Going Camping?

by Rafael Vela on Jul 14, 2005 1:07 AM CDT in Dallas Cowboys News

Training camp is finally close enough to feel real. The most exciting Cowboys offseason in years has been numbed by the NFL's newest trend of delaying the season's start. What used to begin Labor Day weekend has now been deferred one week, so that, well I don't know why. So that the U.S. Open will finally get some ratings? So that the nation can adopt the new Thursday night opener? I'm not sure.

Whatever the reason, the NFL has provided some relief to the dreary month of February. Super Bowls now regularly sneak into that sports wasteland. Seriously, how many of you found yourself spending February Sundays watching taped games to overcome football withdrawl, rather than regular season NBA?

The tradeoff is that the start of training camp has moved from mid-to-late July, producing something approaching football dementia. It's like Santa Claus announced that he would henceforth make his Christmas run on January 8th. Our new friend K.C. Joyner has provided some relief, but his novel and exciting analyses only make the waiting harder.

That is why I'm more determined than ever to attend training camp in person. There are many exciting new faces and I don't trust our representatives in the sports press to give us the rundown on their progress. Strike that. I don't trust them to give us the rundown on their progress fast enough.

I don't know about you, but I resent the method of spoon feeding one player profile per day. And I'm not satisfied with the rote rundowns we get from camp, giving us the "player whose arrow is pointing up," "the player whose arrow is pointing down," "the catch of the day," usually made in a seven-on-seven drill or in a seven-on-nobody drill, where contact is not allowed.

I'll let you in on a little secret which explains why seemingly every Texas paper uses this formula. About ten years ago I attended camp and watched the press at work. They would assemble at one end of the practice field late in the afternoon and wait for the team P.R. director to arrive with a stack of xeroxed summaries, which included indespensible nuggets like that day's temperature, the attendance and the profile of the day.

As you might guess, the next day most of the mediots would produce slightly altered versions of this release. I don't want to log on twice a day for variations of this formula. I want to see these guys with my own eyes. I want to draw my own conclusions.

There's only one problem with this wish, as the quicker of you might have guessed: it costs money. And we at the Cowboys Blog are a little thin in that department right now. Raul and I have made some money from ads, and every penny has been reinvested in advertising and upgrading the site. We've held off asking for donations, but the time has come. You may have noticed some links have gone up recently allowing you to donate to the blog. If the site has value I encourage you to make a small donation. If we can raise enough for plane fare to California I'll be your eyes and ears in Oxnard.

What I can offer in exchange is the best camp coverage you'll find anywhere. You won't get recycled press releases from me. I'll give you rundowns on every position group. You'll know who's getting playing time. Who's injured. How the team is performing. And, if cameras are allowed at Oxnard (they were not allowed in the Alamodome) I'll post some photos too.

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Comments

Rafael,

I would not expect anything less, than the best from you. This site rules already keep up the great work!!!!!

by Jon on Jul 14, 2005 2:44 AM CDT reply actions

Rafael,
thanks for all the work! This site is great.

on another note, for those who haven’t seen it, Pete Hunter is expected to be traded today to the Jets for a draft pick according to the dallas paper.

by J_MAN_VA on Jul 14, 2005 6:21 AM CDT reply actions

Rafael,

Great job with the K.C. interviews.You are dead on with
your analysis of the mediots camp coverage.Any chance of
you doing interviews with players,staff etc.????Also how about
a “Send Rafael to Camp Meter” with a bar showing amount
collected and the goal….don’t forget to include beer money in
the total it gets hot out there you’ll need plenty of fluids LOL

by becker on Jul 14, 2005 6:51 AM CDT reply actions

j man,

and where xactly did you hear this?

by Ryan-CT on Jul 14, 2005 8:01 AM CDT reply actions

Hunter was traded this morning to the JETS for a late round pick, giving him a chance to start at corner

by Derrick on Jul 14, 2005 8:23 AM CDT reply actions

Becker,

I am looking into getting press credentials. We’ll see.

by Rafael Vela on Jul 14, 2005 9:27 AM CDT reply actions

Rafael, I’ll do whatever it takes to get you there. I truly beleive you will have the only real coverage. Just were and how do we donate monies for this great cause.

