WFAA Channel 8's Dale Hansen Reports Super Bowl Was A Disorganized Mess

Yesterday while watching the Super Bowl and the pre-Super Bowl on TV I was getting the impression that after a week of nothing but problems that in the end the actual game day was a success.

As is my norm, my impression was inaccurate.

The worst of the problems that I've heard of, so far, is that around 1,250 people who had tickets were stopped by the NFL from sitting in the seats they had paid for.

The NFL supposedly claimed the seats were not safe. But no one has been able to get an answer as to why they were unsafe. Or how it was that tickets were sold to seats that had not been verified as seatable.

The NFL claims that 850 of the seatless fans were moved to comparable or better seats. Some seatless fans were moved outside the stadium. Others were allowed to wander the concourse watching the game on TVs. Those for whom a seat was not found will, supposedly, receive a refund of $2,400, three times the value of their $800 ticket.

I read a comment on Bud Kennedy's Facebook entry about Dale Hansen's Super Bowl report that said...

"Personal opinions aside, Dale's not saying anything that isn't being said nationally. Let's face it, Fort Worth was the lone bright spot of this thing. Be proud.........if you're from Fort Worth."

Okay, I am currently sitting in Fort Worth. I was in Fort Worth during the Super Bowl. I am totally not getting how it was that Fort Worth was the bright spot in this debacle.

As for what Dale Hansen had to say about this particular Super Bowl and why he thought it was a disorganized mess, watch the video below....

I Predict Super Bowl Week In The 817 Will End With A Massive Traffic Jam

I was not able to get this week's FW Weekly til the Big Thaw occurred on Saturday. I suspect that was true for a lot of FW Weekly readers.

Judging by the cover it appears this week's FW Weekly focuses on the Super Bowl. I did not get around to reading it til this morning, to find, in this case, judging by the cover is a correct judgement.

Much of what is inside the cover of FW Weekly was rendered a bit ironic due to how Super Bowl week actually played out.

Like an article titled "From Sundance to the World" with a Fort Worth Star-Telegram level of almost breathless puffery, all atwitter that the world was coming to downtown Fort Worth courtesy of ESPN, saying ESPN reaches about 100 million U.S. households with ESPN International reaching 53 million more in 59 other countries.

I think more properly stated ESPN is a channel on various cable networks, with those cable networks reaching a total of 153 million households worldwide.

FW Weekly can't really be thinking that downtown Fort Worth has been seen this week in 153 million houses worldwide. If that did happen the world was not seeing the type images that makes a Chamber of Commerce happy.

After going down to check out the Super Bowl zone again, yesterday, along with thousands of others finally able to escape the Big Freeze and its Big Snow, and thinking about what I saw, I think we may be seeing one more weather related debacle today.

Yesterday the traffic coming from the east on I-30 was jammed up trying to get off the freeway to get to the Ballpark/Stadium area. This was around 3 in the afternoon.

Traffic was backed up all around the stadium area. On the south side of the stadium I saw the longest line of taxis I've ever seen. All stuck in the traffic jam.

I read today that a lot of Pittsburgh Steeler fans fly in to the Super Bowl city any time the Steelers are in the Super Bowl. Even if they don't have a ticket. I talked to several of those yesterday. The Steeler fans were easy to spot, many with cheese on their head.

I do not believe an event has taken place in Cowboys Stadium where the ticket holders get shuffled through a long security tent to get into the stadium.

I believe this will be the largest crowd to have attended an event in the stadium.

What I think may happen today is, just like yesterday, there will be a lot of formerly snowbound locals who decide to try to check out the Super Bowl. There will be no places for them to park, unless they want to pay an exorbitant fee. You'll have all the game goers arriving, by taxi or whatever means. I assume the Arlington trolley buses will be in the mix.

What I saw yesterday was a situation where traffic was not moving well. I think it will be much worse today.

So, that is my prediction for the day. The Final Debacle of Super Bowl Week and Super Bowl XLV will be a monster traffic jam with game goers not able to get into the stadium before the game starts.

Keep in mind, if you find this prediction unsettling, I am usually wrong whenever I predict anything.

Snow Is Forecast For The Super Bowl With A New Arctic Blast Heading To North Texas On Tuesday

It is first Sunday of the 2nd month of 2011. It is also the first day of February that has started above freezing.

The Super Bowl starts up in around 9 hours and 32 minutes. The Dallas Morning News conveniently has a Super Bowl Countdown Clock on their home page.

I've not seen a Super Bowl Countdown Clock on the Fort Worth Star-Telegram's home page. But, unlike the Dallas paper the Star-Telegram's home page is pretty much all about the Super Bowl.

As you can see via the view from my patio viewing platform, most of the snow and ice has melted.

However, snow is in the forecast for today. I really don't see that happening.

But, the National Weather Service has issued one of its SPECIAL WEATHER STATEMENTS. And in that statement we learn that another Arctic cold front will be arriving in North Texas on Tuesday, putting us back in the Deep Freeze and bringing with it more sleet and snow. The SPECIAL WEATHER STATEMENT is below, all in capitals, which I've mentioned before is Internet-speak for shouting. The National Weather Service should no better than to shout.

...WINTRY PRECIPITATION LIKELY WEDNESDAY...

A STRONG ARCTIC COLD FRONT WILL MOVE THROUGH NORTH TEXAS TUESDAY NIGHT...BRINGING A GOOD CHANCE OF WINTRY PRECIPITATION LATE TUESDAY NIGHT THROUGH WEDNESDAY.

