Aura Of Texas Stadium

The Aura Of Texas Stadium

By JWL

The Dallas Cowboys are “America’s Team”. They are known the world over as a great National Football League franchise and as the team that is cheered on by “America’s Sweethearts”, the world famous Dallas Cowboy Cheerleaders. For over 30 years, Texas Stadium in Irving, Texas, has been home to both the football team and the cheerleaders. The Dallas Cowboys played their first game at Texas Stadium on October 24, 1971. Even today the stadium is considered one of the best in the NFL.

The Dallas Cowboys got their start at the Cotton Bowl in Dallas, Texas. After a number of years of playing at the Cotton Bowl the team longed for a state of the art stadium they could call their own. Their wish came true as construction on Texas Stadium (simply named for the state of Texas) began in the late 1960s. The stadium was unique for its time and remains so to this day. It is partially domed, allowing fans to be covered while at the same time exposing the football field to nature’s elements. Two tiers, of over 65,000 blue seats, extend around the field. Initially it was planned that the stadium would be fully domed. It was, however, discovered that the stadium could not support the weight of the entire roof and before the roof structure could be modified public funding ran out. Leaving well enough alone, the Dallas Cowboys became the proud owners of a partially domed stadium.

Many a great player has taken the field at Texas Stadium. All of these great players have their own football card and their own memory of the mystic of Texas Stadium. Roger Staubach, Emmitt Smith, Troy Aikman and Tony Romo, to name just a few, have all experienced the highs and inevitable lows of playing in front of the home crowd at the great Texas Stadium. No doubt countless Dallas Cowboy fans also have endless memories of their teams glory and the not so pleasant memories of defeat.

In addition to being the home of the Dallas Cowboys, the stadium also plays host to neutral-site college football games and high school football. Concerts, religious events, wrestling events, and festivals have all taken place at Texas Stadium with crowds reaching in excess of 100,000 for some festival events. Indeed, a Billy Graham crusade was the first event to take place at the new Texas Stadium.

In 2009, history will change for the Dallas Cowboys and all their future football card players, as the Dallas Cowboys new stadium is unveiled. In 2004 funding was passed in Arlington, Texas, for the Dallas Cowboys new stadium and the new home of the Dallas Cowboy Cheerleaders. It is unknown what the fate of Texas Stadium will be. Hopefully it will remain, both as a venue that Texans can continue to enjoy and as a piece of their great Dallas Cowboys football history. For years to come, given the opportunity, legions of fans will no doubt flock to Texas Stadium to experience the aura of the stadium where Roger Staubach, Emmitt Smith, Troy Aikman and Tony Romo, made Dallas Cowboys football history.