Dallas Trip

[Patjew]

I want to try to post some pics from my trip, but am having zero success so far.

 

[Joker]

just glad you're back in one piece....you were missed around here

 

[Slagathor]

I want to try to post some pics from my trip, but am having zero success so far.

I can see the kodak link when my pointer is over the thread title. Just can't access it.

 

[Patjew]

just glad you're back in one piece....you were missed around here

Thanks! Suffering from serious jet lag now.

 

[Patjew]

I can see the kodak link when my pointer is over the thread title. Just can't access it.

Yes, I am a moron. I'll figure it out eventually.

 

[Tunescribe]

Thanks! Suffering from serious jet lag now.

So, tell us what it was like being there. It sounded over the TV that there were a lot of Pats fans in the crowd. Did you catch any grief?

 

[nowayback]

patjew ! dont you ever go away so long without calling! or its your last trip!!!

 

[Tucker]

www.imageshack.us

 

[reflexblue]

Out of curiosity how long were you in transit between Dallas and Hong Kong?

 

[Patjew]

Hey y'all. Here's a quick summary. The trip was great.

My dad and I arrived in Dallas the day before the game. Flew on UA from Providence through Chicago. There were a few Pats fans on the first flight and many more on the second flight. There were a few Dallas fans too and some good natured ribbing took place.

Landed at DFW. Man, what a terrible airport that is. I am used to crappy airports in Asia, and DFW seemed lousy even to me.

Grabbbed a rental car and headed to the hotel. We stayed at the Holiday Inn Express 2.5 miles from the stadium. I chose that place because it's supposed to be quiet and the rooms are bigger than most, thereby providing more buffer space between myself and my father's snoring and farting.

Went out for some Tex Mex. Tex Mex in Dallas is better than in Hong Kong.

Sunday morning woke up and went to breakfast. The breakfast room had about 15 Dallas fans and 5 Pats fans in it. My dad looked at a Pats fan and said "go Pats!". I looked at my dad and said "shut up".

I asked the woman at the front desk the best way to walk to the stadium and she looked at me like I had horns. I said "it's only 2 miles, right?" She said yes, but everyone takes a taxi or drives. No wonder why Texans are so fat!

My dad and I took a ride to the stadium to choose the best route. Our options were a real big highway or a two-lane highway. Texas is not walkable. We chose the two-lane highway. Yee haw.

(will continue this in a few hours>>>)

 

[Boston Boxer]

damn...to be continued.

 

[Patjew]

After we decided on our route we took a trip into downtown Dallas. What a lame city with no feel to it! We checked out the Texas Schoolbook Depository. Not so fun. I saw a fellow Pats fan there and gave him the fist-to-my-chest-signal thing.

So we headed out of the hotel at 12:15 for the 3:15 kickoff. We walked, and of course we were the only walkers . The highway was like I-95 in southern Rhode Island. Two lanes, not too too much traffic. Very ugly walk.

Everyone here knows I was nervous about showing my Pats colors. I was especially concerned walking down the highway, so I wore a button down shirt over my Pats t-shirt for the walk. My dad kept his old school Pat Patriot hat in his pocket until we got to the stadium.

On the side of the highway there were guys buying and selling tickets. Instant ticket brokers! They asked me if I had tickets when I walked by them and I said "I'm just walking." "Oh, out for some exercise?" the dude asked. "Mmmm hmmm". I didn't want to get jumped for my tickets! I'm such a freak that I kept them in my shoe until we got there.

So we got to the stadium. What an ugly building! It looks like a giant concrete turd from the outside. We lined up, got patted down and went in! It was 1:15 by then.

I took off my buttondown shirt and unveiled my Pats colors. There were more Pats fans there than I expected. I'd estimate them at 5000 +. No one gave us any crap.

So we thought that we'd walk around the lower level and check things out at field level, but there was really nowhere to walk and you needed a ticket to the section you wanted to walk in. So we couldn't do that.

Instead we walked around the concourse, which had nothing going for it. Very crappy food with no view of the field. I'm telling you, this stadium is a pit. I thought it would be cool. Instead, we found it to be awful. Not as bad as Sullivan Stadium, maybe, but pretty lame overall. So we just headed up to our seats.

The seats were nice. 35 yard line, 5th row of the upper level, which really isn't that high. Kind of an equivalent view of club seats at Gillette.

I love watching the warmups, so we did for almost 90 minutes. Both FG kickers were booming them from over 50 yards easily. That hole in the celing creates some wind in the stands, but the flags on the goal posts didn't move at all.

When Brady came out for warmups he got booed like crazy! You know how at Gillette when he jogs across the field and then starts pumping his arms and fists as the crowd is cheering him? He did the same in Dallas as the crowd was booing him! Made me love him a little more.

 

[Patjew]

I was happy to see all of the questionables (except for LoMo) warming up. I freaked out when I couldn't find AD at first, but then my father pointed him out to my relief.

When TO came out for warmups the place went NUTS. He ran all around the field and basically started a wave because wherever he went, people stood and cheered. Dem folks love der TO.