AN UPPER LEVEL SYSTEM IS EXPECTED TO DEVELOP OVER THE SOUTHERN ROCKIES ON TUESDAY AND MOVE EAST ACROSS OKLAHOMA AND TEXAS ON WEDNESDAY. WIDESPREAD PRECIPITATION WILL AFFECT MUCH OF NORTH TEXAS TUESDAY NIGHT INTO WEDNESDAY. THE PRECIPITATION WILL START AS RAIN OR FREEZING RAIN...AND MAY TRANSITION TO SLEET AND SNOW. SURFACE TEMPERATURES ARE EXPECTED TO BE BELOW FREEZING DURING MUCH OF THE PRECIPITATION EVENT...WHICH WOULD RESULT IN ACCUMULATIONS OF ICE AND SNOW.

THIS SYSTEM HAS THE POTENTIAL TO RESULT IN SIGNIFICANT IMPACTS TO TRAVEL. IF YOU ARE PLANNING TRAVEL ACROSS NORTH TEXAS OR SURROUNDING AREAS ON WEDNESDAY...CHECK THE LATEST FORECASTS BEFORE DEPARTING.

A Visit To The Dallas Cowboys Stadium The Day Before The Super Bowl Along With Thousands Of Other Visitors Finds People On The Stadium Roof

I headed to the Dallas Cowboys Stadium around 3 this afternoon.

I figured with our sudden thaw and return to semi-pleasant temperatures, that there would be a few people out and about.

Well, it was more than a few. Really bad traffic all around the stadium. Throngs of people. No event taking place besides tomorrow's Super Bowl. Near as I could find out.

I quickly realized how bad the traffic was and bailed on getting stuck going west on Randol Mill by the Stadium Wal-Mart. Later I was to see how lucky I was to avoid that traffic jam. The Ballpark in Arlington parking lots were open to the public. Free. I thought that was a nice touch for Arlington to do. If it was Arlington that did it.

Eventually I parked. I soon asked a couple of people if there was some event happening. They said they'd just come to check out the Super Bowl. Eventually I asked a cop the same question. He told me nothing was going on, that it was just people, like me, coming to check out the Super Bowl scene the day before the Super Bowl.

The first picture, at the top is interesting. I have no idea why there were people on the edge of the roof of the stadium. It looks like a helicopter is heading towards them. Being on that roof seemed a bit dicey, what with the fact that yesterday ice and snow was falling off it, hurting people. You could see there was still snow/ice on edge of the roof.

The Cowboys Stadium Wal-Mart Supercenter, across the street from the stadium, has taken some mocking heat in the national press covering the Super Bowl.

I've long thought it looked ridiculous. Somewhere on this computer I have a picture of the Wal-Mart, taken from the perspective of the stadium. It would take me way too long to find that picture.

Today the Stadium Wal-Mart was looking especially tacky due to the addition of porta-potties.

I assume the porta-potties were installed for the convenience of all the cops who appeared to be guarding the parking lot. I asked one of those cops about the huge crowd and he said it had been like this all day. And would be worse tomorrow. And he was glad he would not be on duty.

This particular Wal-Mart is very strict about anyone using their parking lot to park in to attend any event in the  stadium across the street.

The Wal-Mart is already prepared for tomorrow's parking problems, with the sticking of a sign on the sidewalk that runs along Randol Mill Road that separates the Wal-Mart from Cowboys Stadium.

The sign says, "This parking lot is for Walmart customer parking only. If you park your vehicle to attend games or events, your vehicle may be towed at your expense. Thank you."

Doesn't Arlington have any city code type thing that prohibits sticking a sign like this on a public sidewalk?

One more exciting thing. As I walked across the pedestrian/golf cart bridge that crosses Johnson Creek to the parking lots on the east side of the creek, a golf cart passed by with 4 people on board, one of whom had people pointing and saying that is Jimmy Johnson on board.

I also recognized him. From watching him on Survivor.

Prior to seeing him on Survivor I knew nothing of him coaching the Dallas Cowboys back, long ago, when they actually won games and got to play in Super Bowls.

Is Johnson Creek named for Jimmy Johnson, I just this second found myself wondering?

The Super Bowl Big Chill Has Ended As The Big Melt Begins

We are above freezing for the first time since Monday, here in my formerly frigid zone of North Texas. I don't know how long we've been melting. A couple minutes ago I saw the temperature on my computer screen was 36. I checked another weather info source to confirm this was not a fluke.

I stepped outside to take a picture of the melting snow to hear a lot of dripping and cracking noises. I suspect the ice will be off the roads earlier than I thought it would.

Which means I will be going to Town Talk in a little while. But I am not going to attempt to go hiking at any of my regular Saturday hiking venues. That will need to wait for some more melting and drying.

I heard from Elsie Hotpepper this morning that the area of the D/FW Metroplex that she is currently broadcasting from is currently without power. It is not due to a Rolling Blackout.

As the temperature rises I suspect there will be some more pipes leaking water and a lot of very busy plumbers. I hope no new chunks of ice have plummeted from the Cowboys Stadium on to innocent bystanders.

Can those Party Pass People get refunds of the $200 they paid to stand outside Cowboys Stadium during the Super Bowl, what with it possibly snowing and being cold?

Dallas/Arlington/Fort Worth North Texas Super Bowl Has Turned In To A Worst Case Scenario Disaster In Multiple Ways

The above is a screen cap from this morning's Dallas Morning News. It about sums up the current Super Bowl status.

When it was announced that the Super Bowl had been awarded to Dallas. I mean, Arlington, with all the hoopla about what a boon this would be, image-wise and economic-wise, I opined on this very blog that when the national media got a look at the new Cowboy Stadium and its humdrum location surrounded by urban blight on 2 sides, that the exposure would not result in the good press that the locals were expecting.

Well, there have been some big events in the new stadium without, as far as I've noticed, my predicted bad publicity.

Til now. With the biggest event to be held in North Texas, ever, happening tomorrow. With what is being said about Arlington, Dallas, Fort Worth and North Texas not being all that flattering.

Arlington was described in the New York Times as drab and featureless. Multiple writers have made fun of the stadium sitting across the street from a Wal-Mart.

