15 Weeks, 8 Games, 7 Stadiums

After two consecutive defeats, my Cowboys seemed primed to rebound against the hapless Jets. Except somebody forget to tell the home team.

So this was the one game that my entire family got to attend with me. Everything seemed to be in place for a successful outing – Sunday afternoon game, short travel distance, and most importantly, playing a winless and downtrodden franchise.

Before the game, they held a ceremony where they announced the all-time Jets team and, with very few exceptions, every player was in attendance. As someone who grew up in New York and watched a lot of Jets games, I thought this was pretty cool as players like Joe Klecko, Freeman McNeil, Al Toon, and Wesley Walker all came out of the tunnel. (If you’re wondering, obviously Mark Gastineau was on the team, but he wasn’t in attendance.)

And of course the loudest cheers were for Broadway Joe.

For those of you who have never been in the presence of Jets fans, let me take some time to explain what it’s like rooting for this team. The New York Jets (originally Titans) began play in 1960 with the American Football League (AFL). This upstart league immediately challenged the older NFL for football supremacy and, more importantly, for elite college players. In 1965, Joe Namath (undefeated that season at Alabama) was taken 1st overall by the Jets and 12th overall by the St. Louis Cardinals. When Namath chose the Jets, it was an enormous coup, not just for the Jets, but for the entire AFL.

Four years later, Namath led the Jets to the AFL Championship and would then face the Baltimore Colts in Super Bowl III. The first two Super Bowls had been blowout wins by the NFL representative (Green Bay Packers), and most pundits saw the Colts as easy victors. Before the game, Namath guaranteed victory for the Jets, and then went out and led them to a 16-7 win in the most important game in NFL history.

And yet, it’s not hyperbole to say that nothing good has happened to the Jets in the 50 years since.

Some examples:

In 1983, the Jets needed a quarterback. The Miami Dolphins selected future hall-of-famer and all-time passing leader (when he retired) Dan Marino with the 27th pick, right after the Jets picked Ken O’Brien at 24.

In 1985, the Jets needed a wide receiver. The San Francisco 49ers selected future hall-of-famer and all-time receiving leader Jerry Rice with the 16th pick, shortly after the Jets picked Al Toon at 16.

In 1990, the Jets needed a running back. The Dallas Cowboys selected future hall-of-famer and all-time rushing leader Emmitt Smith with the 17th pick. He was the second running back chosen, after the (can you guess?) Jets took Blair Thomas second overall.

Obviously the Jets are not the only team to have missed picking these players, but they are the only team that chose a different player at the same position in all three drafts.

In 1986, the Jets were the best team in football, racing out to a 10-1 record. Five consecutive losses later, they were 10-6 and barely made the playoffs as a Wild Card. In the divisional round, they lost the second double OT game in NFL history as they let a 10 point 4th quarter lead evaporate.

In the late 1990s, former NY Giants coach Bill Parcells returned to New York to coach the Jets and put together a winner. After losing the AFC Championship Game in 1998, it seemed like all the pieces were in place for a deep run the following season. But in the first game of the 1999 season, QB Vinny Testaverde tore his Achilles tendon and was lost for the season. The Jets began the year 1-6 and their Super Bowl hopes were quickly dashed.

If that wasn’t bad enough, Parcells retired after the season, paving the way for his long-time defensive coordinator to take over. Bill Belichick was announced as the new head coach of the Jets, but after 24 hours of thinking about it, he submitted his resignation on a napkin (true story!). A month later, he went to the New England Patriots as head coach, and the rest, as they say, is history.

Bearing all this in mind, one has to consider the overall frame of mind of Jets fans. They are frequently expecting the worst and, in many cases, that’s exactly what they get. We arrived over an hour before the game started and there was a good mix of Cowboys and Jets fans in our section. Rather than trying to trash talk the Cowboys fans in the stands, the Jets fans mostly trash talked their own team. The phrase “offensive genius” was said repeatedly as an epithet in reference to head coach Adam Gase and the Jets’ inability to score (up to this point).

Even after the Jets had scored a TD, and then another, the stands were mostly filled with sounds of disbelief. And as the Jets scoring disappeared in the second half along with the Cowboys slowly (oh my God, so slowly) creeping back, that familiar doubt resurfaced. The fans screamed at their team with every incomplete pass and every missed tackle.

And then it came down to the Cowboys’ final drive. The Jets were winning 24-16 and the Cowboys began making their way down field. I don’t think I’ve ever seen anything like this as there were penalties called on SIX consecutive plays, leading fans of both teams to yell at the officials. And then finally, the Cowboys managed to find the end zone.

