By John Whisler, San Antonio Express
Fans attending Dallas Cowboys games for the first time face a daunting challenge.
Namely, how to watch the action on the field at Cowboys Stadium with that monstrous videoboard staring them in the face.
Some fans say it takes a while to train the eyes to focus on the game and rely on the giant screens — 72 feet high and 160 feet wide — only for replay.
A similar scenario, no doubt, unfolded at last weekend's Manny Pacquiao-Joshua Clottey fight, the first boxing match at Cowboys Stadium.
The ring on the star at the 50-yard line must have appeared the size of a postage stamp from afar, even with the upper deck closed off.
As a result, it must have been oh-so tempting to watch the live action on the big screens.
They're mesmerizing.
Sitting in the press section, I had a nice view of the ring, on the floor maybe 10-12 rows back. But all night long, I couldn't resist leaning back in my chair to get a look at that much-ballyhooed high-def board.
Ninety feet above the playing field for football games, it was lowered to 45 feet for the boxing event.
Perhaps that's why it seemed to hover over me like a city-size spaceship from the movie “District 9.”
I half-expected the bottom to open up and prawn-like aliens to emerge. Or, maybe the Dallas Cowboys cheerleaders, in a stunt only master marketer Jerry Jones could dream up.
The fight itself may have lacked punch, but the event was a knockout.
The atmosphere was electric. It also was a little bizarre at times.
The main event began with the playing of anthems for Clottey's native Ghana and Pacquiao's Philippines as men dressed in jeans and cowboy hats stood holding the flags.
Then three Cowboys cheerleaders in their skimpy little outfits sang the “Star-Spangled Banner” — in front of a Marine Color Guard in full-dress uniform.
Texas chic? Or Texas cheeky?
At Cowboys Stadium last weekend, it was all part of the show.
While the star of that show clearly was Pacquiao, he had to share top billing with Jones' $1.2 billion palace.
Jones and promoter Bob Arum expected a crowd of about 45,000, but sales of the “Party Pass” — Jones' version of standing-room-only — at $35 per ticket pushed the final attendance to 50,994.
Can you imagine if Floyd Mayweather Jr. had been Pacquiao's opponent and not Clottey? Attendance would have soared through the retractable roof at 100,000 or more.
It would have been a spectacle the likes of which boxing hasn't seen in decades.
As it was, this one was pretty high on the I-was-there meter.
Jones and Arum spared no expense to make it a special event. Production costs topped $1 million.
Floor risers on the field level were leased as part of a 9,000-seat configuration to provide better sightlines for fans. The setup was similar to the one used for the recent NBA All-Star Game at the stadium.
The lighting above the ring was special, too. It was provided by the company that designs that for the WWE.
There were a few problems with overcrowding on the floor, and promoters had to find creative ways to move some of the $500 and $700 tickets but, other than that, the event went off as planned and was a huge success.
Arum is already talking about coming back, possibly in June with a card featuring Julio Cesar Chavez Jr.
If tickets are priced accordingly, it's a show that could do well, although not Pacquiao-Clottey well.
At least by then, maybe some of us can get this videoboard thing figured out.
jwhisler@express-news.net
Source: mysanantonio.com
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