The Ice and Snow Storms factor in to a lot of the bad publicity for North Texas.

An ESPN writer wondered what Jerry Jones did to Mother Nature's daughter.

A Denver Post columnist wondered what the North Texas Super Bowl Weather Disaster does to the NFL's long standing argument that a town like Denver can't host a Super Bowl.

I also wondered the same thing. But substituted Seattle for Denver. If tomorrow's Super Bowl was taking place in Seattle, the air would be heated to around 50 degrees. With the only snow being in the surrounding mountains. All events could take place right in Seattle's downtown. Adjacent to Seahawk Stadium is an Exhibition Hall with more display space than the demolished Kingdome. With mass transit, in the form of light rail and buses, delivering fans right to where the Super Bowl would be played, if it were played in Seattle.

A Sport Illustrated writer Twittered  about the North Texas mess Tweetng, "I'm telling you: I-30 between Dallas + Fort Worth is a plow-less, snow-windswept moonscape. This is officially a debacle."

NPR's Jim Rome said, "6 inches of snow? Really, Dallas? Good luck getting another Super Bowl."

On Friday chunks of ice and snow fell from the roof of Cowboys Stadium injuring 6 people, sending some to the hospital. One, photographer Win McNamee, was hit in the shoulder by ice, breaking it in 4 places.

And now the earlier optimistic forecast for better weather on the day of the Super Bowl has turned pessimistic, with a prediction of much colder temperatures and more snow possible....

Weather Alert With Snow Falling Again In North Texas 2 Days Before The Super Snow Bowl

I was hoping today, the 4th day of the 2nd month of 2011 would bring some relief from the ice and snow and cold.

Maybe as this Friday progresses we will get above freezing. But right now, coming up on 8 in the morning, it is 19 degrees with some form of frozen precipitation falling.

The frozen precipitation is being like icy droplets of fog. Not snow. But, snow did fall overnight, coating every surface once more in white.

Early this morning the National Weather Service had this to say...

"A localized band of heavy snow has developed over the eastern parts of the DFW metroplex with snowfall totals reaching 4-5 inches over Dallas. Snowfall through the next few hours is expected to be light to occasionally moderate, but additional totals of 1 to 2 inches are possible."

Below are some blurbs from the Dallas Morning News and Fort Worth Star-Telegram about our latest day of  freezing in North Texas...

Great. According to the above forecast by 6pm today we  are still well below freezing. Which I guess means the roads will remain nothing I want to be out driving on. I should have stocked up on more food when I saw so many people doing so on Monday when I was in Wal-Mart. Apparently the longtime locals knew more than I did.

I wonder how many decades it will be before the NFL decides to play another Super Bowl in Arlington? I suspect that may never happen until all sorts of new facilities are built around Cowboys Stadium so that all the Super Bowl activity can take place in one location, rather than spread out over a very large area.

ESPN probably will never return to downtown Fort Worth. Such a sad turn of events. Large crowds were expected, instead the opposite has happened, with that reality captured by a picture and a sentence in this morning's Star-Telegram, with the caption under the picture of a single person standing on an empty parking saying, "A lone fan wandered through the winter wonderland that was Sundance Square as snow fell early Friday."

According To Dolores The Super Bowl Will Be Played In Cowboys Stadium In Arlington

The weather info and countdown to the Super Bowl is a screencap from this morning's Dallas Morning News.

Note that the countdown is titled Super Bowl XLV - Arlington, TX.

Meanwhile, over in Fort Worth, in the Fort Worth Star-Telegram, there was an amusing letter to the editor this morning, written by a resident of Arlington who feels Arlington's honor is somehow being besmirched by the media and Jerry Jones.

Below is that letter, complete with the Star-Telegram's title for the letter...

Arlington's honor

Why is it so difficult for the media as well as Jerry Jones to acknowledge the fact that Cowboys Stadium is indeed in Arlington, where, I might add, the Super Bowl will be played? We, as residents of Arlington, voted to raise our sales tax to help pay for the stadium. Give us the courtesy of recognizing the city as the host of the Super Bowl. Our mayor, Dr. Robert Cluck, worked very hard to secure the honor of the stadium being built in Arlington. Please, give credit where credit is due.

-- Dolores Bielby, Arlington

Icy Weather Raises Questions About Dallas Super Bowl Travel

The above is a screen cap from an article in today's CNN online. With a picture of the Cowboy Stadium. In Arlington. With snow on the stadium and snow on all the stuff that has been erected around the stadium for the Dallas Super Bowl.

I am not sure, but I think maybe some local umbrage might be expressed over the caption under the photo which says....

"Officials in Dallas, Texas, say the city will be ready to host the big game on Sunday."

I wonder when, or if, the big game takes place, if the talking head is going to say, "Live from Dallas, Texas, the 2011 Super Bowl."

Variations of this have already occurred at previous events in the new Dallas Cowboy Stadium. In Arlington.

I imagine the same type thing used to occur at the old Dallas Cowboy Stadium. In Irving.

Big difference is you could actually see the Dallas skyline from the stadium in Irving. And Irving actually borders Dallas. And is in Dallas County.

I have seen the Dallas skyline from the top of the Oil Derrick in Six Flags Over Texas. Six Flags is just a short distance east of the Dallas Cowboy Stadium. I don't think the new Dallas Cowboy Stadium has any vantage points high enough from which you can see Dallas.

Jerry Jones should build a Seattle Space Needle-like structure next to his new stadium. With a revolving restaurant and viewing level on top. A futuristic structure, like the Space Needle, would be a good match with that futuristic looking stadium. You could market the ride to the top with something like "Take the Ride to the Top of the Cowboy Needle Where You Can See the City the Team is Named After."

I'd not thought of it before, but Fort Worth actually does border the town in which the Dallas Cowboy Stadium sits. Dallas doesn't, Fort Worth does.

