Dallas Cowboys, Dak Prescott news conference worth celebrating for this reason | Opinion
There was a clear winner during the press conference on Wednesday, and it was neither Dak Prescott nor Jerry Jones’ favorite toy, regardless of what the team owner said.
“The Cowboys won today,” Jerry said. “They won today.”
No, the real winners were all of us who were there. In person. Even if we were wearing masks.
The Cowboys’ formally announcing to a live audience they signed their quarterback to a four-year, $160 million stimulus package was just a bonus to this day.
It has been one year to the date since the longest “spring break” of our lives began.
Regardless if you agree with Texas Gov. Greg Abbott’s state mask mandate ending, we can all now start to see some semblance of an ending to what we have affectionately called ”All of this.”
Finally ending the years long Prescott saga is all fine and good, but the bigger implication to the press conference is that we can think about returning to our regularly scheduled programming.
(Editor’s Note: Every single time this guy has said this since last April, he’s been wrong.)
The last time our sports’ scene had a major press conference in person was following the Dallas Mavericks’ win over the Denver Nuggets on March 11, 2020.
It was that, or up the road in Frisco, after the U.S. Women’s National soccer team defeated Japan in the SheBelieves Cup.
Since then, it’s been masks, socially distanced, virtual, postponed, pods, canceled, or Zoom calls while we wear PJs and fight the dog for screen time.
There are greater tragedies in life, and some of the whining over the last 365 days reeks of entitlement, but this has been a full year now.
Much like with the Spanish Flu outbreak of 1918, the COVID Blues that unofficially began upending lives across the United States last March will ultimately require more than one full year to move past.
A Dak Prescott press conference is hardly a finish line, but it felt like a good sign.
Shortly before Dak and Jerry and Stephen Jones took to the podium, the Texas Rangers announced the Hay Barn in Arlington will be open to full capacity, provided fans wear masks.
Some of this does not quite make sense yet. The Rangers are going to ask fans to wear masks, sit next to each other, but in other spots follow social distancing guidelines. Attending an early-season Rangers game will be the equivalent of flying on a plane, the one difference being the pitchers on the plane will be better than they will for the home team.
It’s worth reiterating we are not done.
We have multiple vaccines. The number of COVID cases is trending in the right direction, even if the figures are not at a reliable rate just yet.
Unlike for the past 43 months, this all feels like genuine, positive momentum leading to a time when we can soon play, and attend, sports and sporting events — things that we previously took for granted. All before the time when being called shut-in, a hermit or a recluse were points of pride.
Jerry Jones made a point of saying the team plans to have training camp back in Oxnard, California., and a full camp, and offseason. The versions of those in 2020 were basically a joke.
He mentioned the words “safety” or “safely” dozens of times.
“I’ve been coached up,” he said.
He said he plans for AT&T Stadium to be at full capacity in 2021. He also said he does not believe anyone contracted COVID as a result of attending a Cowboys home game in 2020.
Not sure how he can prove that but, this is Jerry.
“I have optimism but you know I don’t know about where we’re going to be with COVID and the impact,” Jerry said. “I want our fans counting on us being there for the first game. I want to see you guys [the media] in Oxnard. I want you making those stories, albeit you can do a little better on my stuff.
“I want to see that. I want to do that.”
On behalf of everyone in the world, we all want that.
Wednesday is not some sort of finish line, and we are not done with “All of this” just yet, but for the first time in a year it feels like maybe the world’s longest spring break may coming to an end.
