Sports Stadium or Art Gallery?

When you hear the name Jerry Jones, owner of the Dallas Cowboys, the last person you’d associate with him is Dominique de Menil, founder of The Menil Collection in Houston, Texas. However, you will be surprised to find they are much closer than you think.

There is an article in this month’s Texas Monthly titled Paint by Numbers that takes an in depth look at one of the most ambitious contemporary arts collections recently brought together in the State of Texas. What makes this collection unique is this “gallery” just hosted the Super Bowl XLV. I am, of course, talking about the new Dallas Cowboys Stadium.

I found the entire article incredibly fascinating. While some will sniff at the idea of the art in the stadium being compared to the frescoes that adorned the vomitoria (click on the link, it’s not what you think) of the Roman  Colosseum, Mr. Jones has recreated the same thing in Arlington, and he’s done so with contemporary art.

For the record, I am not a big fan of Jerry Jones, but I greatly respect what he has done here. It’s a surprisingly forward thinking move from an organization drowning in sponsorship money  from beer and soft drink companies. An NFL franchise as an arts benefactor makes so much sense, it’s hard for me to believe it hasn’t been a higher priority, if not a legislative requirement of publicly funded sports stadiums.

The amount of money pumping through the professional sports leagues is mind boggling, and incredibly hard to swallow at times. The Dallas Cowboys stadium alone carried a price tag of $1.15 BILLION. To see some of this money directed into the arts makes me happy, and hopeful we can see more money pumped into the arts communities of all cities that are home to a professional sports franchise.

At a time when government funding of the arts is in danger of being cut on all levels, it is high time owners of all professional sports franchises try harder to keep up with the Joneses.

Boss Blog of the Month: The FootballGirl.com

Boss [baw, bos]

-adjective
1. exemplifies a unique quality; awesome; incredible
2. An expression from the mid 1950s, which fell from favor by early 1960s…until now.
Used in a sentence: Fact – Women who love watching football are so boss.

In 5 days we are about to watch the two best teams in the NFL – the Packs and the Steelers – contend for Super Bowl XLV.   While I am a Cowboys fan and utterly despise both teams, it is in fact a football game and what I believe to be the culmination of all things great in America – healthy competition, grilled meat, brewskies and Troy Polamalu’s hair. You might think to yourself, but Courtney, ‘You are a girl and you should be worrying about shopping, cleaning and cooking for the guys.” And I would politely respond with, ‘Sorry the game’s on.”

As you can see, I was raised to schedule my activities around football, and more importantly around the Cowboys. Sometimes I feel there should be groups other than the Lingerie Football League where women get fired up about the game and perhaps engage in a dog pile or two.   Unfortunately, I have not found such a group (I’ve checked), but there are some rockstar females making it happen online and I thought with the Super Bowl in our midst, this would be a perfect time to dig into my sports blog arsenal and introduce you to one of my favorites…

Melissa’s Blog – resident blogger for TheFootballGirl.com – is spunky, honest and above all else, knows the game of football. Melissa not only discusses the typical weekly matches, she is open about her opinions and doesn’t give a poop if she boldly announces that Tucker Carlson is an idiot. This woman is a little spitfire and if you don’t believe me, please indulge yourself in my top 10 favorite posts –   useless commentary included:

  1. Terrell Owens…Just Shut Up! (I second that motion)

  2. Troy Polamalu’s Jersey Top Seller for Women (Thank you Head & Shoulders)

  3. Jenn Sterger Continues to be Annoying (And so does Brett Favre)

  4. Things that Make Me Go Ugh: Tom Brady Endorsing Uggs (Watch out Stetson)

  5. Video of the Day: Never Question Jay Cutler’s Toughness (I still question it)

  6. Vince Young Get Stupider (True that)

  7. In Case You Missed It: Stevie Johnson Gets Screwed by God (When all else fails…)

  8. One Last Hurrah for “Hotel Roethlisberger” (Pour one for my homie)

  9. Is Rex Ryan the Most Hated Man in Football (At least his post game media conferences are entertaining)

  10. The Ray Lewis Snuggie: Acceptable Game Day Attire? (I guess Uggs were already taken by an NFL star)

Do you want more Football and even more Melissa?

See what she’s Tweeting or Like her on Facebook!

Boss Blog of the Month: C Pemby’s Top NFL Players on Twitter

Boss [baws, bos]

-adjective
1. exemplifies a unique quality; awesome; incredible
2.   An expression from the mid 1950s, which fell from favor by the early 1960s….until now…

What does August mean to you? If you said football season, well I’d say you just earned yourself a gold star. Simply put, the world is   a better place when you spend 10 consecutive   hours, every Sunday, watching the gridiron madness.

This year more than ever, we have the ability to be a part of the game via Twitter- witnessing a player’s thoughts pre-huddle, during the 60 and after the stadium has cleared. We are not just following bloggers who love the sport; we are following the guys down on the grass, feeling the pressure in the red zone. You will find that some players will inspire, others will talk trash and the majority will misspell common words…but collectively, their micro blogs Twitter streams are most definitely boss.

C Pemby’s Top NFL Players on Twitter

Craig Terrill@TerrillMusic

Team: Seattle Seahawks

Position: Defensive Tackle

Terrill is the Defensive Tackle for the Seattle Seahawks…and let’s not kid ourselves, he’s a whole lotta’ man. While he is not on the football field, he plays in a band surprisingly called, The Craig Terrill Band.

Seahawk bowling day. I am on track for a perfect 300 right now. Pounds…that is.

If Sanchez doesn’t pull this game out he always has ‘Entourage’ to fall back on.

Ryan Grant @RyanGrant25

Team: Greenbay Packers

Position: Running Back

While he consistently over uses the acronym, ‘lol”, you can always count on Ryan Grant to provide entertaining banter with his teammates.

Everyone needs to know that @AaronRodgers12 accuracy in practice with a football is phenomenal, but with a water balloon, questionable

And honestly, anyone that can laugh out loud this much are what we call, good people.

Ive been asked twice this week by fans if I’m playing again this year lol……come on now..lol NOTHING’s CHANGED…Im coming to work lol

Jared Allen@JaredAllen69

Team: Minnesota Vikings

Position: Defensive End

Jared Allen’s twitpics speak for themselves…

Again, it was only a trim. It was starting to get a little out of control.

Chad Ochocinco@OGOchoCinco

Team: Cincinnati Bengals

Position: Wide Receiver

If you loved him on Dancing with the Stars then you will most certainly love following Ochocinco – a lover, fighter and designer shoe connoisseur. While I commend his efforts, there will never come a day where I will take a man seriously with a reality show called, “The Ultimate Catch.” Get it? He’s a wide receiver and he catches the ball…you’re so clever Chad.

New Christian Louboutin Rollerboy Spike Flats yes or no http://twitpic.com/2jtu00

Brian Cushing@briancushing56Team: Houston Texans

Position: Linebacker

If you are living in Houston and want to literally follow a local player – Brian Cushing is your man. He will keep you up-to-date on exactly where he is at all times which leads me to believe he is unaware of his 10,777 followers . Come on Cushing, we all know there is only one bowling alley in Bellaire (Palace Lanes).

Bowling w/ the team over in Bellaire.

Ok, your turn – tell me about an NFL player that keeps you entertained via Twitter!