I think it had occurred to me before that the Dallas Cowboy Stadium is in Tarrant County, that being the county of which Fort Worth is the county seat. Dallas sits in Dallas County. But, the Dallas Cowboy Stadium does not sit in Dallas County.

And someone at CNN. And likely elsewhere, thinks Sunday's Super Bowl is going to be played in Dallas. Where the city is ready to host the game. In another town.

Are 58 MPH Gusts, Snow, Ice & 8 Degrees Wreaking Havoc With The Temporary Super Bowl Buildings Surrounding The Dallas Cowboy Stadium?

The sun has now arrived, lighting up the icy morning of the first day of the second month of 2011.

As you can see, looking at the view through the bars of my patio prison cell, a layer of white has descended on my zone of North Texas.

The Dallas/Fort Worth Metroplex is covered in white. I don't know about the rest of North Texas.

Small snow pellets are now falling. Landing on top of a layer of ice.

The National Weather Service WINTER STORM WARNING is in effect until 4 in the afternoon tomorrow.

The low today is scheduled to get down to 8. Tomorrow the low will supposedly be 4. If it gets down to 8 it will be, by far, the coldest since I've been in Texas. The only time I've experienced colder temperatures was one winter while going to college in the Eastern Washington town of Ellensburg. I came back from Christmas vacation to see a bank's temperature sign say it was -18.

Wind gusts are blowing the snow into little drifts. AccuWeather is reporting gusts as high as 58 mph.

I wonder how all those temporary tent-like Super Bowl structures are faring down by the Dallas Cowboy Stadium? How much snow and ice can those roofs handle before collapsing? What level of wind are they engineered to be able to handle?

Is Mother Nature meting out some sort of Divine Retribution for the Worst Case of Eminent Domain Abuse in American History?

The Faith Tabernacle Church by the Dallas Cowboy Stadium is canceling Super Bowl Sunday's church services so they can sell parking spaces to football fans.

I'm not what one would call religious, but I think God might get you for that type behavior.

On The Tandy Hills Looking At A Smoggy Fog Enveloping Downtown Fort Worth As Locals Go Nuts Over The Pittsburgh Steelers & ESPN

I don't know if that is fog or smog dimming the stunning skyline of beautiful downtown Fort Worth today when I looked west from the Tandy Hills.

Of the four short skyscrapers that you can see through the fog/smog, the one on the left is the Omni Convention Center Hotel. This is where one of the NFL teams is staying that is in North Texas for the Super Cold Bowl next Sunday.

I don't know if Fort Worth gets the Pittsburgh Steelers team or the New Orleans Saints. I know the buildings in both the downtowns of Dallas and Fort Worth have been color-cordinated to match the conference colors that town's team.

I know I've read which town is which color, but I forget. I believe one is blue, one is red. I also know I could likely get the answer to this probing question with about 5 seconds of Googling.

I just went to the Star-Telegram to see if I could easily find out what team is in town.

Well, apparently the Pittsburgh Steelers arrived today and were greeted by a big crowd of screaming football fans. An ESPN person said they'd never seen this level of excitement so early in Super Bowl Week.

The Star-Telegram said Fort Worth has never seen anything like ESPN.

Below is a blurb from the article in the Fort Worth Star-Telegram, titled A Texas-sized howdy for ESPN on 'opening day' ...

The TCU band blasted its music across Sundance Square, and the cheerleaders rocked the crowd. Mayor Mike Moncrief meted out some inspirational words, and Ed Bass shook more than a few hands. And that was all before 5 o'clock in the morning, all before ESPN even began broadcasting Monday from downtown Fort Worth.

ESPN folks said they never had seen such enthusiasm, not this early in Super Bowl week anyway. And, of course, Fort Worth never has seen anything like ESPN. 

This is all starting to seem somehow sad to me. Maybe I would understand if I were a football fan.

The Non-Freezing Last Morning Of The First Month Of 2011 With An Arctic Blastl Heading To North Texas With A Wind Chill Below Zero

Looking out my viewing portal at the dawn of the last day of the first month of 2011 which has arrived 6 degrees above freezing.

If the weather prognosticators are to be believed this will be the last morning, for awhile, that will not be well below freezing, as we are heading into one of the most significant cold spells in North Texas in many years.

Just in time to greet football fans arriving for Sunday's Super Bowl.

Thunderstorms may be booming later today.

Strong winds will be blasting in Tuesday night, bringing the Big Chill, with the wind chill plunging to below zero.

Yesterday, when I saw all the temporary Super Bowl structures built on the former parking lots that surround the Dallas Cowboy Stadium, the first thing that crossed my mind was what if those things get blasted by a windstorm.

If it gets windy during daylight hours I think I'll go hang out on the Stadium Wal-Mart parking lot to watch what happens live.

In the meantime I am not going swimming this morning.

Warning: DEEP FREEZE & SNOW AHEAD IN NORTH TEXAS JUST IN TIME FOR THE SUPER BOWL

This afternoon the National Weather Service issued one of their "SPECIAL WEATHER STATEMENTS" all in CAPITALS, which in Internet speak indicates one is shouting.

Apparently our recent bout of balmy warm weather in North Texas will be coming to an end by Monday night with the arrival from cold Canada of an Arctic cold front.

Snow is possible on Wednesday, with a chance of significant white stuff falling on Friday. Friday is the day of some of the Super Bowl Parties that I have not been invited to. With many more on Saturday. That I have also not been invited to. Followed by Sunday's biggest Super Bowl Party of all. The actual game. Which I may watch on TV.

Methinks Mother Nature is conspiring with the Powers That Be to deliver an icy punch that probably was not what the NFL was looking for when they agreed to come play a game in Jerry Jones' shiny new stadium.

Below is the National Weather Service message in its shouted entirety....

...WINTRY WEEK AHEAD FOR NORTH TEXAS...

