Since the new Cowboy stadium has so much hype and praise, I wanted to give you a different perspective from my visit to Big D and their new Mecca when I went to see the Chargers WIN.
First of all, I have been looking forward to this trip for two reasons, one to see Nicolle and Nick, along with Marty my friend of over 30 years who lives in Irving. The kids and I drove up from Round Rock Saturday and spent the night at Marty's home in Irving. We had dinner with others to celebrate Marty's 50th birthday, which is on the 22nd. The main reason for the visit was that Nick, Nicky and I had tickets to the Charger and Cowboy game played Sunday the 13th of December 2009.
PRE-STADIUM
Sunday morning we headed to Champps a regional Sports Bar and restaurant. The four of us which included Marty were adorned in Charger gear. Our arrival stirred nothing more than a few double takes. We enjoyed some food and beverages and viewed the many morning NFL contests on the multiple big screen options while awaiting our adventure, the game was starting at 3:15pm CST.
While waiting, we met a couple dressed in Charger gear. They (Karen and Gordon Bishop) were from Georgetown, which is located about 10 miles from Round Rock, where the kids have a home. After chatting for about ten minutes, we discovered our lives were intertwined from Oceanside where Karen had served on the YMCA board of management. She left before I joined the board. That group of folks are some of the finest people I have ever been associated with. The husband, Gordon was the OSD school Board Superintendent. Turns out we know many, many dear friends included legends Knox Williams and Farley Mann. While I was seated at their table chatting, a random man asked me if I needed a parking permit to the game, he said he only wanted $20 for it. I said I had parking, which was about a mile from the stadium and included a trolley ride to and back from the game. I said "No Thanks", he then said "Oh, just take it for free" So I did, and then offered to buy him and his two table guests a round of drinks, which I did. Turns out, the Parking Pass was $75 and about 50 yards from the entrance. When I came over to thank Dan, the parking ticket gifter, he said "Oh no, you are a Charger Fan, I gave it the wrong guy". I was in my lucky Dark Blue Jersey, which is close to the Cowboys color. I then gave my parking pass to a couple in COWBOY jersey's in the spirit of pay it forward. When wearing my Dark Blue Gates Jersey we are undefeated this year. Ok, we have won 8 in a row you say, well in the first five games when wearing my light blue LT we lost all three games, and when wearing my Dark Blue Gates we won two games. That cannot be just luck :~). In fact, when playing Cleveland, when the game started and I was waiting for my Gates jersey to finish drying, so I wore the light blue LT. Darn it if the Browns did not score. I ripped the Gates Jersey out of the dryer and wore it, although is was still not completely dry. As you know, winner, winner chicken dinner. All due to me wearing the Gates Jersey.
It was now time to head to the stadium, and Nicky wrote down Dan's turn by turn directions, and we followed them to near perfection right to Arlington.
The Stadium Parking lot is divided into two sections Blue, and Silver, Blue is close to the stadium, Silver is a hike, accross the lot where the baseball stadium is located. When we got to the stadium, we had a easy entrance, because it is all divided by parking lot color, and then small groups of numbers. This was about the most intelligent thing I got out of the design of Jones Mecca.
Since game time was only 45 minutes away when we arrived, we walked rather briskly to the stadium. The Stadium is further divided by entrance sections, being letters, like the Q. However, you may only enter in your designated lettered entrance which is indicated on your ticket, so more walking for us.
We did get to see the main private vehicle entrance, which was like a UN security check point, with Police everywhere, bomb sniffing dogs, every car and Van was searched inside and out. We heard that even Jerry Jones Car gets the dog sniff routine. Nick really liked the four door 911 Porsche that was at the high security vehicle entrance. At this point we started to notice Charger gear, on about one of every ten people. Groups giving each other words of encouragement about the game. I then started to tell the Bolt fans "No goofing around, and that we were there on a "BUSINESS TRIP". Most Bolt fans loved the call, a few looked at me like a puzzled dog, you know the one, who has their head cocked to the side. There was lots of Charger energy and some good natured jaw boning.
