Silver and BlueBlood

Jerry Jones likes to make a splash. With the impending opening of his new stadium in Arlington, Texas, the Cowboys’

Bigger is Better

owner will do just that.

One of the most impressive features of the Jones Mahal is the world record-setting scoreboard, which stretches from twenty yard-line to twenty yard-line. Andrea Ahles of the Fort Worth Star-Telegram reports that Stephen Jones told the University of Texas at Arlington Business Week audience:

“It cost $40 million to build Texas Stadium. At the new Arlington stadium, the scoreboards alone cost more than $40 million.”

Once the scoreboard is installed and operable, Mitsubishi intends to apply to the Guiness’ Book of World Records to have it listed as the world’s largest. In her report, Ahles reveals the following data concerning the scoreboard/replay screen:

• Each sideline display is 160 by 71 feet, and contains 10.5 million LEDs
• The area of each sideline screen is 11,393 square feet
• The end zone screens are a mere 50 by 28 feet
• Total weight about 390,000 pounds

As a Cowboys fan, I say that all of that is well and good. This is Texas, and we always like to do things bigger. My biggest concern, however, is to know that we will see seventy-one foot tall Cowboys scoring more TDs than their giant opponents on those screens.

Texas Stadium was unique, original, and a marvel in its day, too. The thing that made that place special, however, was that it housed one of the NFL’s greatest teams, a team that made eight Super Bowl appearances, won five rings, set a record for consecutive winning seasons, and was labeled by NFL films as “America’s Team.”

If the Cowboys lay an egg this year the way they did last year, it will be a world record-sized egg. The Jones family just raised the stakes on their own success. If they fail to deliver a winner, they will turn their dream into a giant nightmare, reminiscent of those grainy old Japanese Godzilla flicks.

Jerry and company ought to know that around here a Mitsubishi triumph is far less impressive than a Lombardi Trophy.

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Roger Goodell followed up news about a bad idea, namely taking the traditional Thanksgiving Day games away from the Cowboys and Lions and spreading them around, with news of an idea whose time has come. Fox News reports that Goodell has confirmed that one of the major items discussed at the Owners’ meetings is the expansion of the NFL regular season from 16 games to 17 or 18 games.

“We are looking at a variety of formats for restructuring,” Commissioner Roger Goodell said at the conclusion of the meetings. “Our goal is to improve the quality of what we’re doing.”

That is as much about decreasing the number of preseason games, which Goodell acknowledged are not quality games, as adding to the regular season. The latter, of course, is a way “to grow the game,” according to Goodell, as well as create additional revenue.

Few things are a bigger waste of a fan’s time than those final two weeks of preseason football. I can only think of MLB games any time prior to September, any NBA regular season game, all NHL regular season games and cottage cheese. Moreover, being the violent sport that it is, playing four or five preseason games only increases the probability that a few teams will start – and, sometimes, even conclude – their season without the services of a key player due to unnecessary injury.

We will cross our fingers and wait expectantly for the good news that the deed is done.

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