M.L. on the N.F.L. Give Me a Jail Cell and a Judge

Author: Mary Lane

What is this monstrosity that Jerry Jones is building to replace the Dallas Cowboys' Texas Stadium?

Jones has fallen pray to the lie too many football fans have also embraced - that bigger is always better, size should conquer and sap out the raw emotions of the small and wild. Jones, more than any other owner in the NFL, has sought to harness the untamed and delightfully intangible enthusiasm that the hardcore American football fan is known for and sandpaper its rough-hewn edges into something sleek, shiny and utterly tacky.

I am, of course, talking about the as-yet unnamed $1 billion stadium Jones is building in Arlington, Texas, which is scheduled to open in 2009.

For too long, devoted fans have seen the nitty, gritty, dirty, grimy, real stadiums knocked down and replaced by edifices which speak more to the power of steel and concrete then to the power of the game. This $1 billion (just wanted to hammer that home for you) temple to the avaricious Jones will have a full capacity of 100,000 fans, with 200 luxury suites complete with scantily-clad, bottle- blonde waitresses, bars, plush seats and TVs on which to watch the game that is going on right outside.

The video screens surrounding the fans will be 60 yards long. 60 yards. The inspiration for these, Jones cited in a recent Sports Illustrated article, came from watching Celine Dion perform at Caesar's Palace in Las Vegas. What next? Strippers dancing around the goal posts?

But seriously, it's really telling that the inspiration for today's newest stadiums is coming from an MTV generation concert hall. Owners are so intent on enhancing the experience through high tech electronics and cushy sheltered seats that they forget what the experience is - the game.

Anyone who has been to a pro game can attest to how hard it often is to actually pay attention to the field. I went with my brothers to the Falcons-Eagles game in Philadelphia last New Year's Eve and the constant music, gimmicks and flashing lights seemed more like temptations luring me away from the field than any sort of enhancement of my "experience." I even caught people watching the game on PDAs.

Come on, guys, you're at the game! Even though it was built for "only" $512 million in 2003, the Linc has drawn criticism from Eagles fans for this very reason. Give me a jail cell and a judge in the basement and an unclean bathroom any day, I just want to watch the game.

Jones said that Seattle's Qwest Field and even New York City itself were all inspirations for the Cowboys' new stomping grounds. Why doesn't Jones take inspiration from something Texas herself is known for - those high school Friday Night Lights? The power of the high school game rests in the simplicity of the surroundings and the passion in the eyes of high school kids who are playing just for the love of it. Yes, NFL stadiums are there to make money, but even with such an argument Jones could take inspiration from Lambeau Field, for example, which was recently renovated for $295 million. Packers fans don't need 60-yard long screens to show their passion.

Video killed the radio star. Does it have to kill football, too?