Also, I appeal to my fellow bloggers, look to your hearts and wallets and let’s get Rafeal at training camp. Just think of the possibilities.

Good ridance to Pete Hunter. Let the Jets deal with his self center what aout me attitude.

by Darrell W. on Jul 14, 2005 9:42 AM CDT reply actions

Darrell,

There should be an Amazon link on the page. A paypal link will also be going up very soon.

by Rafael Vela on Jul 14, 2005 10:02 AM CDT reply actions

rafael, i contributed some money today. i live in oc and will be driving up there for a day…my first time going to camp…anyways let me know when you are going to be there as i would like to meet you and personally say thanks for the great web site!!!

by dave on Jul 14, 2005 11:11 AM CDT reply actions

I will be there for a day as well Rafael, and I’d like to meet you if you can make it. I’m going to visit my Uncle in LA, but he (a Cowboys fan) said we might get out to Oxnard. Anyway, good luck getting yourself out there, because I can’t stand the reports done by the bigshot writers either. I have faith that you can bring some insight, knowledge, and even some usefull information to the art of daily training camp reporting, unlike the media bums (or mediots, both work).
——-D. A. Gerhardt

by David-CT on Jul 14, 2005 2:10 PM CDT reply actions

i will donate all that i can. i am not a rich man, but i love the cowboys as much as if i was a millionaire. so what i can donate will truely be from the heart. i have faith in you, and your ability to give us cowboys fans what we what to hear. regardless if it is bad or good news. thanks for all the updates and have fun. i will do my best to give you all that i can.

GO BOYS!!!!!!!

by Darrell M on Jul 14, 2005 4:52 PM CDT reply actions

Right on, man. I’ll hit the paypal. Better than two weeks’ worth of Morning News coverage. I think mainly because you can actually evaluate the play based on what your own eyes see — as opposed to the vast majority of reporters who only report a) what some source, a.k.a. assistant coach, tells them or b) what is most obvious — e.g. Antonio Bryant throwing a shirt at BP. I’m looking forward to your insights.
gg

by GG on Jul 14, 2005 6:38 PM CDT reply actions

ill do waht i can as well rafeal. i would love to get some REAL news coverage of the beloved. as far as the mediots go, your dead on. how many times have i surfed to find some cowboys news only to read 3-5 different variations of the same damn thing…. i would love to go but iowa is so far from there, wife would kill me :(

by mike on Jul 14, 2005 6:54 PM CDT reply actions

Rafael,

I would be happy to donate too! My only request is if you become a pay site (which would be worth the money), that I receive a subscription equal to the amount I donated.

Is there a way to work this out?

by big jim on Jul 15, 2005 2:07 AM CDT reply actions

Rafael,

I would be happy to donate too! My only request is if you become a pay site (which would be worth the money), that I receive a subscription equal to the amount I donated.

Is there a way to work this out?

by big jim on Jul 15, 2005 2:08 AM CDT reply actions

BigJim:

I don’t foresee this site becoming a pay site.

by Raul Villaronga on Jul 15, 2005 6:12 AM CDT reply actions

i hope not.

by Darrell M on Jul 15, 2005 10:21 PM CDT reply actions

Hi Everybody!

Oiler Troll vows match every dollar Salma Hayek / Penelope Cruz donates to the cause…unless they start slapping down millions to match Tom Cruise’s wackiness with Scientology (no offense to the Scientologist Cowboy fans out there)

…in exchange Oiler Troll expects additional coverage of any and all plastic surgery performed on Cowboy Cheerleaders. You raise a very good point on the Mainstream Sports Media [MSSM] lazily revising press releases – similarly, the official media guides never tell us which cheerleaders are augmented, and that absolutely has to stop.

But seriously, even Oiler Troll recognizes the worthiness of your endeavor and going to camp. Lucky for you, camp is in Southern California and not San Angelo, Tx.

And not for anything, but wouldn’t you love to have Don Meredith question Tom Cruise about scientology…the fun he would have with it. Can you make that happen while you are in LA, Rafael?

by Oiler Troll on Jul 17, 2005 4:01 AM CDT reply actions