The security to get in was very similar to the Q, with the usual pat down. I never understand what good that does, they check the same arm and body areas. You could have a musket in your pants (no comments please) or a 457 magnum strapped to your ankle. Once we were inside of security it was if "Barnum and Bailey" just came to town, the only side show missing, was that stupid looking guy with the stripped pants walking around on stilts, scaring all the small children. A stage show with dances, girls in caged areas dancing, hawkers, and booths selling stuff.
I will give them props for the enormity of this place, it is amazing.However, if you don't like crowds, this place is buzzing. We were seated on the top level, in section 401. We took the escaltor and there were display rooms and helmets etc...
I did like the numbering of levels. Really Loge, Plaza, Press, Club, Field, and View at the Q are stupid. I love when people ask for the luge or lodge level to ushers. At minimum, change the name of field, to go down in the dungeon and come out to your NO VIEW seats. Quick suggestion Chargers change it to 100, 200, 300, 400, and 500. Let Club, Club and Press Suites have their own colored tickets.
PRE-GAME
Teams enter from under the stands, from behind the sideline. It's like they suddenly appear from the underworld. The Chargers were annouced, with little to no fanfare,INTRUDER ALERT apperared on the big screen. The Cowboys then have their cheerleaders dance around, followed by six guys running onto the field with big Dallas Star flags, then it is the COWGIRLS, errr football players. All and All nothing compared to any other Charger game where each player is introduced, which is generally followed by some heart pounding fly over of our military heros.
There were tons of concessions stands, with many $$$ food options,the restrooms were huge, but they missed the mark with the Mens room, when they had two entrances and no exit, the one side had fifty guys waiting and the other entrance which is 20 yards further down, was without a wait. They both lead to the same room. BTW, feel free not to yell out Chargers! When you are at an away game while in the mens room. I had twenty guys look at my Gates Jersey, my personal danger was so compromised, I said "Wasn't me, Men", I saw the movie Sparta, I am not that foolish. I got out of there without any further incident. That is so common at a Charger home game in Plaza or loge to hear someone sing out "Char-gers".... This was like an Opera bathroom, never a word spoken and no one was talking up or about the Cowboys.
Ok back to section 401, in the corner end zone, I happen to like that angle of the game, and my seats at the Q are in the Press level and have that similar view. You get the full view of the field and enough angle to judge down and distance. What changed besides the size of the players from that altitude, was the HORRIBLE 40MM TV hanging over the field. The side screens are 60 yards long and the end screens are 20 yards wide. We could see both the side and the end screens from our seats and it was distracting to watching the game. The way they used this screen was equally baffling. They never showed down and distance. Score, times, rarely replays, nothing from the other NFL games or scores. Wait for it, Wait for it, your right, it's an on going freaking sponsored commercial. If I saw one more AVATAR clip, I was going to scream. On the humorous side, they did have three rather amusing repeated crowd motivators at the beginning of the game, and yes I will get to that also. They had an actor, maybe one of the players, say "you are our home field advantage, so 80,000 Cowboy fans making noise". The crowd got loud, then fell asleep. Every time the message on the TV's said DEF-FENSE. The crowd said nothing. When some great play happened they showed an animated cartoon character of a cowboy, on an animated horse,whose legs are twisting and turning as they streak across the screen "You have to see it, to believe it!" it is about the most childish thing I have ever viewed at a professional football game. Who even finds this entertaining, five year old kids?
In the third quarter they turned those huge screens into a 3-D commercial for AVATAR, and then kept them in the 3D mode for game viewing. It was totally unwatchable. Whose cousin of Jerry Jones, thought of this stupid idea? Did they truly expect us to wear these stadium issued, made in China, paper glasses? Were we simply demanded to stare at the screen? About 10 minutes in the stadium announcer came on the PA and said "You have been watching in 3D, what do you think?" the stadium exploded in a thunderous 'BOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO". Moments later the 3D was gone and the crowd gave out with what would prove to be the loudest cheer of the day. On Monday, the national ESPN TV talk sports shows crucified this tactic.
