RIP Texas Stadium

[ScribePharisee]

I'm watching an NFL Network presentation of the last NFC championship game in that stadium, 1996. Knowing that this place was a palace before stadiums were known as palaces, I hate that it will be abandoned and blown to pieces soon...just as much as I hate that the Yankees would abandon the shrine that is the only Yankee Stadium, regardless of what the Sons of Steinbrenner call the new one. I wish JJ had done what Kansas City is doing with Arrowhead, though if I recall, Irving balked at a partnership to do that.

What will you miss, if anything, about Texas Stadium?

 

[bigpern23]

I just wish the Cowboys would be on the field when they blow it up.

 

[ScribePharisee]

No, because the marvelous thing about the new stadium is that it will house the joke that the franchise has become - not any of the great teams.

 

[doubledown68]

I just wish the Cowboys would be on the field when they blow it up.

Ditto. Love the sidesaddle, by the way. Though I would've gone with "COVER ME, YOU LIMP **** ****A!"

The problem with the new stadiums is that they're bigger, but the home field advantage is taken away as fans get farther from the field. What makes Arrowhead and the few places remaining like it so effective is 80,000, right on top of the action.

 

[write then drink]

What will you miss, if anything, about Texas Stadium?

the 9 1/2-mile walk from press box to locker room?

What makes Arrowhead and the few places remaining like it so effective is 80,000, right on top of the action.

which is why the Chiefs are 20-19 at home since 2004

 

[exmediahack]

I hate the Cowboys...but I LOVE just about everything in regards to Texas Stadium.

The hole in the roof, the 'showiness' (is that a word?) of the place, at least from 1974 standards. That was the big picture for making the NFL true entertainment. It was the symbol of Texas Pride for decades, especially after the sensitive years in Dallas after November 22, 1963.

Love the shadows, the cameramen having to 'iris down' whenever Tony Dorsett or Emmitt Smith would run into the shadows. Love the Thanksgiving game at 3:30 under the stars. The cheesy, trumpet music that would pump in after Dallas first downs.

I even loved the fact that SMU played there during their corruption of the 1980s and that many high school state titles were played there.

Texas Stadium did not age gracefully, however. The last 10 years have been particularly ugly at the place but I think the Cowboys -- and Irving, Texas -- definitely got their money's worth from the place.

 

[hockeybeat]

Never been to Texas Stadium, but have always been fascinated by it.

The hole in the roof sort of made it the predecessor to the retractable roof domes.

How many arenas were in the opening shots of a television show? Other than Texas Stadium and Dallas, I cannot think of any.

 

[txsportsscribe]

i won't miss that oh-so nasty smell on the sidelines

 

[Drip]

I won't miss anything about the joint. I liked it in the 70's but it became antiquated very quickly. The exterior looks like a dump to me.

 

[buckweaver]

Knowing that this place was a palace before stadiums were known as palaces

The good people of Cincinnati would like to dispute that claim: http://www.ballparks.com/baseball/national/palace.htm

Anyway, got to drive by it a couple of times but never went inside. Wish I would have because I love old stadiums with lots of history and Texas Stadium is certainly that.

That said, I share bigpern's sentiment about the team.

 

[Bubbler]

As a Packers fan, I volunteer to dynamite that big *****.

I lived in Dallas for a brief time in the 80s, right after Staubach retired and it was thought of in the same way one might think of a cathedral. I don't have the first-hand perspective of the 90s teams, but those 70s/early 80s Cowboys were treated like gods. I regret that I never made it there.

 

[D-3 Fan]

Somewhere, my old man, a die-hard Texan and unapologetic Cowboys loyalist, will be shedding a tear and saying "**** you" to all of those Cowboys haters all over the world as they close the stadium down tonight. He remembers watching the 'Boys on TV, seeing the games at the Cotton Bowl, and then at Texas Stadium.

Those games at Texas Stadium, from its opening in '71, to him, was something special. Pearson, Staubach, Henderson, Dorsett, Clint Longley, the Redskins coming to town, and many other images is what made my dad's side of the family (all from Waco) gather in front of the television and root the Cowboys on.

 

[DanOregon]

I mentioned this on another thread, but my first memory of Texas Stadium was a guy dressed up as Santa catching fire in the stands. They showed it - it was a nationally televised game, perhaps a playoff game. Freaked the hell out of me as a kid, it happened in the 1970s, but I haven't been able to find any mention of it on the Internet. I'm not imagining it am I. It was big news when it happened. Anybody else remember this?

 

[doubledown68]

What will you miss, if anything, about Texas Stadium?

the 9 1/2-mile walk from press box to locker room?

What makes Arrowhead and the few places remaining like it so effective is 80,000, right on top of the action.

which is why the Chiefs are 20-19 at home since 2004

The mediocre teams have far more to do with that than the fans do, believe me.

 

[Inky_Wretch]

Horrible tailgating at Texas Stadium. Worst I've seen in the NFL (NOLA gets a pass because Bourbon Street is close by).

 

[Batman]

As an Eagles fan, I have absolutely no love for the Cowboys. If they went the way of the Lions and actively tried to go 0-16 I'd thoroughly enjoy it.

That said, losing this stadium is a damn shame. As much as I hate the Cowboys, Texas Stadium is one of those places that just feel like big games and playoff games should be played there. Kind of like Candlestick in the 80s.
It's also one of a dwindling number of stadiums that you can take one five-second glance at on TV and tell immediately where they're playing just by the lighting and the turf -- no matter whether it's the Cowboys or two random high school teams. That faded green astroturf (which, gleefully, returned as the newer turf aged) is almost as iconic to me as the hole in the roof and the star at midfield.

 

[joe_schmoe]

I won't miss the long walks to the locker room either. In high school games we'd used to just go down the the stands and walk through the stands...so much easier.

By today's standards the place is kinda dumpy, but it has a nice charm to it. Thanksgiving Day won't be the same.
And on ething I'll give them credit for is getting out of there. Yeah after a game you do have to wait some time. But I found it much easier to leave Texas Stadium than the AstroDome/Reliant, AlamoDome, even The Ballpark In Arlington. Of course, sometimes I'd end up in Denton before I could get back heading my way, but Hey, I was out of the stadium.

 

[slappy4428]

I just wish Jerry Jones would be on the field when they blow it up.

 

[nmmetsfan]

I grew up in New Mexico where the Cowboys were always on TV and so I was a fan for years. Not much of a fan anymore, but I can remember thinking of Texas Stadium as hallowed ground.

When I was still in sports I got a chance to cover a Cowboys game and can't recall being so excited for work. As I first caught view of the stadium from the highway I couldn't help but think what a dump it appeared to be. Inside wasn't so bad, and the press box was nice enough. The trek to the locker room was something. After I got all my quotes and before I went back up to work on my story I had to take a detour to the field.

I walked out onto the turf and took it in for a minute. It was surreal. I had seen so many games played there on TV and I thought back to all the players, like Staubach and Dorsett and Randy White. It was one of those moments I will never forget.

If only Jerry Jones wasn't running the team.

 

[Sam Mills 51]

Never been to Texas Stadium, but have always been fascinated by it.

The hole in the roof sort of made it the predecessor to the retractable roof domes.

How many arenas were in the opening shots of a television show? Other than Texas Stadium and Dallas, I cannot think of any.

"Mork and Mindy" - Folsom Field - Boulder, Colorado