My First Trip to Jerry World
It’s not every day that you get a chance to watch a college bowl game in person, so when an old friend asked if I might be interested in seeing the Cotton Bowl (or Cotton Bowl Classic if you work for Goodyear or the local organizing committee), I could hardly say no. And while I’m not a fan of either Michigan State or Alabama, much of the impetus for the trip was to get a closer look at AT&T Stadium, better known on Google as “Jerry World,” in honor of Dallas Cowboys owner Jerry Jones, the man who willed the stadium into being.
When you first approach the stadium from a distance, you can’t help but feel like you’re looking at an alien spacecraft that wouldn’t seem out of place in a remake of Steven Spielberg’s Close Encounters of the Third Kind. It’s a massive structure, and it seems all the more massive because there really isn’t a building anywhere near as big in the immediate vicinity.
When I arrived at the stadium, I parked on the opposite side from the entrance that provided access to our seats. That meant trekking around its diameter, a walk that took about 20 minutes. That took us through one of the reserved parking lots closest to the stadium, which gave me a chance to get up close and personal with another billionaire’s parking spot.
Once we made our way to the opposite entrance, we got a chance to mill about for a while in the area designated for the Alabama pep rally while we waited for the doors to open. The ‘Bama fans were very friendly, but there was definitely a different vibe compared to the Michigan State crowd. An Alabama game is a real social event. Their fans get seriously dressed up, with Bear Bryant’s famous hound’s tooth pattern not just on hats but scarves and jackets. The Michigan State folks are your typical blue collar football fans. Then again, whenever the two sides mixed, it was all friendly. It’s a similar vibe to a Super Bowl — at some level, both sides are just happy to be there they’re too busy to feel any hate.
Once we made our way inside, we purposely took the stairs to get to our seats in the highest level of the stadium. With a large lunch to work off, we were determined to do a lot of steps and Jerry World didn’t disappoint. Once we got to our seats, we did a quick deal with a family of Alabama fans and exchanged our two seats for a pair closer to the 50-yard line. I was happy to do the deal. And once we got to the seats, this is what we saw. Wow.
With about two hours before kickoff, the Jumbotron was showing the Orange Bowl from Miami. As Clemson gradually took control, the Alabama fans I was seated with couldn’t contain their glee. They clearly wanted a shot at Clemson and they’re going to get it soon.
One important note: I’m not the first person to notice that experience watching the game at home is beginning to eclipse the gameday experience, especially when you mix in overpaying for parking, food and merchandise. At AT&T, they’ve come up with an ingenious compromise: including a television so large, you can’t help but watch the game on television instead of the action on the field.
Here’s what kickoff looked like. What would you rather watch: the ants on the field or the largest HD image on Earth?
As I’m sure you’re aware by now, the game itself was quite the beatdown. We wound up heading for the exit with about 10 minutes left in the fourth quarter, hoping to get ahead of the other 82,000+ fans who would be clogging the local roadways. Despite this, I was more than satisfied with the trip. AT&T Stadium really is all that and a bag of chips. It’s simply the most impressive stadium I’ve ever set foot in. About 15 years ago, I took a trip to Columbus to see Ohio State play Minnesota on Homecoming Weekend. At the time, I thought I’d visited the ultimate temple of football, complete with stained glass over the main entrance. I was wrong. The new temple of football is in North Texas, and I’m convinced that in 1,000 years or so, tourists will be paying admission to tour its ruins. And something tells me Jerry Jones’s estate will still manage to get a cut.