Another oddity is when you leave the seated area it is if you had left the game completely, sound, action no way to even look down an aisle to catch a glimpse. Plenty of TV's in public areas, but only in certain areas, not just here and there.
We had plenty of Charger fans seated near by us, one couple from Tulsa had driven five hours to see the game. I met Bolt fans from all across the US. Most of them had to move out of San Diego to survive, hear that state seat holders? These business people could not make a living in your socialist conditions. Texas has created more jobs than the other 49 states combined in the last two years. Sorry, now back to regularly scheduled broadcast.
The Suites looked exactly like they sound, sweet, looked like 60inch or larger HD TV's in each, and spacious and such. The actual seating area has virtually no room to walk down with out people almost standing up so it is easy to pass through. Seats were hard plastic (well in the cheap seats they were. Also the seat numbers are in 10 fint on the edge of the seat, I observed many fans trying to find the seat number. I say make a big number in the middle of the seat backing, which is resessed.
Oh right, there was a game being played, we scored first and that sort of took the air out of the fans, does the term front running fans meaning anything to you? Once they fell behind the fans never got into the game. Rumor around these parts is they are not the best fans once the team falls behind. The Q has the best fans, although Denver has pretty good fans also. This was like a movie where everyone knows its going to be a sad ending. There was a group of Charger fans in the area behind us chanting "Char-gers" "Char-gers" and "You can't run" two chants often heard at home.One Cowboy fan screamed at them to "Win a Championship", Nicky turned to me and said 'Win a game in December!" It has been since 1996 that the Cowboys won their last playoff game. When Demarcus Ware got hurt, we decided to head down so that when the game ended we could run to our car. He was down about 15 minutes, about the same amount of time it took to go east to west and down three levels.
All and all the fans were pretty nice to us. One idiot came up to Nicky near the end of the game and said "You Suck". I thought of some clever retorts, but we kept walking. Near the end of the game some DRUNK cajun stumbled up to Nick and I and said "What are you doing here?". Nick told him "I live here". I noticed this short drunken, nymrod who has his face painted with a Retro Charger blue. I couldn't say it. He says "I was born in Louisana and I cheer for the Cowboys". I was thinking was your daddy a gator or your mommy a gator? He simply wasn't worth the wasted oxygon,
I did think later "Isn't this America? Are we not allowed to go where we wish?"
Remember the funny man who had to remind fans to cheer, they brought him back in the 4th quarter, with a "Don't forget what I told you to cheer message". Really, Jerry you need some fifty foot jolly green giant looking cutesy boy telling your fans to cheer? It was almost sad, so sad, it made us laugh.
We ended up on the west end of the field where Gates caught the winning TD, and Nate split the uprights to seal the deal. A Video Camera toting SD media person asked Nicky if she would do an interview on camera. She said "He will" pointing at me. I think she was with the SD Union however, I don't know. I had about a One minute on camra interview which probably ended up on the editing room floor. We left with about one minute to go in the game, so as to smoothly exit the stadium and the parking lot. We left with our heads helf high and our mouths zipped. I hate it when the visiting team is screaming we suck, and they are great if we get beat. I think it's classless. In case you missed it we won 20-17.
Quite frankly, had Dallas come back, I did not want to be there, to see it. We got to the truck and were out in a flash, once again, very organized. What a great day, winner, winner, chicken dinner.
I was at Old Cowboy in 2001, to see the Chargers beat the Cowboys 32-21. That game was played 12 days after 911. I missed the game played in San Diego four years ago played on 9.11.05. It was the day after Nicky's wedding. We took the Insiration out on SD harbor for three hours with the family and wedding party and missed the last second TD for the Boys, to nip the Bolts at the Q 28-24.
