From the Inside Out

Gary and I were lucky enough to get two complimentary tickets to the final Cowboys game in Texas Stadium. The team will be moving into their new home next season, ending a 37-year run in Texas Stadium in Irving. Saturday’s game was an emotional event for many fans, players, and former players who hold fond memories of the time they spent in that facility. The night was more than just a game; it was the end of an era.

With that in mind, we were really excited about the opportunity to be part of that historic moment. We drove to the stadium area early and had dinner at Pappasitos. The restaurant was filled with lots of other Cowboys fans getting ready to enjoy the game. At a table nearby, we met a few fans who had an extra parking pass for the Blue lots. We jumped on the opportunity to bypass the long walk from general parking — the Blue lots are right next to the stadium.

Delighted, we finished dinner at 5:30 pm and headed to the stadium which, during normal traffic, would be about 10 minutes away. Thirty minutes later, we were pulling in next to the Blue parking lots. We thought we were making good time, but little did we know that parking there would be the “kiss of death.”

The two lane road that leads to the Blue lots was packed full of cars — cars that weren’t moving. Forty minutes later, we had only moved forward a few feet. The parking attendants told us it would be at least another hour before we could get parked.

We continued to sit in bumper-to-bumper traffic, baffled that it was completely stopped. I can’t believe how poorly managed traffic was. I’ve been to games before, and I’ve never experienced anything like it. I know the stadium was packed, but it was ridiculous. Tons of people were bailing out of their cars and walking to the stadium leaving only the driver behind. At 6:50 pm, I finally convinced Gary to leave and meet up with the rest of our group. It didn’t make sense for both of us to miss the game.

After he left, I sat for another 30 minutes barely moving at all. The one highlight of my parking nightmare was that I got to witness the balloon release that happened after the national anthem. Hundreds of blue and grey balloons rose through the open roof of the stadium and were eventually carried away by the wind. It was a neat sight to behold from outside the stadium.

An hour later, after circling the entire stadium in traffic, I ended up at Lot 5 (back where I had started 2 1/2 hours earlier). I knew it was going to be a historic night, but I had no idea that the historic moment I would experience would be a whopping 3 hours of gridlock.

Finally parked, I quickly made my way to the stadium — just in time for half-time. Neat.

Once inside, I was able to relax and have some fun. It was great to see the Cowboys play. And between plays, they would bring former Cowboys “greats” onto the field and interview them about their time playing for the Cowboys — very cool. Unfortunately, the night didn’t end with a win, but it was still fun to be a part of the last game played in Texas Stadium.

After the game, there was a closing ceremony including many of the Cowboys’ famous players and tributes to those who are no longer with us. We stayed for most of the celebration, until the brutal cold caught up with us (it was below freezing and the wind chill was even worse), then we called it a night and walked out of the stadium for the last time ever.

Farewell Texas Stadium!!

Below are a few pictures from the historic evening.

My view for 2 1/2 hours — so close, yet so far

Punting the ball after half-time

The stadium was packed!

So happy to be INSIDE the stadium!

Players and staff on the field as the game ends

Post-game celebration — introducing the Cowboys legends

More post-game celebration

Although I consider myself a Texas girl, I spent the first 6 years of my life in Oklahoma. At the young age of 6, I thought Oklahoma was the perfect place. I even threatened to move back when I became of age, but as I grew up I learned that Dallas offers more — much more. At some point, I left behind the childish idea of moving back to Oklahoma and decided to stay in Texas. I can’t even fathom living there now. Yes, I have become a tried and true Texan.

Yet there are a few things from my early years in Oklahoma that I haven’t left behind — a love for weekends at the lake and a love for the OU Sooners. When I was growing up, watching the Texas/OU game was a tradition. It was a link to my family’s past. It was the only time when I felt like an “Okie” living in Texas. The funny thing is that it has never changed. There’s one day every year when I stop being a Texan, and I get in touch with my past, my heritage, and the state of my birth. It’s also the only time that Gary and I cheer for different teams, which is interesting in it’s own right.

Yesterday, I sat down to watch the No. 1-ranked Sooners kick the No. 5-rated Horns to the curb. The last time Texas beat a No. 1 Oklahoma squad was back in 1963. This game should have been easy for them. Unfortunately, the Horns turned the tables on the Sooners and eked out a 45-35 victory at the Cotton Bowl — so much for me touting my Oklahoma pride yesterday. Oh well, maybe next year.

I put my Texas cap back on today and looked forward to a Cowboys win at Arizona. Maybe that would soothe my wounded OU spirit. We had the One Life group coming over at 6 pm, so we thought it would be fun to watch the end of the game together before we started the meeting. By the time everyone arrived, it wasn’t looking too good for Dallas. But, they came back at the end and tied the game with a field goal in the last 4 seconds. Yay…we were going into overtime!