AN ARCTIC COLD FRONT WILL MOVE INTO NORTH TEXAS MONDAY EVENING... AND SWEEP THROUGH ALL OF NORTH TEXAS BY MID-MORNING TUESDAY. TEMPERATURES WILL FALL THROUGHOUT THE DAY TUESDAY...WITH AFTERNOON READINGS DROPPING INTO THE TEENS IN AREAS NORTHWEST OF FORT WORTH. ALL OF NORTH TEXAS IS EXPECTED TO BE BELOW FREEZING BY TUESDAY EVENING. THE NORTHWESTERN HALF OF NORTH TEXAS MAY REMAIN BELOW FREEZING UNTIL FRIDAY.

FREEZING RAIN AND SLEET WILL IMPACT MUCH OF NORTH TEXAS ON TUESDAY. THE ACTIVITY MAY TRANSITION TO SNOW LATE IN THE MORNING NORTH OF I-20. A WINTER STORM WATCH IS IN EFFECT GENERALLY ALONG AND NORTHWEST OF A LINE FROM BRECKENRIDGE...TO MINERAL WELLS...TO GAINESVILLE...WHERE ACCUMULATIONS OF SLEET MAY EXCEED 1/2 INCH. ADDITIONAL ICE AND SNOW ACCUMULATION MAY OCCUR JUST SOUTHEAST OF THE WATCH AREA AND WINTER WEATHER ADVISORIES WILL BE ISSUED TOMORROW FOR MORE OF THE AREA.

GUSTY NORTH WINDS WILL COMBINE WITH THE FRIGID TEMPERATURES TO PRODUCE WIND CHILLS IN THE SINGLE DIGITS AND TEENS TUESDAY AND WEDNESDAY. WIND CHILLS MAY FALL BELOW ZERO TUESDAY NIGHT INTO WEDNESDAY MORNING ACROSS THE NORTHWESTERN HALF OF NORTH TEXAS.

SNOW FLURRIES WILL BE POSSIBLE ON WEDNESDAY...WITH A CHANCE OF MORE SIGNIFICANT SNOWFALL ON FRIDAY.

DURING EXTENDED OUTBREAKS OF COLD WEATHER...IT IS ALWAYS ADVISABLE TO BE PROACTIVE AND PROTECT EXPOSED PIPES WITH INSULATING MATERIAL...AND TO LEAVE A WATER FAUCET SLOWLY DRIPPING OVERNIGHT. OUTDOOR PETS SHOULD BE PROVIDED APPROPRIATE SHELTER...AND RESIDENTS ARE ENCOURAGED TO DRESS IN LAYERS TO AVOID THE IMPACTS OF COLD TEMPERATURES AND WIND CHILLS. ANYTIME TEMPERATURES ARE EXPECTED TO FALL BELOW FREEZING...TURN OFF AUTOMATIC SPRINKLERS. SPRINKLER SYSTEMS RUNNING IN SUB-FREEZING TEMPERATURES CAN CREATE HAZARDOUS DRIVING CONDITIONS.

A Visit To The Dallas Cowboy Stadium A Week Before The Super Bowl

With a week to go til Sunday's Super Bowl game I figured today would be a good day to check out what's been done to the Dallas Cowboy Stadium zone.

I figured Sunday morning there would be few people, no traffic, easy to find a place to park.

As I am way too often, I was wrong on all counts.

The first bit of Super Bowl signage that you see here is not on the Dallas Cowboy Stadium, it is on the Ballpark in Arlington, facing the Cowboy Stadium.

Last week I'd read a letter to the editor in either the Fort Worth Star-Telegram or Dallas Morning News where the letter writer opined that he was appalled at the effort Arlington had gone to to spruce up the town in anticipation of visitors coming for the Super Bowl, and then to find that effort negated by all the tackiness that the NFL has sprung up around the Cowboy Stadium.

Texas does a good job of tacky at times. I had to see it for myself.

I don't know that I would call what I saw today tacky. But I can say that what is going on around the Cowboy Stadium may be the strangest thing I've seen since I've been in Texas.

And that covers an awful lot of strange things.

That letter writer mentioned the big fence/wall that has been erected on the east end of the stadium. I have no idea what that wall is stopping us from seeing. I thought maybe it was surrounding the $200 a ticket Party Pass Plaza zone, but it was not located directly outside the east end zone, which is where you get to pay $200 to stand out in the cold for 4 or 5 hours.

Speaking of cold. The National Weather Service has just issued a Severe Weather Warning. We are scheduled to get as low as 12 degrees by Wednesday. Five days before the Super Bowl.

See that long line of white? It is stretching across the former parking lot on the east end of the stadium. I had no clue what this was.

And then I met this nice gentleman named Ludlow Ruckmaker (name and gender changed at the gentleman's request).

Ludlow told me that this long white tent line is how Super Bowlers will enter the stadium. It is where they will go through security.

Ludlow told  me he'd been following the progress of the stadium all the way back to the initial destruction of dozens of homes and apartment complexes, with the displacement of 1000s, in what many consider to be the Worst Case of Eminent Domain Abuse in American History.

When I told Ludlow I'd also been following the Dallas Cowboy Stadium progress, eventually he remembered meeting me before. On my website.

I had wondered why the Party Pass Plaza was only at the east end zone, when there are Party Plazas outside both end zones. Today I saw the reason. On the west side of the stadium the parking lots have been covered by the biggest temporary buildings I have ever seen.

HUGE things that look as if they must have multiple levels. In the picture above you can see what looks like a glass barrel roof between two white temporary structures.

Above I am standing across from the stadium, on Collins Street, looking east at those temporary buildings I just showed you. The pictures do not do justice to how big these are.

Now, what I'm thinking is North Texas tends to have rather dramatic weather. I have been involved with 2 balloon festivals that were destroyed by windstorms.

The Dallas Cowboy Stadium sits in the Buckle of the Bible Belt. There are a lot of people who think that the way the land was taken to build this stadium was all sorts of wrong.