The Cowboys lined up for the 2-pt conversion and while their fans expected the worst, a well-timed blitz forced a bad throw and the game was over. Both sets of fans seemed equally surprised by the outcome.

One odd thing about this game was how many jerseys were in attendance. I swear I saw at least a dozen. Several Giants, Pats, and Eagles fans chose to attend, for whatever reason. But I was very surprised when I saw someone with a 49ers jersey, until I realized what jersey it was. So I asked for a selfie with him and he happily obliged.

I know, I know, you’re all thinking, Adam, what took you so long to write about the game? Well, it took me a while to recover. From what? The game? The excessive amounts of food? The alcohol? Why yes!

The day started much the same way the previous night ended — eating copious amounts of food. Randy and I showed up at Turkey and the Wolf shortly after they opened and had their Fried Bologna, Collard Green Melt, and Deviled Eggs. We dove right in, so I missed pictures of our plates, but there’s a nice gallery at their website, so curious folks can click through to see what all the fuss is about. (Note: they were bon appetit’s pick for best new restaurant in 2017.)

From there we proceeded back to the Garden District to watch the early games at a local sports bar. If you’ve never been to New Orleans, you may be unfamiliar with some of its quirks, especially the fact that it is legal to walk around drinking an alcoholic beverage (as long as it’s in a plastic cup). This is one of those laws I always seem to forget no matter how many times I’ve been there. So after placing my order at the bar, the bartender asked, “For here or to go,” which stunned me for a second, before I finally responded, “Uh, yeah, for here.”

Most of the people there were fans of neither the Saints or the Cowboys, apparently transplants who came out just to watch their favorite team on one of a dozen TVs, while keeping an eye on their fantasy players across the league.

After a quick afternoon nap, we headed for the Superdome. We got there in plenty of time to avoid the crowds and get our drink on.

I still remember the first time I went to the Superdome and how Randy and his friends were surprised that the stadium was full. (This was, as you may recall, in 1998, when the Cowboys came to town with future Hall-of-Famers Troy Aikman, Emmitt Smith, and Michael Irvin.) The following year, I attended a game with Randy where the Saints hosted the St. Louis Rams, who went on to win the Super Bowl behind Kurt Warner, Marshall Faulk, and Isaac Bruce. Despite hosting “The Greatest Show on Turf” and having pulled Mike Ditka out of retirement to man the sidelines, the stadium was half empty. For better or worse, every game I’ve attended since has been a sellout.

I don’t have much to say about the game itself. In fact, the game was probably pretty boring to most outside observers. But that didn’t stop Randy and I from yelling at each other for the entire 60 minutes. Unfortunately for me, the Cowboys repeatedly shot themselves in the foot on offense, fumbling the ball, dropping passes, and untimely penalties. (If we had played any team but the Saints, I might spend some time complaining about the officiating, but… I think I’ll let it go.) And after all that, we only lost by two and the game came down to the final play in a very hostile environment.

So instead I’ll share some of my experience in the stands for those who have never been and wonder what it’s like being in the loudest place on earth. (Apparently Kansas City holds the record for loudest stadium, but my money is on New Orleans for consistent ouptut, and yes, I’ve been to Arrowhead.) You’ll need the volume on for full effect.

We’ll start late in the 4th quarter with my favorite play of the game, Jaylon Smith breaking through on 3rd down and dropping Teddy Bridgewater for a 16 yard sack. This knocked the Saints out of field goal range, forcing them to punt back to the Cowboys clinging to a two-point lead. If the Cowboys had come back to win, this would have been a pivotal play.

This is when the Saints fans kicked up the volume.

Maybe they got even louder, I can’t even think or see straight at this point.

Cowboys aren’t moving the ball fast enough given how much time is left. Who can blame them?

One last desperation heave and if anything, they got even louder when the ball fell incomplete.

Disappointed in the outcome, but hey, I can’t hate on Saints fans, they love their team, they love to trash talk the opposition, but it’s all in good fun. Randy and I have a long-running bet that the loser of the Cowboys Saints game has to change their Facebook profile picture for the following week. I asked some nearby folks if they could help me out. It turns out they were more than willing.

Well, when you sign up to go to eight road games, you can’t expect to win them all. Even though the Cowboys did do that in 2014, but I digress… We may see the Saints again in January. I’m sure Randy will have an extra ticket for me if that game is in New Orleans.