A few minutes later, it was all over. The excitement was gone. The Cowboys had floundered just like my precious Sooners did on Saturday. I’m not sure what happened, but it was a bad sports weekend for my “past and present” teams. The only saving grace is that we had a great One Life meeting. It was a “winning” end to my winless weekend.

Unfortunately, the only Monday night game of the season fell on the same night as rehearsal for Saturday Night Life. Thank God for technology. We set the DVR and headed to rehearsal knowing we could watch the game later. Since many of the actors were also recording the game, we made sure that no one reported the score during rehearsal — we didn’t want to be spoiled before we got a chance to watch it.

SNL Rehearsals were fun; it was a good night even though we were missing a couple of actors. The sketches are coming along nicely, and some performances still provide laugh out loud moments even though we’ve seen them a number of times. It’s going to be a great show!

No one hung around after rehearsals were over. There was a mass exodus as soon as we dismissed. It was time to watch the game. The cool thing about watching the game on DVR is that you can fast forward all of the commercials and boring moments, not that there were many in this game.

The Cowboys played the Eagles, and they didn’t disappoint. It was an exciting game from start to finish. Dallas had a decent lead until Romo faltered and the Eagles scored 14 points in 14 seconds. Argh, not cool. From that moment onwards, the lead switched back and forth between the two teams. It was a high-scoring, nail-biting game.

In the last few minutes, the Cowboys took the lead and managed to hang onto it until the end. Whew, what a relief. We’re 2-0. Go Cowboys!

One of the funniest moments happened after the game. A female reporter was interviewing Tony Romo, and he mentioned his failure in the first half of the game. The reporter said, “You must be referring to the fumble in the end zone. What are you thinking when something like that happens?”

Tony adjusts his hat, smiles and responds, “Dang.”

Classic.

The Internet is abuzz once again with rumors of Tony Romo and Jessica Simpson.  This time, everyone is talking about the couple being married.  

Here’s the story.  Simpson’s mom made an off-handed comment to a paparazzo when they were leaving a Chilis restaurant in L.A. this week.  She was asked when Jessica and Tony were going to get married.

“They already are, what are you talking about?” replied Simpson’s mom. 

He asks Jessica, “You guys already married?” 

Jessica and her mom laughed, and then Jessica says, “I guess, if mom says so.”

From the sound of it, they were just joking with an annoying paparazzo, but she has been dating Tony since last year.  I hope it’s not serious.  If it is, you can say goodbye to the Cowboys’ season this year.  

She single-handedly brought him down by attending one game last year.  Can you imagine what would happen if they were actually married?  Ugh!  I hear collective sighs from Cowboys’ fans echoing across the country. 

Seriously, what is he thinking?  Yes, she’s hot, but she is also a spoiled, immature diva. 

C’mon Tony…you can do so much better. 

The theme for today was “super”.  Beginning this morning at church, I walked in to see festive decorations and “Super Sunday” signage.  It wasn’t until we finished singing and the anthem of “superman” started playing that I figured out they weren’t just referring to Super Bowl Sunday.  Hmm…coincidentally enough, the balloons were the colors of the superman logo too.  The message today was simple, but it was delivered in a refreshingly entertaining method.  I really love to hear J. Manning preach.  He’s creative, funny and inspiring.  He made the point that, like Clark Kent, all of us have the potential for greatness.  We just have to choose when and how to use it.  You can’t hide in Smallville forever because you are too busy, too full of self-doubt, or too afraid to use your potential.  God has a job for all of us — it’s time to break out and achieve great things for His kingdom.

Another announcement that many in my circle of friends would say is “super” is the announcement that Heidi and Cody are pregnant.  The official announcement was made today, and Heidi wasn’t the only one who was glowing.  The Rigdons had the biggest grins on their faces.  It was really cute.

Finally, today was Super Bowl Sunday.  Being a Dallas Cowboys fan, I wasn’t too excited about the game.  Instead, I was more interested in the commercials.  I had agreed to participate in a “live” ad panel which would rate the Super Bowl commercials in real time.  The ad panel was sponsored by Hey Nielsen, the social networking site for The Nielsen Company (the company that brings you the Nielsen TV ratings).  Over 200 people participated in the ad panel via a Webex Web conference and provided their opinions on the commercials that ran during the big game.  It was lots of fun; certainly, it made the game more interesting.  The results will appear tomorrow. 

Unfortunately, there were many bad commercials this year, but there were a few good ones too.  My favorites were:

1.  Diet Pepsi Max “What is Love”

2.  Diet Pepsi Max “Justin Timberlake”

3.  Tide “Talking Stain”

4.  Bud Light “Fire Breathing”

5.  Audi “R8″

To check out all of the commercials, go to www.myspace.com/superbowlads