I was very excited when I heard that we're getting the 2011 Super Bowl.
The NFL announced today that the new Dallas Cowboys stadium in Arlington will host the 2011 Super Bowl, beating out Indianapolis and Arizona for the big game.
NFL Commissioner Roger Goodell made the announcement about 1 p.m. Central time.
Hall of Fame quarterback Roger Staubach, who orchestrated the winning bid for Super Bowl XLV, said he was ecstatic for the region, but now the real work begins.
"This is going to be a wonderful, wonderful event," an emotional Cowboys owner Jerry Jones said. "The Super Bowl asked us to do what we could do to take it to another level. When you're talking about a Super Bowl, that's a pretty challenging commitment."
In order to host the Super Bowl, the region will need to gather more than 10,000 volunteers and raise more than $20 million from private donors.
Jones noted that the new stadium will be able to seat 100,000 fans for a Super Bowl.
Staubach’s 12 1/2 minute presentation included a 4-minute video that highlighted Texas’ strong football tradition and pointed out that Dallas is where the late Kansas City Chiefs owner Lamar Hunt and the late Cowboys general manager Tex Schramm merged the AFL with the NFL with a handshake in 1969.
“We’re going to have a good time in North Texas,” said Staubach, who called the decision the “thrill of a lifetime.”
The Cowboys' new $1 billion stadium, set to open in 2009, helped persuade the owners to award the game to the Metroplex.
The only part of the announcement that rankles me is their insistence on talking about "North Texas," when what they really mean is Arlington, which will bear the brunt of the costs and, hopefully, reap the benefits.
The best part, as a native Fort Worthian, is that the Super Bowl is not in Dallas. Hehehehehehe.
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