Having arrived in the Big Easy on Saturday at 2:30pm on Saturday with the game not scheduled to kick off until 7:20pm Sunday left Randy and I with some time to focus on non-football-related activities. What did we do? I’m glad you asked!

FIRST STOP: DRAGO’S SEAFOOD RESTAURANT

Randy and I have made it a tradition to hit Drago’s before going to see Cowboys-Saints, although this time we hit it the day before. It was our first indication of what this weekend will be like because the restaurant was PACKED even though it was in between typical eating times (4pm) and there were TONS of Cowboys fans milling about (good for me, not so much for Randy).

In the past, we would both get a plate of the deliciousness you see above, but this time we just split one of those while ordering a few other appetizers.

This time we got the alligator tacos and the BBQ shrimp (not pictured). A fantastic start to our food tour!

SECOND STOP: TRACEY’S ORIGINAL IRISH CHANNEL BAR

Next we headed to the Garden District and one of Randy’s old haunts, Tracey’s, a local sports bar on Magazine. (Note: if you read my previous blog post, this is where I spilled my Guinness while watching the Terps.) Living in NYC, I’m often astonished at how little things cost in other parts of the country. Randy ordered a double Jameson and bought my can of IPA. He handed the bartender $20, which didn’t seem like enough to me, but then got $5 change! Say what???

THIRD STOP: BOIL SEAFOOD HOUSE

One of the first times I was in New Orleans, Randy took me to a crawfish boil at a friend’s house. I may be simplifying things a bit, but basically they dumped the following ingredients into an enormous pot: crawfish, Andouille sausage, potatoes, corn, garlic, and a ridiculous amount of cajun spices (Hello cayenne!). They boiled it and when it was done, they drained the water and dumped the contents onto the picnic table. And whenever you decided you could touch any of the contents without burning your hands and/or mouth, you ate as much as you could.

While doing this in someone’s backyard (or better yet, on the bayou) is the most traditional way of doing a crawfish boil, Boil Seafood House has done its best to replicate the experience. There are various types of buckets you can order which include different items (shrimp or crab, for example). Randy and I went with the “basic” bucket, the “Cajun Classic,” which you can see below.

FOURTH STOP: COOTER BROWN’S

After making fun of me for drinking beer while he was pounding Jameson, Randy suggested we hit up another sports bar with something like 400 beers available (40 on tap). This one was uptown, past Tulane University, and was actually a bit crowded for the amateur football games that Randy and I have zero interest in. (I suppose that’s kinda funny since that’s where all the pro players we root for come from.)

I went with a local hazy IPA and Randy got some Belgian lambic thing. It seems that if I’m not wearing Cowboys colors, I’m subject to people assuming I like the Saints.

FIFTH STOP: COQUETTE

At this point, it was about 8:30, so we were ready for dinner. Back to the Garden District! I convinced Randy to try the blind tasting menu with wine pairing, which he had never tried. He was concerned that might not be enough food, so we did get a quick appetizer before the tasting started.

Then we jumped into the tasting menu. Aw yeah…

The fifth course didn’t make it into my camera roll, unfortunately, but it was zucchini bread topped with poppy seed ice cream and root beer pudding, paired with a sherry cocktail or something…

And as I finish writing this Sunday morning, I’m still full. But as you can see, we got plenty of fuel for the game tonight

On Saturday, I return to New Orleans, Louisiana, one of my favorite cities and a place I lived (very) briefly in 1998. Most visits since then have been to see the Cowboys play the Saints and this weekend will be no exception. Before my arrival, I thought I’d give a quick review of the games I’ve attended in reverse order of how “enjoyable” each one was to me as a Cowboys fan. Each of the games I went to was courtesy of my good college friend, Randy, who has had Saints season tickets since 1995. Football fans may recall that the Saints were absolutely horrible before the arrival of Drew Brees in 2006 (didn’t win their first playoff game until 2000!), so the fact that he paid to watch such awfulness is a credit to him and when they finally won the Super Bowl in February 2010, I couldn’t have been happier for him.

Without further ado, here are the games. It turns out all of them are available in their entirety on YouTube, so I embedded videos that should start at the appropriate moment.

THE BLOWOUT AKA 40 FIRST DOWNS

November 10, 2013: New Orleans Saints 49, Dallas Cowboys 17

I arrived in New Orleans on Friday night and I remember telling Randy that I would be focused on watching my Terps that night before turning my attention to the upcoming football game. Fortunately his local bar had all the games on, so I sat at the bar in my Maryland red to watch an early season match up against UConn. Despite my focus on the game, Randy insisted on introducing me to everyone as his Cowboy fan friend.

