Monday, January 31, 2011

SUPER BOWL XLV . . .

Unless you have been out of the country or had your head buried in the sand you should know by now that Super Bowl XLV is coming to North Texas. It has dominated the news around here for months and I think that most people will be glad when it is over and we can move on to something else. Having said that, Saturday one of my neighbors called and invited me to go downtown with her and her husband to see where ESPN had set up shop in Sundance Square and to see the monument entitled "Cradle of Champions." There were so many people trying to find a place to park and traffic was so awful that I was very glad Mary was driving but I can tell you this - it was well worth battling the crowds.


There were men working late into the night trying to finish getting everything ready for ESPN to air starting this morning at 5am.

There is quite a lot of excitement around town when we think about all the exposure Fort Worth will be receiving during this Super Bowl week. I can tell you that the  residents of Fort Worth are tired of Dallas always getting the recognition and feel that it is high time we are recognized too.

Fort Worth is known as "Where the West Begins" and because of this most people imagine cowboy boots and ten-gallon hats, while you do see these around Fort Worth, it also has a myriad of cultural and contemporary expressions.


This mural was painted by Richard Haas in 1985 and is located on the south facade of the Jett building in the heart of Sundance Square. The mural is about three stories high and has a three-dimensional effect. If you are a NFL fan you will be seeing this mural a lot during the first week of the Super Bowl.

This monument is known as "Cradle of Champions" and was built by Gerdau Ameristeel, honoring the Historic Legacy of Texas High School Football. It is a 7-ton monument made entirely of repurposed steel and lists nearly 2,000 names of former Texas high school football players who have successfully reached "The League." We have heard that following the end of the championship game the structure will stay in North Texas (on the TCU campus)  and will stand as tribute to the widespread talent of Texas' young athletes.

As we headed back to our car you couldn't help but notice how the city was ablaze with red (the color for the AFC team - Pittsburgh Steelers, who are staying in Fort Worth and practicing at TCU). Even the Bass Performance Hall's angels were in red.


Here they are in the daylight.




Even though our Dallas Cowboys are not playing in the Super Bowl we can still wish good luck to both teams.

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