The Dallas Cowboys’ brand new stadium hosted its first NFL game last Friday night, and hit the headlines thanks to an apparent flaw in its design. The HD screens that hang over the pitch are the world’s largest at 160 feet wide and 72 feet tall, but they were proved to hang a little too low when Tennessee Titans’ A.J. Trapasso struck one of them with a punt. Scoreboard issues aside, Cowboys Stadium is a stunning feat of engineering that makes the new Wembley Stadium seem quite mundane by comparison.
Like Wembley, Cowboys Stadium was over budget (it ended up costing nearly double the projected $650m , and was partially funded by a half cent rise in Arlington sales tax), and is aesthetically defined by a doublearch design that towers 300 feet over the pitch. Unlike Wembley, however, the roof is fully retractable, and the world’s largest glass doors at either end zone can be opened up on particularly stuffy days. It currently holds 80,000 (10,000 less than Wembley), but will be expanded to a capacity of 100,000 in due course.
Country singer who has Wagged her way across two sports
As bastions of popular culture, we’re well aware that Taylor Swift is so hot right now, but she isn’t the first young blonde American to take the world of country-tinged pop by storm. Carrie Underwood has been impressing stetson hat-wearing folk since she won American Idol in 2005, and her influence has spread across the world of American football and ice hockey.
Dallas Cowboys quarterback Tony Romo - who currently boffs Jessica Simpson - fuelled rumours of a romance in 2007 when he subtly wrote “I’m dating Carrie Underwood” on his website. At present, she steps out with NHL star Mike Fisher.
Don’t mention this NFL WAG around Dallas Cowboys fans
Dallas Cowboys quarterback Tony Romo was adored by the people of Texas: aside from being a dreamboat, he holds team records for completions, passing yards and plenty of other esoteric-sounding terms that don’t mean much to the humble English chap. But last November, he decided to make Texan singer/actress/moron Jessica Simpson his WAG. And it all went downhill from there…
Wide receiver loses it in defence of Tony Romo’s rubbishness
Tony Romo, star quarterback with the Dallas Cowboys, may have set team records for touchdown passes, completions and passing yards this season, but it hasn’t covered his side in glory: the Cowboys’ season is over.
The Cowboys lost in the playoffs on Sunday to the New York Giants (a game they should have won easily), and his unimpressive performance has left the people of Dallas scratching their enormous heads, even if many are lining up to blame his WAG Jessica Simpson for putting some sort of emasculating hex on him.
In the midst of all this Texan self-loathing, it’s good to see that wide receiver teammate Terrell Owens has got Romo’s back, and isn’t afraid to turn on the waterworks in his defence.