Anyone familiar with Terrapin basketball knows that they are possibly even more disappointing as a team than my Cowboys. And this night was no different. At one point in the game, my frustration got the best of me as I slapped the bar and knocked over my Guinness. I can’t even remember another time I spilled a beer in public, so I just hung my head in shame when the bartender walked over with a rag.

“You the Cowboys fan?” he asked.

“Uh, yeah…” I responded.

“Clean up your own [bleeping] mess,” he exclaimed as he threw the rag at me and went to pour my next Guinness. I shrugged and thought, that’s fair, as I mopped up the beer. UConn went on to defeat Maryland 78-77.

I know, I know, you want to hear about the Cowboys Saints game… Where to even begin with this one? The Saints got 40 first downs (an NFL record), the Cowboys ran a total of 43 plays! While it was unlikely that the 5-4 Cowboys would go into New Orleans and beat the 7-2 Saints, I don’t think anyone saw this result coming.

Perhaps most representative of this game for me was a sequence late in the 3^rd quarter. With the Saints leading 35-10 and the Cowboys with the ball, my ever optimistic self was still envisioning a comeback. But when Tony Romo missed Cole Beasley badly, with the ball landing yards short, my frustration exploded. I jumped out of my seat, yelling, “Come ON!!!!” and everyone around me seemed kind of surprised. It occurred to me that I might be the only one in the entire section still paying close attention. People in New Orleans are always in or ready to be in celebration mode and the unofficial party had already begun, so they all looked up at me and laughed at the silly Cowboys fan still intently focused on a game that was all but over. I looked down at Randy who just chuckled and shook his head. (He’s not a stranger to trash talking, as we’ll see below, but even he couldn’t be bothered at this point in the game.)

Standing there amidst the laughter and heckling, I did something I’m not particularly proud of but that I’ll also never forget. I pulled off my beloved Romo jersey, turned it inside out, and put it back on. And the laughter turned to cheers and applause from the surrounding Saints fans who seemed to enjoy watching my fandom break down before their eyes (possibly because many of them remembered me from previous encounters since Randy’s tickets haven’t moved in years). They were a bit superstitious as well since the Cowboys scored two plays later and then successfully recovered an onside kick, so suddenly they were begging me to put my jersey back on the right way. But in the end it obviously didn’t matter, as the final score attests.

“EMMITT WHO??” AKA “I TOLD YOU THE SAINTS CAME TO PLAY TODAY”

December 6, 1998: New Orleans Saints 22, Dallas Cowboys 3

This was my first time going to the Superdome. I felt reasonably confident going in. The Cowboys were 8-4 and still had the main components of their Super Bowl winning teams from earlier in the decade. The Saints were 5-7, still known as the “aints” to many of their fans, and going nowhere. I’m skeptical that Randy can name the Saints starting QB at that game (Kerry Collins), but he told me repeatedly the day before the game that he believed the Saints were gonna come to play on Sunday.

My quiet confidence got tested early, as the Cowboys were immediately backed up because of a holding penalty on the kickoff. The first play was a handoff to Emmitt Smith, who was dropped for a four yard loss. “EMMITT WHO??” On the next play, Troy Aikman was called for intentional grounding in the endzone, and suddenly the Saints led 2-0. “I TOLD YOU THE SAINTS CAME TO PLAY TODAY!!”

Later in the first quarter, the Cowboys intercepted Collins deep in Saints territory, but after three straight incompletions, they were left to kick a short field goal, briefly giving them the lead, 3-2. A disappointing result from my perspective. “I TOLD YOU THE SAINTS CAME TO PLAY TODAY!!”

The Saints’ offense got going in the second quarter, including an 89 TD pass from Collins to Andre Hastings and went to the half leading 19-3. “I TOLD YOU THE SAINTS CAME TO PLAY TODAY!!”

This was actually Emmitt Smith’s worst day as a Cowboy, with only 6 yards rushing on 15 carries. (His worst day as a pro was actually AGAINST the Cowboys as a Cardinal, when he rushed for -1 yards on 6 carries before Roy Williams broke his collarbone.) Every time Emmitt was dropped for a loss, the large black man next to me jumped out of his seat and yelled down at me (can you guess?)

“EMMITT WHO?? I TOLD YOU THE SAINTS CAME TO PLAY TODAY!!”

