Most missed sporting venue

Do you guys know what that place is? That was Texas Stadium. I can't believe it has been two years since it was "removed" from existence. I know the picture is kind of bad but it means something to me. That huge building was a mainstay, a landmark. I couldn't tell you how many times directions started with, "Go East when you get to Texas Stadium." You could see it from all of the surrounding highways. It was a piece of DFW history. At least for me it was. In Dallas, all building demolitions take place at the crack of dawn, 6 a.m. to be exact, on Sundays. The demolition of Texas Stadium was a big damn deal. People that had homes or office buildings in view of the stadium threw parties that started at 5 a.m. It was like nothing I've ever done at that ungodly hour of a Sunday morning!

So, a big group of us convened at a subcontractor's office for Screwdrivers, Bloody Mary's and breakfast pastries to await the big moment. It was pretty exciting. I had never seen dynamite blasts before!

Since Kraft sponsored the entire event or paid for the demo, I don't know which way it went, the orange fireworks started right as the sun was beginning to crest the horizon. You know, that magical moment between dark and light. It was beautiful.

After about ten minutes of fireworks and the suns actual rising, the preparations were made for taking the building down. As the fireworks ended, people for miles and miles began to cheer. All was quiet and then there was this weird "boom, boom, boom" in the background. It was a blast but it was like a warning that the blast was coming. Then, there was an incredible explosion. The ground shook. The first section of the stadium started to crumble.

I had no idea that I would be such a girl. All the events that I had been to, all the concerts, all the championship football games and Cowboy games. All the nostalgia that I felt for ole girl came pouring out of me. I had absolutely no idea that I had such a stupid attachment to that place. I remembered times with friends, times with family, Leon Lett and the snow storm fiasco on Thanksgiving. So many memories that I never thought I thought about until the stadium came down.

I suppose I could have looked at as a "glass half full" kind of event but as I get older, I am less accepting of change. Keep my landmarks and monuments of nostalgia where they belong.

And like that, the place was gone. Nothing more than a dusty hole in the ground with a few remaining pieces that were stubborn enough not to fall with the dynamite.

I drive by where Texas Stadium used to be and no one would ever know. The legacy of the Dallas Cowboys and Texas Stadium will be completely lost once my generation is gone. That's so sad to me. Texas is the state that is built by football. Ask anyone. We teach our boys about football starting at the earliest age because they will be expected to play. I have always thought it was kind of weird but, apparently, I haven't been exempt from the feeling. I was in Dallas the other day and thought that the anniversary of her death had to be close and I was right. So, I salute you ole girl. There will never be another Texas Stadium.