The End of an Era...

As all Cowboys fans know, Sunday morning we will say the final goodbye to Texas Stadium, home of the Dallas Cowboys for 37 years. The implosion of the stadium will take place about 7 a.m. Sunday morning. Die-hard fans wanting to watch the implosion can start arriving at 2 a.m. to park in a lot across the street. $25 per car. I guess I'm not a die-hard fan, or maybe I'm a die-hard fan who likes my sleep. WFAA will be broadcasting the "historic event", I think I'll set my DVR and watch it after I get home from church.

There are tons of articles online with memories and historic moments that took place in Texas Stadium. I won't bore you with those, but I will bore you with my personal memories of Texas Stadium. : )

For almost four years, I drove by it every day going to work (when I worked at the "evil place"). It's weird to think about driving down Loop 12 and it not being there anymore.

My first football game at Texas Stadium actually wasn't a Cowboys game. My friend Jon was a teacher at a local high school and their team was in the playoffs. Their game was being played at Texas Stadium.

Me and one of my best friends Mel at a high school game in Texas Stadium in 2004.

My first Cowboys game was on November 19, 2006. We played the Indianapolis Colts. (For all you football fans, this was the year the Colts won the Super Bowl. The Cowboys gave them their first loss of the season this game.) My sweet friend Zach drove to Dallas with his brothers and their dad for a Cowboys game. He was a sweetheart and bought me a ticket too! I think he feared the consequences if he went to a Cowboys game without me! : )

 

 

 

Me and Zach at my first Cowboys game

My second trip to Texas Stadium was with my sweet friend Aaron, who got last minute tickets from his boss. Last minute tickets (especially free ones), are always a nice surprise!! Once again, I got to see the Cowboys play Peyton Manning and the Colts.

 

 

 Me and Aaron watching the Cowboys beat up on the Colts.

The only time I have ever actually paid for Cowboys tickets (wow, that sounds snobby, I didn't mean for it to), was when I took my nephew James to see his two favorite teams, the Green Bay Packers and the Dallas Cowboys on November 29, 2007. At that time, Brett Favre was his hero (after the whole retiring/unretiring stunt that he's pulled the past few years, I think Brett is offically "dead to him"). This was James' first NFL game to attend in person. I got the title "Favorite Aunt for Life" that day! : ) James called me four days before the game asking if we could go. By some miracle, my then supervisor was selling two tickets for his brother-in-law (this was a year when the Cowboys were actually doing well- tickets were hard to find). After selling a few body organs, my first born child (whenever I finally have kids), and part of my soul, I came up with the money to buy the tickets. :) In all honesty, it was worth it to see the excitement on my nephew's face when we got there. We were there extra early (like 3.5  hours early) and got to see the teams warming up.

 

A funny, yet disturbing, story we always tell about this game is that someone thought I was James' wife. I know I look young, but do I look THAT young? And my nephew was 17 at the time. We both kinda went "ew" when the guy called me that. Okay, I possibly freaked out and went postal on the guy, yelling, "What do you mean?? I'm his aunt!!" 

Me and James by the field. Yes, he wore the cheesehead all the way from the truck and through most of the game.

The NFL network doing their pre game show. We took a few pictures of former Cowboys player, number 21 himself, Deion Sanders.

Cowboys owner Jerry Jones (I call him Skelator. If you watched He-Man growing up, you KNOW he looks like him). I might be a Cowboys fan, but I can't say that I'm a Jerry Jones fan. I have issues with him. I won't get into that today.

This was the moment when I thought my nephew (who is like 6'4) was going to faint and I was going to have to somehow catch him. His hero was walking off the field right towards us. Brett wasn't signing autographs, but he did wave.

A view from our seats. We were right under Pat Summerall's suite (I don't think he was there, I didn't see him). If we stood up, we were eye level to the suite. At one point, they made James take off his cheesehead, claiming they couldn't see. I think they were just being jerks because he had a cheesehead on.

The final score. James knew he would be happy whatever the outcome was because he liked both teams. We all thought it would be Brett's last game against the Cowboys. We were wrong.

My last game at Texas Stadium was on August 22, 2008. My sweet friend Derek got last minute tickets to his company's suite (yes, my friends seem to get last minute tickets a lot! And yes, all my friends are sweet!) :) We watched a pre season game against the Cowboys and the Houston Texans.

  

 

The 2008-2009 season was the last season the Cowboys played in Texas Stadium. They moved to Cowboys Stadium (or, as I call it, Jonestown) this past season.

 

Me and my buddy Derek in the suite.

The last picture of me in Texas Stadium.

 Farewell Texas Stadium, it's been real!