The In-Person Analysis

Hey guys my name is Jordan, and I'm a long time reader of the site. I haven't posted in a long time, but this week has brought me out of my offseason hibernation.

Living in Dallas and rooting for the Cowboys is a great joy, and I often have the oppurtunity to throw caution to the wind and go tailgate for America's Team. With the double dose of an open practice and the first home game of the season, I was thrown back into the world of football, and I walked away with some amazing memories. I'll try to convey what this week was like to be there for all you guys that can't make it to Texas Stadium.

First of all, like in my previous posts, I won't be doing much actual analysis. You guys do a good enough job of that all ready.

Second, I know this is a hard read, I don't know how this new format works

The skies were cloudy and grey but spirits were high as thousands showed up to see the Cowboys first hand. This was a slam dunk in my opinion, because fans of all shapes and sizes were able to attend. For all of those people that don't have the time or the money to go to see a home game, this was the perfect oppurtunity to get a look at the team and have that chance to be a part of the farewell season at Texas Stadium.

We showed up 3 hours early to tailgate a practice. Thats right, along with a few other diehards (or you could call us cheap for not wanting to pay 7.50 for a beer inside) we opened some cold ones and began to lament the playoff loss, the long offseason, the risky moves, the draft and all things Cowboys. The entry was first come first serve and the entry line stretched all the way around the stadium, with some people waiting hours only to see the line break down into chaos when more gates randomly opened up. We chose to lay low and wait until the frenzy for the good seats died down.

Once the blue parking lot filled up, the rain came. I'm not talking a sprinkle, I'm talking a full on monsoon. We weren't exactly sober at this point so standing in the rain seemed like the right thing to do. It seemed like the thing a real fan would do. Whether or not I was in the right state of mind to properly analyze that situation, I knew it was a good idea because we were able to find shelter with random fans and make new friends and hear new opinions. One guy had a Julius Jones jersey that had been releived of its duty to harbor the "J." and now only said " Jones". It was great.

During the practice, the crowd was going nuts for the most part. Living and dying with every Brad Johnson flutterball or Demarcus Ware speed rush. Many fans brought clipboards with in depth roster info, others were only there to scream really really loud. T.O. and Romo were interviewed and sounded to be in high hopes for the season (but what else did you expect?). Tony showed up to the interview with his helmet still on and TO came over to remove it. The crowd went crazy and Tony smiled.

I really have to give it up for Jerry Jones. He has provided the fans with unparralled access to an NFL team. The fans have an oppurtunity to really get a feel for this team's personality through things like Hard knocks, training camp, and this practice. If this team really is special like we all think, it will be nice to look back with a ton of lucid memories.

The Preseason:

I showed up to the stadium like I usually do: cooler full of beer, jersey on, ridiculous leather cowboys helmet on, high hopes, and no tickets. Scalpers are plentiful on the ride up, and deal is usually easy to find. I was expecting to pay around $30 for some decent seats. I never really care where I sit, the only thing that matters at Texas Stadium is simply being there and cheering on the boys.

I would have never expected the experience I was about to have.

After turning down 50 yard line seats at $50 a piece, I trudged on hoping that I didn't miss out on the best value. Then an angel showed up. A scalper offered me three tickets for $33 a piece on the 35 behind the cowboys bench. The row stood out to me because it said "B" instead of a number, and I knew I had to grab them up. Row B is literally the second row behind the sideline. I couldn't believe it.

We walked all the way down to wear the numbered rows ended and a chain seperated us from our seats. Upon sitting down, I never felt smaller. Being so close to NFL sized people is humbling and a little scary. We were directly behind the bench where the O-line sat and could literally hear the conversations on the sideline. Not only that, the seats directly in front of us belonged to what I called the wives club. Leonard Davis, Marc Columbo, Pat Mcquistan and Jason Wittens wives were all right in front of us disscussing the team and gossiping about Stadium personel. It was amazing. The wives had a constant dialouge with their spouses during the game, exchanging winks and showing their approval and interest.

Things seen/heard at the game:

Bill Bates is the hardest working man on the sideline. He was hooking all the guys up to that cooling machine and taking time to recognize those of us that recognized him.

While he is one of my personal favorite players, McBriar doesn't seem to have anyone on the team that talks to him. It's all business for the aussie.

Danny Amendola is short.

I caught Zach Thomas and a coach staring directly at me at one point and I heard Zach say "look at that kid with that goofy leather helmet on."

The wives were getting constant updates on the players that were injured including Kyle Kosier: they originally said that it was his big toe and that he was fine. Columbo looked at his wife and said that the arch of Kyles foot was hurting, but it wasn't serious. The final conclusion was that he would be fine and a good tape job would settle it. Who knows.

Miss Price was 20 feet away, but sounded like she was in my headphones and the volume was all the way up.

I was able to get some of those printouts of the plays that the team uses to analyze the game in real time. An awesome souvenir.

Hard knocks was everywhere. I'll probably get a split second on there at some point because they were constantly fliming the O-line. I was wearing that goofy hat and a Marion Barber jersey.

Speaking of the O-line, at one point Hudson Houck was talking to the 2s while the starters looked on. Bigg started laughing histerically and got his wife's attention. Apparently Houck has a tick or something and moves his arm in a weird way and Davis was mocking him behind his back. The hard knocks crew picked up this story right when Flozell got in on the action so look for that on the show.

Bigg's mom was right in front of us too, and I asked if he was a big softy and she replied "He is my gentle bear"

All in all I had a great time. After these experiences I really feel like I know this team well. I can't wait for the season to start.

Thats it for this post. I'll try to get another one up after I go to the Monday night .