I'm not one who believes there is a vengeance seeking God looking to right wrongs and punish evildoers.

But.

If I were, I would be a bit nervous that a weather disaster might make mayhem of all the temporary stuff that has been erected to worship at this particular temple, next Sunday.

God may likely already be a bit cranky with the Super Bowl, due to the fact that one of the churches near the stadium has cancelled next Sunday's services and is, I believe, selling parking spaces.

That football that you see above, with the Dallas Cowboy Stadium behind it, is in the Stadium Wal-Mart Supercenter's parking lot. That Wal-Mart has a lot of footballs and baseballs stuck on it.

A Mexican TV Station was broadcasting from the Wal-Mart parking lot. The broadcast truck that was powering the equipment had Mexican plates. The guy on the left was interviewing the guy on the right. I figured this might be a Univision show.

Some of the locals seemed quite familiar with the guy who was on the right, taking turns having their picture taken with him. I figure he must be a Mexican TV celebrity. Not til I got the picture off the camera did I realize one of the guys in the picture was wearing a cheese hat.

See the elaborate graphics that have been added to the stadium? Again my pictures do not do justice to how big this is. The end zone graphic is equally impressive.

The parking lots on the east end are covered with a lot of media vehicles, sort of like a combination of an RV and a train boxcar. An elevated catwalk has been built for the media, in this area to the east of the Party Pass Plaza. I guess so pictures can be taken of the people freezing, while standing outside the stadium during the Super Bowl.

The north bound lanes on Collins, by the stadium have been closed off. As have the eastbound lanes on Randoll Mill. This is making for some slow traffic. I've no idea if this is a temporary thing while all the stuff on the parking lots is getting worked on. Or what. The road that you can usually drive on at the east end of the stadium is completely blocked off.

Is this all normal for a Super Bowl? Or has Texas gone and done the Everything is Bigger in Texas thing for this particular Super Bowl?

And what takes place in all those temporary buildings on the west parking lots?

It is all very perplexing. And I've still not been invited to any of the dozens upon dozens of Super Bowl Parties.

If you live in the D/FW zone, trust me, it is worth it to venture into the Dallas Cowboy Stadium Zone to see what happens when a Super Bowl comes to a Texas town.

Last Sunday Of First Month Of 2011 Visiting Dallas Cowboy Stadium Week Before Super Bowl & Monitoring Egypt Via Twitter Tweets

The last Sunday of the first month of 2011 dawned with a temperature of 61. Yesterday we got into the 70s.

I'm thinking I will be a pool boy this morning.

After that I think I'll go check out the Dallas Cowboy Stadium zone this morning. It is a week to go before Super Bowl Sunday.

I read a letter to the editor a few days ago from a man in Arlington complaining about the irony of the fact that the City of Arlington has spruced itself up for the Super Bowl, and then the NFL came to town and totally tackified the area surrounding the stadium.

I am a big fan of all things tacky, so I figure it's worth a look.

Yesterday, in various cities around the country, there were protests in support of those protesting in Egypt. I don't know if there were any support rallies in the D/FW zone. I know several west coast cities had rallies, including Seattle.

When the Egypt type events occur, like when Iran went into upset mode, is about the only time I somewhat get the utility of Twitter. Reading the Twitter Egypt Tweets is sort of like instant news. Within minutes thousands of Tweets show up.

Like right now apparently the Egyptian Air Force is buzzing protesters with jets.

Below is an example of the Tweet flood from a minute ago...

@emptywheel Audible on AJE: Two jet fighters just flew overhead #Egypt

@Di438 #Egypt Protesters shouting over noise of Jets flying overhead @AlJazeera #Freedom

@KristoferKeane Egypt deploying fighter jets against protestors? What outcome do they even expect from that? Are they planning to bomb them?

@TheNewsBlotter #egypt protesters in #Tahrir Square writing “Down w Mubarak” in Arabic in big white letters 

@jhagel RT @nolanjazeera: Aljazeera Cairo bureau has been shut down. Just visited by plain clothes govt security, TV uplink is now closed #Egypt

@JodyField Egypt protests: U.S. advises all Americans to leave and 30,000 Brits are stranded

That's enough Egypt Tweeting. Time to go swimming now. Talk to you later.

HOT Saturday Tandy Hills Hiking With The Queen Of Wink & Elsie Hotpepper Saloon Hopping While Betty Jo Bouvier Ponders Stripping For The Super Bowl

Due to the nature of my hiking attire worn today whilst hiking the hills of the Tandy Hills Natural Area you might guess it is warm in North Texas this last Saturday of the first month of 2011.

You would be guessing right. It is currently a balmy 76 degrees.

Until my phone holding arm started to go numb the Queen of Wink went hiking with me today.

The Queen of Wink has hiked on the Tandy Hills with me previously. The first time she got a bad case of the vapors and required hiking assistance.

I tell you, the details of what goes on in the Queen of Wink's Realm would give a prime-time TV Soap Opera plenty of material. Or just film the Queen of Wink 24 hours a day and you'd have yourselves something fit for Bravo TV.

The Real Housewife of Wink.

Separate from the Wink Soap Opera material the Queen of Wink may be heading for a visit to New York City due to her widespread reputation as a Sinkhole Expert.

I thought we long ago established Gar the Texan as the Go To Expert Guy for anything to do with sinkholes. I may be remembering wrong.

Before I took off from here to do some hill hiking I called Elsie Hotpepper to see if she wanted to enjoy the great outdoors with me.

She didn't.

But, Elsie asked me if I wanted to go saloon hopping with her tonight. I am not a very big fan of saloon hopping, so I politely declined.

Maybe a little saloon hopping with the Hotpepper would be good for what ails me. I don't know. What I do know, for sure, is the last time I went saloon hopping with Elsie Hotpepper it took me about a week to feel as if I was totally recovered.