THE OVERTIME THRILLER AKA WHAT JUST HAPPENED?

October 4, 2015: New Orleans Saints 26, Dallas Cowboys 20 (OT)

As a fan of a particular team, it’s always fun to look back and tell your kids or your friends something notable about games you witnessed. Think about Colts fans who saw Peyton Manning’s first start or Pats fans who saw Tom Brady replace Drew Bledsoe after Mo Lewis’ devastating hit.

As a Cowboys’ fan, what milestones have I been able to witness personally? I was at the playoff game in Lambeau where Dez did (not) catch the ball. Two years later, I watched those same Packers hand Dak his first playoff loss after Aaron (bleeping) Rodgers converted a 3^rd and 20 in the final minute. What else? Oh yes, I got to see Brandon Weeden’s first two starts as a Cowboy after Romo went down with a broken collarbone against the Philadelphia Eagles in 2015.

The Cowboys had started 2-0 and hosted the Atlanta Falcons the following week, a game my whole family traveled down to Arlington to witness. A fast start had the home crowd feeling good, as we led 21-7 early, and 28-14 at the half, but the offense scored zero the rest of the way, ultimately losing 39-28.

Despite that setback, I flew down to New Orleans optimistic as ever. The Saints had started 0-3, so even with our backup QB, I felt good about the Cowboys heading into the game. It was a Sunday night kickoff, so Randy and I spent most of the day wandering through the French Quarter (after beginning with charbroiled oysters at Drago’s).

Upon arrival I got the usual razzing from our seatmates. I’m surprised they keep renewing Randy’s tickets since he keeps bringing me. The defense started out well as we slowed the Saints offense and kept them to one score in the first half and led 10-7. Our offense struggled as well since both Romo and Dez were out with significant injuries. After some halftime adjustments, the Saints closed the gap in the 3^rd quarter and then pulled ahead midway through the 4^th, 20-13.

The Cowboys were running out of chances as the clock ticked down to the 2 minute warning. It was 4^th and 7 on the Saints 17 yard line, when Weeden made the most clutch pass of his entire career (probably), a touchdown strike to a diving Terrance Williams in the back of the endzone. I’d say that the Superdome was stunned into silence but I was making more than enough noise to make up the difference.

Unfortunately, the Cowboys defense saw no need to try to preserve the tie and force the game to overtime, as they let the Saints romp down the field. Fortunately, Saints kicker Zach Hocker also felt no urgency to win the game as he banged the 30 yard field goal attempt off the left upright.

The Saints received the ball to start overtime and running back Khiry Robinson dropped an easy pass from Drew Brees on first down. Cowboys linebacker Andrew Gachkar got injured on the play, but decided to limp off the field rather than stay down and let the medical staff attend to him. The Cowboys defense clearly was confused as new players had to quickly substitute in and when the Saints ran basically the same play, but to the faster CJ Spiller, the game was suddenly over, just seconds into overtime.

I was still high on the euphoria of the Cowboys tying the game and sending it to overtime (and surviving the missed FG) so to see our opportunity to win just vanish in seconds was stunning.

UNDEFEATED NO MORE AKA THE BEST WEEKEND EVER

December 19, 2009: Dallas Cowboys 24, New Orleans Saints 17

On Sunday, December 13, 2009, the Dallas Cowboys fell to 8-5 after losing to the San Diego Chargers, their second loss in as many games. Even more significantly, Demarcus Ware was carted off the field with an apparent neck injury.

To say I was distraught would be a significant understatement. I’d been looking forward to going down to New Orleans the entire season, and now my team was on a two-game losing streak, missing their best player, and facing an undefeated (13-0) machine in their home stadium.

After two days of pouting, I decided I was going all in. Starting that Wednesday, I pulled out every Cowboys jersey I owned and vowed that’s all I would wear from that day forward until I returned from the Big Easy, win or lose.

I flew down on Friday, since the game was the following night. One less day for Ware to recover unfortunately. Randy picked me up at the airport. I had on my Romo jersey as I walked out of the terminal, and he jumped out of his SUV wearing his Brees jersey and the trash talking started. This I expected. What I did not expect was for the person behind him to jump out of his car, also wearing a Brees jersey, to start trash talking both of us! After telling me how badly the Saints would beat the Cowboys, he then turned to Randy and admonished me for the unforgivable sin of picking me up at the airport! “You should make him take a taxi!” This was a theme that was repeated throughout our weekend together.

