DMN: Final countdown' to Super Bowl XLV begins with huge, varied concert at Cowboys Stadium

[tr1]

http://www.dallasnews.com/sharedcontent/dws/news/localnews/cowboysstadium/stories/DN-sbconcert_11met.ART.State.Edition1.35fb3f2.html

12:00 AM CDT on Saturday, September 11, 2010

By JEFF MOSIER / The Dallas Morning News

ARLINGTON – Super Bowl XLV has been in the works here for more than four years. With Friday night's Tim McGraw-headlined concert and tribute to the Dallas Cowboys' 50th anniversary season, the Super Bowl marathon has turned into a sprint.

At Friday's show, the University of North Texas Symphony Orchestra provided live accompaniment to NFL Films footage chronicling the Cowboys' 50 years.

The show at Cowboys Stadium marks this weekend's start of the NFL season, which will lead two teams – and the sporting world's attention – back to this spot in 147 days.

"The next time that an organized effort like this gets together with anywhere near this kind of people, it's going to be that Super Bowl," said Cowboys owner Jerry Jones. "I think they're getting some of that tonight."

Fort Worth's Van Cliburn played the national anthem at Friday's Super Bowl XLV Countdown concert, part of a lineup that included headliner Tim McGraw, the NFL Players Choir and the University of North Texas Symphony Orchestra.

Friday night's concert was the third and by far the largest in the series produced by the Super Bowl XLV host committee. With a sellout crowd of 36,981, it was the largest local concert since last fall's U2 show at Cowboys Stadium.

Besides McGraw, the lineup also featured the NFL Players Choir, University of North Texas Symphony Orchestra, video clips from the Cowboys' history, and the national anthem by legendary Fort Worth pianist Van Cliburn, who was applauded with gusto.

The show was envisioned as part concert, part video and musical tribute to the Cowboys' 50th anniversary, and part celebration for fans yearning to be part of the Super Bowl experience.

The concert's tickets started at $25, giving average fans a taste of the Super Bowl excitement even if they won't have a chance to sit in the stands for the big game.

Friday's festivities were described as the largest regular-season kickoff celebration for any single NFL team and the largest event organized by a local Super Bowl host committee.

...

"It's a way to look to the future and say thank you for the past," said Jones, who also acknowledged the pressure on this year's team to achieve a first: playing a Super Bowl in its home stadium.

Retired Cowboys running back and newly inducted Hall of Famer Emmitt Smith said enthusiasm should be mounting for the arrival of Feb. 6 and the chance to experience what he's seen in the eyes of fans in Atlanta, Pasadena and Tempe.

"You see the hunger. You see the desire," he said. "You see the excitement and the joy they have when a professional football team [is] coming down their streets. ... It gives a young person an opportunity to truly dream the impossible."

...

[tr1]

Now, there's some serious cheese eating...I hope you puke fans paid your $25 to experience that non-sense, because your team isn't going to be there in Feb.

But, wait. That would mean most of you would have had to buy a plane ticket to get to pukeville, too... :rotflmao:

[rockfan7224]

:puke: :puke: