On Saturday morning, we hopped on a short flight from Miami to DFW and entered a part of the U.S. where football is very, very important. Jerry Jones understands that oh so well and to prove it to the Cowboy faithful he built a modern and magnificent “FOOTBALL PALACE.” This is the kind of stadium you notice from ten miles out and when you stand next to it you stand in awe of its size and all those shiny glass windows. The roof is retractable and so are the massive walls on one side. After a full afternoon of tailgating with the Cowboy nation (or at least the Dallas people I know) we made our way into the stadium. Everywhere you look blue and silver clad fans were standing and moving and settling in to their new home. Jerry and his team were smart enough to create a Party Pass Ticket to boost attendance and earn a few more dollars per game. The new Cowboy Stadium is gigantic! Just like the saying goes “everything is bigger in Texas” – from suites on the field level all the way up to the huge 400 level section. This baby can accommodate more bodies than any other arena in the NFL (especially when you count all those Party Pass people crammed in all over the place). On Sunday, Cowboy Stadium set an NFL attendance record at 105,121 people.
The game was well fought but in the end Dallas came up short. Eli Manning looked sharp and drove his team down the field for a game-winning field goal as time expired. Romo had moments of brilliance and moments when he was clearly forcing the ball into heavy coverage and making risky throws. The Dallas running game performed very well, however, totaling up 251 yards and three touchdowns on 29 carries.
On Monday afternoon, we returned to Miami and drove north to Land Shark Stadium now affectionately called “The Shark” by the locals. The Miami Dolphins rolled out the fanfare for their home opener as well. Partial owners Gloria and Emilio Estefan, Marc Anthony, Jennifer Lopez, and Serena and Venus Williams were all in attendance. Even Jimmy Buffet came out and got to hear the abridged rendition of his famous “FINS” song every time the Dolphins scored. But sadly Peyton Manning stole the show. He finished 14 for 23 for 303 yards, and the Colts are now 2-0. My beloved Dolphins fell to 0-2 even though they had 239 yards rushing, including 107 with the Wildcat. The strangest part of this game was that Manning was on the field for just under 15 minutes but still managed to counter for every Dolphin score. He connected with Dallas Clark at the beginning of the game for an 80-yard touchdown and at the end of the game to Pierre Garcon for a 48 yard score. All I could think was “this guy is just too good.”
Next Sunday I’m off to San Diego for a Fins road game. Hopefully, their luck will change despite my presence. My fan track record doesn’t look too good so far this season.
