News

News Home Unfair Park Schutze Ask a Mexican Buzz Archives Search Dallas Observer Flipbook Weekly Newsletter Get Mobile

Calendar Home Top Picks Submit an Event Events Newsletter Get Mobile Crave

Music Home DC9 at Night Concert Calendar Bars and Clubs Submit an Event Music Newsletter Get Mobile H2O Box Hunt FLOAT Summer Cut

Restaurants Home City of Ate Cheap Eats Happy Hours Menus Best Of Deals Crave Dining Newsletter Get Mobile Restaurant Ads

Arts Home Mixmaster Theater Arts Newsletter Get Mobile Entertainment Ads Theatre Takeover

Film Home Showtimes Film Festivals Film Newsletter Get Mobile Free Stuff

Best Of Home 2011 2010 2009 2008 Best Of Newsletter Get Mobile Best Of Ads

Promotions Home Promotional Events Street Team Free Stuff Promotions Newsletter Get Mobile Deals Crave FLOAT H2O Box Hunt Summer Cut

Post an Ad Jobs Real Estate Advertiser Index Deals Deals Newsletter Virtual Career Fair Great Expectations DFW

Pin It

Roger the Dodger Gets Called Back to Lead One More Super Bowl Drive

A A A Comments (7) By Richie Whitt Thursday, Dec 17 2009

...continued from page 5

"I always wish I could do something positive that everyone would remember," Staubach says. "Well, this is it."

The man sitting in first class catches the eye of the flight attendant. Hesitantly, obviously flustered, she approaches.

Brandon Thibodeaux

Roger Staubach

Brandon Thibodeaux

Fort Worth Mayor Mike Moncrief told the Council of Mayors committee in November that Cowboys Stadium and the upcoming Super Bowl are giant wins for Arlington.

Details

Click for a look at this week's cover image.

More About

Like this Story?

Sign up for the Weekly Newsletter: Our weekly feature stories, movie reviews, calendar picks and more - minus the newsprint and sent directly to your inbox.

"Sorry to bother you," she says to the man, "but aren't you somebody?"

His creative, childlike persona ignited, the man excitedly plays along.

"Yes," he says sternly. "Yes, I am. I am somebody."

Confused, intrigued and wholly undaunted, the woman retreats to her tiny nook near the cockpit to commence her mind's roll call while perpetually peering around the corner for another look at the famous face. Finally—armed with an educated guess and a gush of confidence—she returns.

"You're a newscaster," she says, hoping his facial reaction will punctuate her stab with more exclamation point than question mark.

"Yep, you got it," the man says calmly with a sheepish smile. "I'm a newscaster."

Then, as if he hit his overhead call button, the flight attendant's face suddenly lights up.

"Oh, my gosh," she whisper-shrieks. "Frank Gifford! I knew it!!"

"Frank Gifford...riiiiiight," the man says slowly. "You got me."

God's Quarterback is up to no good.

But truth be told, Roger Staubach is still up to a lot of great.

Check out this week's featured ad for News

DFWRentHome.com

View Ad View Website

More Ads >>

Get the Weekly Newsletter

Our weekly feature stories, movie reviews, calendar picks and more - minus the newsprint and sent directly to your inbox.

Email
to Friend

Write to
Editor

Print
Article

Guy Incognito 12/22/2009 11:52:00 PM

Branden Helms - best comment ever. Richie, when your jaw is finally not sore anymore and the scabs on your knees heal, why don't you do the definitive story on the Cowboys not picking Dallas and going to Arlington. Too often I hear low-IQ people in Dallas complain about how Laura Miller "lost" the Cowboys. So instead of this puff piece - so light that it flew up off my desk - and do some real reporting for a change. Or is Schutze the only one who does that at the Observer?

carlos fal ceto 12/22/2009 10:15:00 PM

Mr. Staubach, I am sorry to deflect your super ego, but millions of people do not have the slightest idea of who you are. The girl you though you embarrassed, because you are bad!! about that, is probably saying, who is that jerk, I never went to Tyler.