BB and Philips had a nice long chat before the game. I imagined Wade apologizing over and over for his alleged remarks and BB staring at him saying "right, right, right."

I saw some ugly women in Dallas, but the 37 Dallas Cowboys cheerleaders were outstanding. I was very impressed with their, um, routines, and had to give them a, um, salute.

The crowd settled in for the player intros. This weird mascot was driving around the field doing all sorts of stupid stuff on one of those 4-wheeler ATVs. In Texas people are so lazy that even mascots don't walk!

The players came out of a giant helmet like they do at Gillette, but in Dallas they shoot fire out the sides. It was pretty cool.

The fans in Dallas are LOUD. They were pumped like crazy for this game.

Billy Ray Cyrus sang the national anthem. No further comment necessary.

I forget who won the coin toss. I do remember that the acoustics in the stadium SUCK. I rarely ever understood the umpire's announcements.

The place was going crazy during the kickoff. I must say, the Dallas fans were good. They knew when to cheer, they were very loud, but they were not belligerent. They were just like Massssholes, except the exact opposite. Don't get me wrong, I still love Massssholes.

 

[Patjew]

You guys all saw the game, so no need to re-cap. But let me say, the place went from NUTS to QUIET when the Pats went up 14-0 approximately 17 seconds into the game (or so it seemed).

Dallas's FG march to make it 14-3 brought the crowd back to life a bit, and then they exploded during and after the strip sack for a TD. I tell you, it is a strange feeling to sit there dejectedly when 70,000 people around you are cheering like they just won the rodeo. Not good times.

The drunk loud guy behind me spilled his beer on me and the woman next to me, but he apologized and I acccepted it.

The fans booed the Pats when they took a knee to kill the 2nd quarter clock.

The woman asked where I came from, and I told her Hong Kong. "Really??", she asked. "Really." "You must be a really big fan!" "Sure am."

Halftime highlights:

A woman won a free house in a contest held by a mortgage company. It was great, especially seeing the company rep trying to smile while looking like he was going to get fired on Monday.

Michael Irvin gave a nice speech in honor of his HOF induction. He wrapped it up by imploring the fans to be VERY LOUD AND SUPPORTIVE of the 'boys in the second half. "Uh oh" I told my dad.

Pats came out for the second half F-L-A-T. They went 3 and out, Dallas scored a TD to take the lead, the fans had a simultaneous orgasm, and I had nightmare flashbacks to last years's AFCCG.

Evidently Tommy told the guys to stop screwing around and they marched right down for a TD. My dad and I didn't cheer loudly, but gave each other low-fives. Game on!

 

[Patjew]

You all know the rest. The Pats kept scoring, the fans kept getting quieter, and when Dallas kicked a FG on 4th down when down 14 in the 4th quarter, I said "game over". (Not trying to sound like TMQ, but it's true.) The fans booed the FG; they knew it was a sissy move.

Once when Dallas had the ball a "D-FENSE, D-FENSE" chant started up to our left. I couldn't believe it. That's when I realized there were more Pats fans there than I originally thought. It got booed out quickly, but it was still pretty damn impressive, I thought. Now the "Red Sox" chant was just silly, I thought.

I still love Kevin Faulk. He's so shifty. I swear he can hit the hole sideways when he needs to.

I was not surprised when the Pats went for the TD at the end of the game. My father asked what they were doing and I said they were giving the rest of the NFL the middle finger.

I was sitting on the Pats side, and let me tell you: they were VERY happy as the game was wrapping up. Junior and Rodney were loving the INT, and everyone was loving the 6th TD.

The fans quitely filed out with a few minutes left. Again, no one gave us any crap at all. They were saying things like, "well the Patriots are just a great team" and "that's Tom Brady for ya" after he made some plays. They were some nice folks, y'all.

With a couple minutes left I put my buttondown shirt back on over my Pats shirt. I told my father it was the equivalent of Red Auerbach's cigar.

We stayed until the very end and even watched as the players milled about after the game. Then we headed out.

 

[Patjew]

It was mostly Pats fans leaving by then. A couple of drunk Dallas fans were talking crap in the parking lot, but very minor stuff.

I was hoping to take a taxi back to the hotel to avoid the 2.5 mile walk at night down the highway, but no such luck. So we walked (quickly). Got back to the hotel at about 8:30, exhausted and relieved.

That was a VERY intense regular season game for me. I just wanted them to win so badly. Partly out of love for the team, partly out of not wanting to travel 8000 miles only to see them lose.

We went out for Tex Mex again, I drank 18 glasses of water and one beer, and by 11 PM I was passed out cold. The next day I flew out, which is a crazy story in and of itself, but this isn't the place for it.

It was a GREAT experience overall.

 

[RayClay]

Great story. You got a great game to watch too.

How long are you going to be in Hong Kong?

 

[Patjew]

Great story. You got a great game to watch too.

How long are you going to be in Hong Kong?

Not sure exactly. Probably 2 or 3 more years.

 

[Patjew]

Super Pats Fan
View attachment 937
Dad in front of the Concrete Toilet; View from our seats; view from the endzone.

 

[Patjew]

Having a hard time with the pics. That'll probably be it.