It seemed like everyone was wearing black and gold. It was quite a sight to behold. The team had rallied the whole city together after the devastation of Hurricane Katrina just four years earlier, and now they were the best team in the NFL.

Randy and I kicked off the evening at Muriel’s, which was the only time the entire weekend that I did not wear a Cowboys jersey. I can be classy when necessary. Then Randy took me away from the French Quarter (which is where all the other Cowboys fans were) to his local drinking establishment, which had none.

The next day began at Drago’s, which has become our traditional go-to place before the game for their charbroiled oysters. Win or lose, we always make sure to eat well the weekend of these games. Randy does plenty of scouting throughout the year looking for the best spots.

The game didn’t kick off until Saturday night, so I decided to try my luck at Harrah’s that afternoon. I found a craps table with another Cowboys fan who was trying his best to make friends with the other players. “Look, tonight, we’re rooting for opposing teams, but right now, we are on the same team! It’s us against the casino! Who’s with me?” He then proceeded to go around the table one by one, asking each person if they were with him. When he got to me, he smiled, “Hey, Cowboy, you’re with me, right?”

I glanced down at my chips, which were laying on the don’t. I cleared my throat and responded, “Actually, I’m betting against the dice.”

He gave me a puzzled look for a moment and then yelled, “Well F&*% YOU!!” Nevertheless, the table stayed cold for hours and I made it out of there with a tidy profit.

I called home to tell my wife the good news and check on the family. “We are completely snowed in!!” Some of you may recall that the 2009-10 winter was pretty rough in the mid-Atlantic (we lived in Maryland at the time), as this was the first of four snowstorms that was at least 12 inches. So while I was having a blast down in New Orleans, my wife was stuck at home under a couple feet of snow with two little kids, five and three at the time. I called my next-door neighbor and told her to send her son to my house with a shovel if he wanted to make a quick $20. Then I found the closest jewelry store so I could turn my winnings into a present for Rachel.

The atmosphere leading up to the game was absolutely electric. Back in the 90s, the stadium would rarely sell out, but now it was hard to find a ticket. The last time I had seen the Cowboys there, it felt almost like a home game because there was so much blue, but this time the Saints’ colors dominated.

The Cowboys jumped on the Saints early, surprising everyone, myself included. First was a touchdown bomb from Romo to Miles Austin just four minutes into the game, and that was followed by a Marion Barber TD run later in the quarter. Meanwhile, the Cowboys defense (which did have Demarcus Ware available) held the prolific Saints’ offense without a first down for the entire first quarter.

As the Cowboys continued to control the ball on offense, I got a little louder, signaling first down each time they moved the chains, until a woman’s voice behind me announced, “The next time that finger comes in front of my face, I’m BITING it off!!”

With time running down in the first half and the Saints driving, the beer man appeared, so I quickly requested two for me and Randy. I looked at what was left of my winnings and decided to try to make some amends with the fans around me, so I asked who wanted a beer. People looked up in some surprise, but I think I got six or eight takers and the beer man happily obliged. As the last beer got handed out, play resumed on the field after the two-minute warning. Whatever amends I had made were instantly lost following the next play, a bad Drew Brees interception by Mike Jenkins.

“HA!!” I yelled as I jumped out of my seat, “That’s karma right there! That’s tainted beer! You got beers? WE GOT THE BALL!!!” I’m still not sure how no beer ended up on me after that outburst.

The Cowboys got the ball to start the second half, leading 17-3, and put together a methodical drive for another touchdown and now it was 24-3. Both sets of fans were stunned by what we were witnessing. The defense held the Saints scoreless in the 3rd quarter, but Brees and the Saints offense finally got going in the 4th. They put together an 80 yard TD drive in just over 3 minutes, and after a Cowboys’ 3 and out, they went 70 yards for a TD in 3 and a half minutes.

Now it was just a one-score game and there were still eight minutes left in the game! As the Cowboys started their next drive on their own 20, the Superdome became the loudest place I have ever been in my life. And that’s when Romo put together the best non-scoring drive (SPOILER!) of his entire career. While it would have been much better for our kicker to NOT clang the ball off the right upright, the fact that Romo milked almost six minutes off the clock was what put the Cowboys in position to win.

Brees still had over two minutes left to get the tying score, but the Cowboys defense kept everything in front of them, and with 12 seconds left, Ware put the exclamation point on the win, sacking Brees, forcing a fumble that the Cowboys recovered, and I was filled with an exhilarating sense of joy and relief.

Randy: Why are you hugging me?

