Tomorrow is her last game, lot's a great memories in Texas Stadium:
Tomorrow is her last game, lot's a great memories in Texas Stadium:
Troy Aikman played his final college game on Jan. 2, 1989, in the Cotton Bowl. His UCLA team prepared for the matchup against Arkansas by practicing at Texas Stadium.
"Growing up in Oklahoma, I watched Cowboys games all the time," he said. "The stadium was kind of a Sunday fixture in our living room. And then our bus was pulling up to the stadium for that first practice, and I'm thinking, 'This is pretty cool, just like on TV.' "
The first thing that caught Aikman's eye when he stepped on the field was the Ring of Honor. "It brought back memories of all the great players I had watched," he said.
But the college quarterback's eyes focused on one name – Roger Staubach. Given the Cowboys' poor performance in 1988, Aikman had an idea that the stadium might be his next home as a player. You can't blame a man for dreaming.
"Eighteen years later, I was very proud to see my name go up in the Ring," he said. "Standing on the field during that ceremony, seeing the names already posted and remembering their great moments was something I will never forget, and then to think I was joining them. Wow."
Michael Irvin is emotional about many things. But when he steps on the field at Texas Stadium, he looks up into the stands and sees one thing: the Ring of Honor.
It inspires him.
"I think about walking onto the field and looking at the Ring of Honor and saying, 'I will not embarrass you on this field today,' " Irvin said. "That was their field that they built. When I walked on it, I never stepped on that field without looking at it."
Irvin wanted to play at a high level like those players in the Ring of Honor. He became a five-time Pro Bowler, part of three Super Bowl championship teams, and finished with 11,904 yards and 65 touchdowns. He was inducted into the Ring of Honor in 2005 and the Pro Football Hall of Fame in 2007.
So, how does it feel to see his name in the Ring of Honor?
"Now," Irvin said, "when I walk on the field, I wonder if one day a kid with that the same approach I had looks at those names, me being included, and says, 'I won't embarrass you today.' "
Many Cowboys fans probably assume Emmitt Smith's favorite moment at Texas Stadium came the day he broke the NFL's all-time rushing record against Seattle in October 2002.
Actually, Smith's favorite moment was in the spring of 1990. The 20-year-old running back from the University of Florida couldn't believe he had just been drafted by the Cowboys.
"My one memory that stands out more than anything else is the first day I walked into that stadium," Smith said.
"That night after being drafted, walking down that tunnel, walking out onto the football field and looking up at the light beaming down onto the field ... and all you see is plywood because they're getting ready for a tractor pull. I said to myself, 'What in the world is going on?'
"But I'm standing down at the edge of the tunnel and looking at the Ring of Honor, and I'm thinking, 'Wow. I'm in Texas Stadium.' "
Smith played 111 regular-season and playoff games at Texas Stadium and rushed for 9,729 yards in Irving.
He became a member of the Ring of Honor in 2005. Smith said that it's time for a new facility and that new memories will be made in Arlington.
"The good thing about it, you can pick that history up over there and bring it right over here," Smith said, speaking at the new stadium. "There's always time for an upgrade."
Emmitt Smith, Troy Aikman and Michael Irvin were inducted into the Cowboys' Ring of Honor in 2005 after leading the franchise to three Super Bowl titles. Here are a few of their memories of Texas Stadium:
It's weird that the final game for a historice stadium won't be seen by MANY football fans.
You can see it for free on NFL.com, and if I'm not mistaken Jerry said he was going to open the game up this weekend for the national audience.Originally Posted by RockStar36
Mertyl Fargate from All My Children?
For all the education and practice each of us undergoes, the achievment of mastery is ultimately the outcome of a personal quest for understanding.
Never watched the show
My wife does...she was a lady on the show for 35 years who passed away...they are doing a retrospective today...big cry fest.Never watched the show
That show was on television for that many years? I mean, obviously I've heard of it, but I had no clue it was on for that long.
probably closer to 40 years...my mother used to watch it in the early 70s
I don't care about this at all...
Damn, that's pretty impressive. Most shows are lucky if they make it through season #1 now.
You're right, enough talk about All My Children, let's get back to Texas Stadium.I don't care about this at all...
soaps never die...
anyway...never imagined that Texas Stadium looked so plain on the outside.
Dude, it's one of the most boring, crappy, disgusting stadiums I've ever been to. Thank god we're getting a new one because it's about a decade past due.
I was there, hilarious! What's funny about that is you figured he would have learned after the Super Bowl.
Last edited by gr8slayer; 12-19-2008 at 01:02 PM.
Hmmm...well if it's available on tv and internet...
Eh, I'll still probably watch the Sabres game.
You probably should.
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