Today's Apocalypse Sign: Down In 30 Seconds

Yesterday was a sad day in Dallas, TX. The iconic Texas Stadium was imploded at 7:07AM. I knew this event was coming for a couple months and even told my wife we should get up early and head over to watch it. Dumbass thought on my part.

Sometimes we should be thankful for Mr. Murphy. Usually his Law just jacks things up beyond all belief. But yesteday, we did not turn out for this spectacle because at the last minute my wife had to work AND I realized that he final round of the Masters was on. So we did not go.

Why was this good fortune? (I really was looking forward mainly to getting some great camera and video shots of both the implosion and the people there.) Well, first of all it cost $25 a car to park in the only lot that was made available for the viewing. Second, they opened the lot at like 1:30AM so, you guessed, the hardy partiers could have one last tailgate bash for like 5 hours! This ended up being a gigantic outdoor party with plenty of beer and alcohol (and I am sure other *items* as some of the people that were interviewed were multi-influenced looking).

There were at least 8-10,000 people involved in this melee. Ex-Cowboy's cheerleaders (some who had not aged well) were also there in their own little clique. And after the stadium came down many of the people were wearing masks so the whole thing (out of context) looked like a very large grouped of drunk, stoned, etc. people milling around during a terrorist or anthrax attack. Funny how my mind works.

Anyway, it was kind of sad to see the stadium come down. Having lived in Dallas for the last 20 years and driving by the stadium almost every day for much of that, it is going to be weird not seeing it there any more. I know I attended one pre-season game, one playoff game, and one concert I remember (Pink Floyd). I never tailgated in the lot but I heard it was a great time so I am sorry I missed one of those.

I know my favorite team (Packers) and player (Brett Favre) never won there in 9 tries...for that, a piece of me is glad to see it go. But the history and everything to do with that stadium made it a landmark that some how should have endured. Unfortunately there was little use for it beyond its intended purpose when it was built. The hole in the roof while being its singular oddity, made the facility useless for other events requiring good weather and air conditioning (it's a hot mofo in Dallas!).

So, built in two years, used for 37 years, down in 30 seconds. It was pretty incredible to watch...on TV. At least I didn't have to get up until 6:30 AM to watch. Below are pictures and video. It was pretty cool that an 11-year old kid won a contest so he was the one to push the button that brought down Landry's House.

Enjoy......

Rest In Peace...