And then there is Betty Jo Bouvier. I know she is known as the Wild Woman of Woolley, but, even so, her most recent question surprised me. Betty Jo asked me if it was true that the D/FW area is in need of 10,000 extra strippers for the Super Bowl. I asked if the reason she wanted to know this was she was thinking of flying in to earn some quick, easy money. To which Betty Jo replied, "It may be quick, but not easy."

I had no idea Betty Jo Bouvier did stripping as a sideline. I knew she was a Zumba dancer, though, which I guess must somehow lead to an interest in being a stripper.

I think maybe I need to close my windows. It feels like HOT air is blowing in here....

Up Late On The Last Saturday Of January In A Dark Mood Waiting For An Invitation To A Super Bowl Party

Somehow my digital mood capturing device accurately recorded my dark mood when I looked out my viewing portal this morning at the blue sky dawn of the final Saturday of the first month of the new year of 2011.

Apparently, if I am understanding correctly, today pretty much kicks off Super Bowl Week here in my zone of Texas.

In the coming week there are BIG parties all over the D/FW Metroplex.

Mark Cuban is hosting, along with HDnet, a Super Bowl XLV party at Victory Park the day before the Super Bowl. This party is only open to those who receive an invitation. I have not received mine yet.

Pamela Anderson is hosting a party called the Dallas Super Bash 2011 at the Fashion Industry Gallery in downtown Dallas. There will be some Playboy Playmates on view. I do not know what the Playmates degree of clothing will be. Tickets are only $500 if pre-bought, $750 at the door.

Apparently, Playboy and Maxim magazines are known for hosting the best Super Bowl parties. Totally separate from the Pamela Anderson party the Playboy party will be on Friday the 4th at the Aloft Hotel in downtown Dallas. The day after that Maxim will have its party at Centennial Hall at Fair Park in Dallas.

Sports Illustrated is also having a B4 party at Fair Park, in the Tower Building, on Friday, the 4th, with the Super Bowl halftime performers, the Black Eyed Peas, being the hosts.

At the same time the Black Eyed Peas are busy at Fair Park, the singer known as Prince will be singing at an event called The Event, at the location formerly occupied by Reunion Arena.

Meanwhile, in Fort Worth, ESPN's The Next Bash is a private, by invitation only party at River Ranch on the north side of the Fort Worth Stockyards. I don't know what day The Next Bash takes place. I do know I have not been invited.

Also in The Stockyards, at Billy Bobs's Texas, Coors Light is throwing its annual Super Bowl Party. It is on Friday, the 4th. It is also an invitation only event to which I have not been invited. Blake Shelton will be singing to the invitees.

So many parties. What is a Party Animal like me to do?

Probably just stay home and brood in my dark mood. Waiting for an invitation.

Up Early The Last Thursday Of The First Month Of 2011 After A Night Of Nightmares & A Morning Learning From Mayor Moncrief That Fort Worth Has Been Cleaned For The Super Bowl

I am up way before the sun looking at the view from my patio prison cell this last Thursday of the first month of 2011.

It is not freezing this morning at 3 degrees above the frost point. Even though it is not freezing I still think I'll avoid swimming this morning.

I had a rough night last night. I was up late talking to Elsie Hotpepper. After that I had myself a fitful night of nightmares.

Both nightmares had me back in the house I grew up in in Burlington, Washington. The first nightmare involved little troll-like monsters who were like Tasmanian Devil human flesh eaters.

The troll nightmare did not bother me too much, but the second nightmare of the night did. It involved snakes, lots of them. Inside the house, with my mom chasing them with a broom. At one point it was a copperhead and it was heading right at me.

I woke up.

And then immediately after waking up something made me think a snake was slithering on my bed. This caused me to let out what must have been a bloodcurdling scream.

On a different nightmare note. This morning's Fort Worth Star-Telegram online had an article on the front page titled "Mayor declares Fort Worth ready for Super Bowl Party."

I assumed if Fort Worth's Moron Mayor Mike Moncrief was doing some declaring that it likely was goofy and mockworthy. But, the Star-Telegram would not let me read the article. I'd get about 2 paragraphs in and I'd get switched back to the front page.

Eventually I succeeded in quickly copying and pasting the article into Notepad so I could successfully search for the goofy Moncrief quote.

I was not disappointed.

Here is what Moncrief said in declaring that Fort Worth is ready for the Super Bowl, even though the game is not being played in Fort Worth, "Are you ready for some football? Fort Worth is ready. When you're going to have a party at your house, you clean house. You want to make your home attractive. We are ready."

I guess I need to go visit Downtown Fort Worth. I can't imagine what it must look like now that it has been cleaned and made attractive.

Also, the article about being ready said that volunteers will be posted throughout the city to help visitors navigate Cowtown.

I can't help but wonder how this navigation system works. And where it is that visitors are navigating to.

The NFL & City Of Fort Worth Ban Yum Yum Food Truck From Downtown For The Duration Of The Super Bowl Madness

I learned of the latest Downtown Fort Worth Super Bowl Nonsense this morning from Agent cd0103.

And then a few minutes later I logged into Facebook to get beat by the Scrabble Queen of Washington.

On Facebook I saw this latest Downtown Fort Worth Super Bowl Nonsense mentioned in a Facebook comment by former Fort Worth native, MBK, currently exiled in Tacoma.

MBK said, "Is Fort Worth turning into OLDFOGIEVILLE? So much for small businesses getting a piece of the Super Bowl action!"

MBK is referencing Downtown Fort Worth banning the very popular Yum Yum Food Truck til after the Super Bowl.

The Yum Yum Food Truck also has a Facebook page, where MBK further commented about this latest Downtown Fort Worth Super Bowl Nonsense, saying, "This is outrageous. The old FOGIES that run DTFW should be ashamed! The restaurants downtown won't be able to provide good service to massive crowds. It will be WORSE than during concerts/Main Street Arts Fest. Big Wigs are turning downtown to Oldfogieville!"