Branden Helms 12/22/2009 1:31:00 AM

Geez Richie, are your knees sore? Staubach is great, Aikman is great, Jerry is great, Lively is great, Arlington is great, etc. Then you throw a terd of a paragraph in near the end of your cheerleader session. "And to think, all this could have been staged smack dab in the middle of downtrodden Dallas. From April to July 2004, Jones held talks about a new stadium with then-Mayor Laura Miller. They talked about a site in Fair Park and another around the farmers market. Ultimately, Miller scoffed at spending $325 million on a project into which Jones eventually dumped $800 million out of his own pocket. Staubach is too noble to criticize, much less trash-talk city leaders, but he does roll his eyes at what could have been for Dallas. "They could've pulled this Super Bowl off in a stadium built on the farmers market site," he says. "It would've been an economic driver that would've revitalized downtown. There are just so many positives that go along with the stadium...with the game...I just think by the time Dallas figured out what it could have, the ship had sailed."" How about a little fact checking. At the time of the negotiations, the price tag was $650 million. What Jerry eventually spent on the project is irrelevant. And the asking price for Dallas' share was $425 million, not $325. That price was lowered when Arlington entered the picture after Jerry left Dallas. Plus, unlike Arlington, which used local sales tax and therefore didn't need Tarrant County, Dallas couldn't. It needed hotel and rental car taxes. So that means the county was involved. If you remember, and likely you don't because you seem to look through the sports rose-colored glasses instead of objectively, the county was mightly against this thing too. Margrett Koehler was ferverently opposed, just to give a name for you to do a google search. But, all that aside, let's say that all parties wanted this, there's one problem, location. If you honestly believe that a stadium could fit in the Farmers Market anywhere, I have brown gold for you in my toilet. That leaves only Fair Park as the most suitable site. Yet, a state law needed to be changed or amended to allow for construction there, since it is a state park. With the closest legislative session in January 2005 and results unlikely until May, that wouldn't have been good enough. Jerry wanted the election in 2004, so construction could begin to time the completion with the lease expiring at Texas Stadium. No law change means no stadium. Objectively looking at the facts indicates that Jerry used Dallas more than had sincere intentions to build there. But all that aside, any chance of the electorate approving that would be slimmer in Dallas than in Arlington. As for Roger statement that this big grand stadium would "revitalize downtown" call me skeptical. Around the country, the biggest dead spots in downtown-built stadiums are around the stadium(s). Houston, Pittsburgh, San Francisco, Philadelphia, Detroit and Los Angeles all built sports facilites in or around downtown and have no activity there when there is not an event. When it is being used only 30-60 times a year (out of 365), that leaves a lot of time with no activity. Same thing with the Arts District, a ghost town when there is no event, which is all day and most evenings. Locally, the Convention Center was promised to revitalize downtown in the '60's. Didn't happen. Neither did the four expansions since (I expect the same results with the new hotel). Reunion Arena didn't do as promised either. The civic complex of City Hall, Central Library and the plaza in between failed too. In fact, the only thing that has had any success in revitalizing downtown is attention to small stuff. Retail stores, residential buildings and pocket parks have done greater revitalizing than all those grand projects combined. BTW, ask Arlington if the stadium is revitalizing it. Month-over-month sales tax reciepts are lower overall. On event days, some local stadium business' have seen greater than 50% declines versus the previous year. No one wants to travel to those places during events and fight traffic while those going to the stadium aren't going to do anything else but go to the stadium. Property tax reciepts will be worse too. They took tax-paying properties, condemned them through eminent domain and gave it to a tax-exempt entity. Then trumpeted the fact that they will get 5% of the naming rights. Right now, the 5% calculations comes to ... zero dollars because Jerry's asking price is too high. So between declined sales tax revenue, declined property tax revenue and no naming rights revenue, how are they going to make out? As a Dallas resident, I will get more ancillary benefits from the Super Bowl than Arlington and won't pay a dime for any of it. So please, as a downtown resident, spar me your bull that if only this stadium was built, downtown could have been great. Give me a place to walk to, not a place to run from the small amount of time it is in use.

MD 12/17/2009 9:37:00 PM

Reading about Mr. Staubach is like listening to a beautiful symphony until you insert the fart drop that is the name Jerry.

Bradford's broken shoulder 12/17/2009 6:23:00 PM

Brave RW, bravo sir...I would read a million page book on Captain America...I tried very hard to name one of the boys afterhim ..but couldn't get the wifey to bite, so we went with Landry ... I love Roger Staubach, sincerely B's bs

mgcrf 12/17/2009 5:22:00 PM

Strong work, Richie.

Jesus The Christ 12/17/2009 12:36:00 AM

Isn't it "Roger Dodger?" not Roger the Dodger. If that's what Charley Pride says it is, then your headline is fuckery.

Roger the Dodger Gets Called Back to Lead One More Super Bowl Drive

Details

Related Content

More About

Like this Story?

DFWRentHome.com

View Ad View Website

Get the Weekly Newsletter

Most Popular Stories

Observer on Facebook

Slideshows»

Best of Dallas

2011 - People & Places

Special Reports

Now Click This