Me: I don’t know, I got no one else to hug…

Randy: Get off me!

I woke up bright and early on Sunday morning, eager to witness the first game of my quest. My buddy Sean put me up for the night and after making some preparations for tailgating, we were on our way to FedEx Field.

The scene in the parking lot was generally upbeat, with a lot of trash talking going back and forth between the Cowboys and Redskins fans. It’s early enough in the season for fans of all teams to be reasonably optimistic (Jets and Dolphins fans aside). I was quite impressed by the owner of this corvette, although I think he needs to replace the Dez doll since we’ve moved on from him.

Cowboys fans were very well represented, possibly even more than usual at FedEx. I think there’s a lot of excitement building for this year’s team, but when playing the Redskins, records don’t always matter. Even the years when one of our teams won the Super Bowl, they would still find a way to lose to their rival during the season.

Back in those days (Cowboys last won in 1995, Redskins last won in 1991), the much more PC version of myself was very opposed to Washington’s nickname. Then I left for college and met Kris, who singlehandedly changed my mind about that. Kris grew up on the Navajo Nation Reservation in Arizona, the largest reservation in the country (it spans three states). If it became a state, it would be 41st in area, as it’s just a bit bigger than West Virginia. And Kris is one of the biggest Redskins fans you’ll ever meet and passionately in favor of keeping the name as it is.

When we were living in Maryland, Kris was invited to my kids’ school on two occasions to discuss the debate over the team’s name. He graciously accepted the invitation both times and spoke to a roomful of 4th and 5th graders about his personal experience growing up Navajo and how he looks at the name with a sense of pride. I think he surprised many of us when he said he would no longer be a fan if they ever did change the name. But as he put it, “Native American and American Indian are names you gave to us. Redskin is a name we gave ourselves.” (Little-known fact: “Oklahoma” is actually a Choctaw word meaning “red people.”)

Shortly after Kris met up with us, Sean grilled up the steaks he had brought and a few beers later, we were ready for the game! As bad as FedEx is in terms of getting in or out of the stadium itself, it actually has pretty good sight lines no matter where your seats are. We were pretty high up (hey, you take what you can get if you’re going to eight games!), but I thought the view was great.

Just like last week, the Cowboys started off slowly, falling behind 7-0, but once the offense got rolling, they looked unstoppable. And just like week 1, they reeled off five consecutive scoring drives to put the game out of reach fairly early in the second half.

Two weeks in, and Dallas is already alone in first place at 2-0. Next week they host the Dolphins, who are doing everything in their power to put the least competitive pro team on the field that I’ve ever seen. After that, it’s a big Sunday night game in New Orleans, after a long day of eating and drinking our way through the French Quarter.

On Friday, December 8, 2006, my wife and I had the following conversation…

“So… what are you going to wear to the Redskins game on Sunday?”

“What? I don’t know. Does it matter?”

“What do you always wear on gamedays?”

“But they’re playing the Eagles” (My buddy Kris, a huge Redskins fan, got three tickets to see the Redskins play the Eagles at FedEx Field. James, another Cowboys fan, was joining us.)

“Don’t you always wear Cowboys jerseys on the day that they’re playing? And the Cowboys are playing on Sunday, aren’t they?” (They were hosting the Saints on Sunday Night Football.)

“Yes, but…”

“Wuss.”

And so it was, that I walked into FedEx Field on December 10, 2006, wearing my brand new Tony Romo jersey, as the Eagles battled the Redskins. James, to his credit, wore one of my old Emmitt Smith jerseys in solidarity.

At the beginning of that season, Tony Romo was mostly an unknown commodity, even to Cowboys fans. But on Monday night, October 23rd against the New York Giants, Cowboys starting QB Drew Bledsoe threw an ugly interception to Sam Madison just before halftime. That was the last pass Bledsoe would throw in the NFL and the Romo era was born in the 3rd quarter (whose first pass was also an interception).

Romo would go 5-1 over the next six games, taking the league by storm. After the Cowboys dynasty ended in the 90s, I had been wary about buying new jerseys, but I ordered a new Romo jersey almost immediately. And the first time I wore it in public, was at FedEx Field where BOTH teams fans would heckle me for three hours.

I’m on the train from NYC to Maryland and I’m wearing that jersey now, 13 years later, bruised and battered, not unlike Romo himself at this point. I would argue that he’s one of the most underrated players in NFL history and I’m not sure I’ll ever forgive Jerry Jones for his inability to surround Romo with decent players.

