The Bucket List: See a Game in Cowboys Stadium

My friend said it best when he said, “It’s Krystle’s promised land.”

We arrived in Arlington and Dallas Cowboy fans were everywhere; from the airport, to the grocery store, to the hotel. The Blue and Silver Pride was all around. I felt this same experience when we traveled to Indianapolis back in 2010 as there were Colts fans everywhere we went. Living in Utah there is no “home team” so there is not a dominant presence of one single football team. Finally traveling to the city of my favorite football team left me with a permanent smile all weekend: I was finally in Cowboy Country.

We woke up incredibly early that Sunday morning and started the day with Texas shaped waffles from the hotel’s continental breakfast.

Our plan was to arrive at the stadium when the doors opened at 9:00am in order to watch the players warm up before the game began at noon. We arranged transportation to and from the stadium at $12/person through our hotel, which felt like a steal since parking around the stadium is upwards of $65 or more (that’s insane!).

Before we knew it, the time had come to board the party bus and head over. As I boarded the bus, the music was blaring, the bright lights were flashing, and I laughed to myself as I saw the stripper pole at the back of the bus. What a way to start the morning. 🙂

After a five-minute drive over to the stadium, I found my anticipation increasing as we made our way through security and then into the stadium. Once inside, I was pleasantly surprised to see that the retractable roof was closed in order to keep the 97 degree heat outside. We made our way down to the sidelines and were able to get some great photos of the players warming up:

We were then treated to an amazing spectacle with the introduction of the Cowboys starting line up:

Sorry, I got sidetracked 😉 Not that amazing spectacle, this one:

Fireworks and giant flames went off each time the starters ran out. It may have been a little hard to breathe for the next ten minutes, and my eyes burnt for a good part of the first drive, but the Cowboys sure know how to put on a show. I have to admit that I may have gotten a little bit emotional during the National Anthem. It was a dream come true to be in Cowboys Stadium watching my favorite team in their home opener.

The game was a good defensive game. It wasn’t a high scoring shoot-out, but it was really neat to watch the #1 defense in the league do what they do. Lee made an interception which lead to the Cowboys touchdown drive, and Ware, Claiborne, Carr, Spencer, Jenkins and more, did their part in stopping the Tampa Bay offense.

I have to say that even though Tony Romo is my quarterback, he is probably one of the easiest quarterbacks in the league to read, or maybe I just know my Cowboy’s football. Either way, I was able to capture some great photos as I knew generally knew what receiver he was throwing to. 🙂

The Dallas Cowboys won 16-10 which was the icing on the cake for our trip. Not only did I get to watch my ‘boys play in their home stadium, but I was able to watch them win their home opener.

How ‘Bout Them Cowboys?!