Til sanity returns the Yum Yum Food Truck is moving to south of Downtown Fort Worth, to 1220 Pennsylvania Avenue in the Hospital District.

However there is a complication. The Food Network is coming to Downtown Fort Worth next week, with the hope of taping a show called Outrageous Foods on the Yum Yum Food Truck. Apparently Yum Yum is known for its massive 10 pound Super Super Monster Burrito.

On December 14 the Fort Worth City Toadies, I mean, City Council, adopted an ordinance that bans non-NFL Vendors from Downtown Fort Worth. Only approved Vendor Booths will be allowed on the parking lots known as Sundance Square.

The verbiage in the City Council's order banning non-NFL Vendors is interesting, saying this ordinance is needed to "promote and protect the festive image in the downtown area" and to remove anything that might "hinder security, obstruct traffic or cause congestion."

The City's Code Compliance Director claims the city is not out to harm any business, saying "We're just looking to protect that area  of downtown."

Yes, I can see how the Yum Yum Food Truck selling hamburgers and burritos would pose a security risk, impede the flow of traffic and greatly diminish that festive image that Downtown Fort Worth is so good at projecting.

I wonder how many Porta-Potties are being brought in to line up on the Sundance Square Parking Lots? Can only NFL-Approved Porta-Potties be used? Are they bringing in some of those really cool custom made Dallas Cowboy Porta-Potties that look so attractive on the Dallas Cowboy Stadium parking lots?

With the Super Bowl being played in Arlington and with Downtown Fort Worth really not having all that much going for it, I'm wondering why the Fort Worth Fogies think there is going to be a big crowd downtown during the Super Bowl Week? Downtown Fort Worth does not have a single department store. Not a one. No Nordstroms, Neiman-Marcus, Macy's. Not even a Sears.

This department store deficit really is a sad indication of just how lively Downtown Fort Worth actually is. But removing the Yum Yum Food Truck will help make Downtown Fort Worth appropriately festive.

The Yum Yum Food Truck's location, prior to its banning, had been on Throckmorton by the Tarrant County Courthouse. You know, that building across the street from Downtown Fort Worth's #1 Neglected Eyesore, Heritage Park. In its current sad condition Heritage Park really does not add a lot to that festive image Downtown Fort Worth thinks it is protecting and promoting.

And now the smallest downtown, of any town in America with over a half million residents, doesn't even have a Yum Yum Food Truck. Plenty of Grackles though. Very festive birds.

Thousands Of Grackles Are Massing In Anticipation Of The Upcoming Super Bowl

In the picture you are seeing just a few of the Grackles that have taken up residence at my neighborhood Wal-Mart Supercenter and Sam's Club.

Hundreds, maybe thousands, of the birds, all over the buildings, on vehicles. And standing all over the parking lot.

The Grackles have been hanging out in this location for weeks now. They seem to be getting very comfortable with their surroundings and are not as easily startled as they were a few weeks ago.

If you've ever watched The Birds, the whole scene is very Hitchcockian.

I read this morning. Or was it yesterday? That an attempt is being made to move the Grackles from their various locations, due to some people thinking this is yet one more local embarrassment in need of being hidden from the upcoming Super Bowl.

This particular Grackle infested Wal-Mart is just a few miles to the west of the Dallas Cowboy Stadium where the Super Bowl will take place. You can see the Cowboy Stadium from this location.

Across the street from the Cowboy Stadium is one of the nicest Wal-Marts I've ever seen. With the Grackles being such Wal-Mart fans I wonder if they have taken over that Wal-Mart yet? Or, are they waiting for the Super Bowl to make their move? They seem to be very smart birds. Smart birds are not Jerry Jones fans.

Maybe the Grackles are planning to fly into the stadium, en masse, through the open end zone doors. That would be poetic.

Efforts to move the Grackles have proven to be fairly futile in the past. Methinks the locals should embrace their Grackle Colonies and turn them into yet one more tourist attraction for the visiting football fans.

I'm having a bad reaction to the efforts to spruce up this place because of the Super Bowl.

I have known a slob or two who only cleans up their clutter on the rare occasions that company is expected.

That is how this local Super Bowl cleanup strikes me.

Really embarrassing.

A sloppy place picking up its clutter because company is arriving in town.

Shouldn't the litter be picked up all the time?

And I think I've already mentioned that there is no way to control where the Super Bowl visitors might be driving.

Rather than take I-30 into Fort Worth or Dallas, they might choose Division or Lancaster.

Division goes through some real eye-popping scenery in Dallas, while Fort Worth tops Dallas with Lancaster, Berry and Rosedale.

What if a visitor gets lost in the Fort Worth Stockyards zone and meanders around the neighborhood to the west? That won't leave a good impression.

Speaking of the Stockyards. Is the New Isis Theater being spruced up for the Super Bowl? It has been boarded up since I first laid eyes on it over 11 years ago. It is in the Fort Worth Stockyards National Historic District. I've been told a number of times that the New Isis is in the process of being restored.

But, unless it has been fixed up, without me knowing about it, the New Isis is still an Old Eyesore, that would be really easy to at least make look better from the outside.

Switching the subject back to the Texas Grackle Invasion. The Wikipedia article about these birds was amusing. And has a Texas connection.

From Wikipedia.....

Unlike many birds, the grackle benefits from the expansion of human populations due to its resourceful and opportunistic nature. The common grackle population has greatly increased in the Austin, Texas, area in recent years and is regarded as nuisance by some, due to aggressive behavior. Common grackles are considered a serious threat to crops by some, and notoriously difficult to exterminate and usually require the use of hawks or similar large birds of prey.

With just a few word changes the above paragraph could be an accurate description of Chesapeake Energy and its fellow gas drillers.