I’ll spend the rest of today reminiscing, but those days are gone. Tomorrow I’ll put on my much newer Dak Prescott jersey as I march back into FedEx. It’s a new era.

So it turns out that if there was ever a year for a Cowboy fan in New York City to travel to every single away game, 2019 is the year to pick. First of all, the Cowboys divisional opponents are all much closer to me than they are to, well, Dallas. Outside of the game in New Orleans, they don’t go farther west than Chicago or farther south than Washington. Here’s the complete schedule of away games, along with the distance from my home in Manhattan.

September 15, 2019: Dallas Cowboys at Washington Redskins, 1pm EDT, FedEx Field, Landover, Maryland, 226 miles.

Things kick off this Sunday with a quick train ride down to my old stomping grounds in Maryland. Cowboys fans are always well represented there.

September 29, 2019: Dallas Cowboys at New Orleans Saints, 7:20pm CDT, Mercedes Benz Superdome, New Orleans, Louisiana, 1311 miles.

In 1992, I met my buddy Randy who is the biggest Saints fan you’ll ever come across. He’s had season tickets since 1995 and thanks to him I’ve been to more Cowboys games in the Superdome than in Dallas. They even won there one time when I was in attendance! Look for prolific posting that day as we eat and drink our way through the French Quarter and stumble into our seats that evening.

October 13, 2019: Dallas Cowboys at New York Jets, 4:25pm EDT, MetLife Stadium, East Rutherford, New Jersey. 11.6 miles

November 4, 2019: Dallas Cowboys at New York Giants, 8:15pm EST, MetLife Stadium, East Rutherford, New Jersey. 11.6 miles.

A nice quirk in the schedule means I don’t have to leave the NYC area for seven straight weeks as the only away games are just across the river from me in the New Jersey swamp.

November 17, 2019: Dallas Cowboys at Detroit Lions, 1pm, EST, Ford Field, Detroit Michigan, 621 miles.

I get to spend the day before my birthday in Michigan, lucky me. But a Cowboys win over the Lions would make it palatable.

November 24, 2019: Dallas Cowboys at New England Patriots, 4:25pm EST, Gillette Stadium, Foxborough, Massachusetts, 201 miles.

For the only time this season, I will be away from home for back to back weeks. Fortunately this team located outside of Boston isn’t any good, or so I’ve heard.

December 5, 2019: Dallas Cowboys at Chicago Bears, 7:20pm CST, Soldier Field, Chicago, Illinois, 795 miles.

Thursday night game in December in the Windy City. I’ll have to dress in layers in anticipation of cold temperatures and possibly having beer spilled on me.

December 22, 2019: Dallas Cowboys at Philadelphia Eagles, 4:25pm EST, Lincoln Financial Field, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, 103 miles.

Another cold game against a good team in hostile territory. If anyone could recommend some good body armor I could wear, let me know…

It started on her birthday.

We were out to dinner celebrating her big 4-0. Since we had started dating half her life ago when she was 20, it seemed a good time to reflect back on the many milestones she reached both personally and professionally, and also look ahead at goals for the future. As that conversation drew to a close, she turned the questions around and asked me, “So what are you looking forward to?”

Instead of giving her a serious answer, I responded with, “Right now, I’m excited that I’m going to half of the Cowboys’ away games this fall.”

“Half?!? When did this happen?”

“You know I’ve already got tickets for the games against the Saints and the Patriots. And since they play both the Jets and Giants in New Jersey, I figured it would be easy to go to those two as well.”

She thought about this for a moment as I wondered whether she would consider this to be too much football for one season. Then she responded, “If you’re gonna go to that many, you might as well go to all of their away games.” I raised my eyebrows in surprise to that suggestions. “Well, where are their other games? I have tons of miles we can use. They must play in Philly and Washington, you don’t even need to fly for either of those.”

“That’s true…”

“So what’s left?”

“Well, I know they play the NFC North… One game is in Chicago, I know we get Green Bay at home, so it’s either Minnesota or Detroit.”

“You mean you don’t know? What kind of fan are you? Shouldn’t you have their schedule memorized?”

“Sure, but… it’s only June.”

“No excuses.”

And with that, the issue was settled. Over the course of 15 weeks in the fall, I would be following my favorite team around the country, 8 games in 7 stadiums, all of which will be at least somewhat hostile (if not outright belligerent) to Cowboys fans like me.

As we finished our dinner, I asked what I had done to deserve such a wonderful wife. She just smiled and shrugged.

The fun begins on Sunday.