Jerry Jones is a glass half full man.
Where others, including players on his own team, see a literally glaring problem with a simple solution, he sees the positive side.
Two days after extolling the virtues of the giant, west-facing window at AT&T Stadium, the Dallas Cowboys team owner doubled down Tuesday, continuing to insist that the blinding sunlight the window provides is a kind of home field advantage. Jones made his plea during his weekly radio appearance with 105.3 The Fan.
“Every venue has certain things that can create an advantage in certain ways and times in the game,” Jones said. “That’s really about the home-field advantage category. …I don’t want to change it for one reason, because it’s an advantage for us.”
Jones made his case in the aftermath of a 34-6 loss at home to the Philadelphia Eagles that further mired an already spiraling season. The Sun was a topic of conversation because it almost certainly cost the Cowboys points in the loss.
Cowboys receiver CeeDee Lamb broke open for what should have been an easy touchdown. But he lost the ball while looking at the sun and never got his hands on it.
A touchdown there wouldn’t have made much of a difference in the 28-point loss. But the missed opportunity certainly didn’t help the Cowboys’ cause.
After the match, Lamb was asked whether the stadium would be better off with curtains to soften the effects of the late sun.
“Yes, 1000%,” said Lamb.
The scenario prompted this response from Jones in his post-game media bash:
“We know where the sun will be if we decide to toss the coin or not,” Jones said. “So we know where the damn sun will be in our own stadium.”
Jones said this as if the opponents are not winning coins and are also aware of the setting sun.
Jones then went on a bizarre, unsolicited tirade about tearing down the stadium, a clear sign of simmering frustration over the Cowboys’ failing season.
Jones sticks to his guns
Then came Tuesday’s discussion, after two nights of sleep over Sunday’s loss and plenty of time to cool off. This time there was no fuss about demolishing his beloved stadium.
But Jones went further, unwilling to admit that opponents are also aware of when and where the sun sets when faced with coin toss decisions. He compared the bright sun to dead spots on basketball courts that give home teams an advantage over visitors who aren’t as familiar with their floor.
“But more importantly, in basketball we know where the dead spots are on the floor,” Jones continued. “That is our advantage. That should be our advantage. We can play there more and we get it as an advantage. It has been an advantage for us to know where the sun is. I don’t want to change that.” .”
This is not an appropriate comparison for obvious reasons. And it still begs the question: Why is Jones so insistent on the setting sun being a home field advantage instead of what it actually is? At its core, it’s an element of chaos that randomly creates worse football for all teams involved, including the Cowboys.
One possible answer that stands out is pride. Jones built his ultra-modern sports palace as a beacon for himself and the success of his franchise. It remains a source of pride. Fifteen years after its opening, AT&T Stadium remains a marvel and a blueprint for modern arenas and stadiums.
Jones had certain things in mind when the stadium was designed, and sunlight was one of them.
“All I can say is the stadium is built in such a way that when you’re inside it feels like it’s outside,” Jones said Tuesday. “It’s built to let sunlight in in every way possible, so you can bring it outside as if it were in the open air, but still stay indoors. It’s the largest air-conditioned space in the world.”
Jones isn’t interested in re-arguing the benefits of the sun’s influence on games at this point. And he certainly doesn’t want to hear excuses from Cowboys players as to why they can’t play.
In a season that appears to be halfway lost, the sun in AT&T Stadium is almost at the bottom of countless Cowboys concerns. But Jones’ stubbornness in this area speaks volumes about the way he manages the team.
