few.
If Lewis is right, God has watched 312 Cowboys games in Irving since 1971. God surely knows the Cowboys have a 213-99 overall record at Texas Stadium (197-93 in the regular season and 16-6 in the playoffs). And he will have the best seat in the house Saturday, even if many television viewers will be forced to flee from their homes to find refuge in the home of a friend with the NFL Network. Those watching will see 100 ex-Cowboys take the field after the game and a video tribute revealing the five top moments in stadium history.
Once the mecca of NFL stadiums, Texas Stadium was the first to incorporate suites for its high-roller fans, the first to feature its cheerleaders at midfield and the first to immortalize its legends with a ring of honor.
It was a beautiful marriage, but like most marriages, it wasn't perfect.
After losing to Baltimore in Super Bowl V, the Cowboys moved into 65,708-seat Texas Stadium five games into the 1971 season. What followed was a rise to power in the NFL , with four more Super Bowl appearances and two championships coming in the '70s.
The stadium's tenants labored through the forgettable 1980s, when the 49ers, Redskins and Giants seized power from them in the NFC . Jerry Jones purchased the team in 1989, a deal that included the blasphemous firing of Landry and the hiring of unproven college coach Jimmy Johnson.
Then came a rebirth. The stadium's creaky rafters watched over Troy Aikman, Emmitt Smith and Michael Irvin, as another three Super Bowl championships brought the Cowboys the title of Team of the '90s. Along the way, Jones was forgiven by some (not all because I know Dad still hates him) because winning has a way of softening hard feelings.
The stadium also was the scene for several notable non-Cowboys events.
Football fans from my hometown of Tyler remember the Class 5A Division II semifinal in 1994, when the John Tyler High Lions blew a 41-17 lead against Plano East with three minutes remaining in the game. After Plano East's furious comeback — fueled by three consecutive recoveries of onside kicks to set up touchdowns — the Lions trailed 44-41 with only 24 seconds to play. That was more than enough time for Roderick Dunn's game-winning, 97-yard kickoff return that won the team an ESPY award.
The Jacksons played Texas Stadium before Michael turned weird. So did Madonna, Guns N' Roses, Metallica, Garth Brooks, Paul McCartney and the Eagles .
Now the Cowboys are taking their act elsewhere and that homely stadium in Irving will soon close up shop for good.
The stands will be empty in 2009, but those walls will always remember what went on inside Texas Stadium.
Won't we all.
cgolden@statesman.com; 912-5944
