Hall of Fame festivities keep Jerry Jones busy, happy

Jerry Jones hasn’t been presented his gold jacket or delivered his Hall of Fame speech yet. But the memories of his Hall of Fame weekend are already stacking up.

The Dallas Cowboys owner called the Ray Nitschke Luncheon at the Hall of Fame on Friday “one of my great memories.” The luncheon is an ultra-private affair with only gold jacket members and voters in attendance.

“You had the opportunity to hear from these former players, coaches and contributors, and also talk about a lot of players that have been in the room and are not here any more,” Jones said. “I had Charles Haley, Emmitt [Smith] and Michael Irvin get up and talk about some of our experiences together.

“And, frankly, kind of welcomed me to the Hall of Fame. That will go right there as one of my great memories.

“It just feels almost unfair to have spent almost 30 years in the NFL and had as much fun as I had with the players and have as many great experiences and still get to be part of something like this. It was a great experience in that luncheon.”

Jones also had a great experience during the Hall of Fame game Thursday, a night during which his Cowboys won a 20-18 contest against the Arizona Cardinals. Before the game, Jones and the rest of the 2017 class were introduced.

“It was real neat to be at the game and be able to walk through the Cardinals and Cowboys as well and grab that [Jason] Witten and grab that Dez [Bryant],” Jones said. “That was a special icing on the cake for me to be involved in Canton and the Hall of Fame and have our Cowboys there as well. This is so substantive to me.

“I have experienced some wonderful things. This is right there with the very best.”

Jones said the most exciting part of the weekend so far has simply been being surrounded by the game’s best players. He again raved about the Nistchke luncheon and being around players such as Eric Dickerson and Lawrence Taylor.

“This day has been pretty special,” Jones said.

It’ll just get more special as the weekend goes on. Jones will get his gold jacket Friday evening, and officially be enshrined on Saturday.

This story was originally published August 4, 2017 at 5:46 PM with the headline "Hall of Fame festivities keep Jerry Jones busy, happy."