Well, well, well...I guess we aren't the hellhole after all. Houston simply Bowl-ed over us by Jacquielynn Floyd The Dallas Morning News Monday, February 2, 2004 Enough, please, about the Super Bowl. The party's over! Can we talk about something else? I don't mean the game, or the commercials, or Janet Jackson's naughty bits. Even the most attention-deficit among us can probably wring a few minutes' more conversation out of those compelling topics. No, I'm talking about Houston. Honest, I'm happy for Houston, I really am. It looked so nice, and it got so much attention, and everybody made such a big fuss about its spiffy new stadium. We've all heard so much now about how great the game was for Houston's economy ($300 million, in case anybody can possibly have forgotten). We've seen the rosy camera shots of its muscular skyline and its downtown streets swarming with happy pre-game partyers. We've heard all the out-of-towners, dazzled by exotic local customs such as barbecue and blond women in cowboy hats, gushing on ad infinitum about "Texas hospitality." Hey, Houston worked hard. They deserved it. But, well, it's hard not to feel just a little bit as if your cousin, who's really not any better looking or smarter than you and who in fact can be kind of a pain – it's as if that cousin got married and had a huge, high-dollar wedding. Your cousin got a $6,000 nose job and a gown from Neiman Marcus and a ring from Cartier and a honeymoon on the Italian Riviera and a new husband who's a vice president in his father's brokerage firm. You got to serve punch. Really, I'm very happy for them – they are, after all, our Texas brethren. I can't help but wonder, though, just fleetingly: What do they have that we don't, except for NASA, trendy Scandinavian furniture retailer Ikea and a gargantuan new $450 million steel-and-glass stadium with removable grass, seating for 70,000 and a retractable roof? Listen, Houston is one of my favorite places. How can you not like a city with a chain of coffee shops called House of Pies? It's just that it's been hard not to notice them wallowing in all that Super Bowl glory down there, while at the same time, we here in Dallas are reportedly having trouble coming up with a "branding" strategy to attract visitors. According to the people who court tourists and book meetings, Dallas has an identity problem: We haven't got one! People think there's nothing here to do or see. Shoot, we have stores just as plentiful and varied as Houston's. We're fixing to get an Ikea of our own, up in the enchanted retail thickets of Collin County. We have our own light rail, museums, an excellent zoo, trendy restaurants, cutting-edge nightclubs full of people wearing black turtlenecks and enough authentic cowpokes to satisfy out-of-state tourists. I'll concede that NASA is unlikely to relocate, but we shouldn't write off the possibility – couldn't it move into that big Super Collider dugout down in Waxahachie? And, while it really wouldn't be fair to make comparisons betwee respective football teams, I'll just point out that ours plays pretty darn well even in a bad year. Houston can say "Super Bowl," but Dallas can say "Super Bowl ring." The cruel truth, of course, is that nobody's going to play a Super Bowl game at tired old Texas Stadium. I'm not crazy about the way the public always seems to wind up toting the note for extravagant sports palaces, but Houston's blissful turn in the spotlight makes you consider that the equation might have an upside. And say what you will about Jerry Jones – I imagine you already do – his vision of a jaw-dropping billion-dollar sports complex with a spectacular stadium resting like a flawless diamond at the heart of a football-themed entertainment park would be the biggest, the best and, for a while, the newest of them all. Landing a Super Bowl agreement would be a virtual certainty. OK, I'll get over it. It's just a football game, usually a little overhyped, with bad entertainment and teams that, more often than not, you don't really care much about. But if we want Dallas to be in the running for the big shindig anytime before Super Bowl LXXV, we'd better start thinking about it now. We've got some hard decisions to make. ------------------- Houston gets high marks as Super Bowl passes MARK BABINECK Associated Press HOUSTON - Having pulled off the biggest sporting event in its history with hardly a hitch, Houston was eyeing a return of the Super Bowl even as cleanup crews and airport workers toiled a day after the last one. Last week before the game was even played, NFL Commissioner Paul Tagliabue said "unequivocally ... Houston is going to be in the mix as we look at future Super Bowls." Early returns indicate things went swimmingly with Sunday's game. "Early on, that's what we think. We've gotten a great response and feedback and the commissioner had great things to say," said Kim Davis, spokeswoman for the Super Bowl host committee. "By all indications, things went well and we're pleased." The game already is spoken for through 2008 and Houston hasn't actively lobbied for the game the following year, meaning 2010 is the earliest realistic date for the next one. Tagliabue balked at a timeline, though. "As far as 2010 , I can't see that far ahead, because so many cities are seeking to host Super Bowls," Tagliabue said. Davis said this Super Bowl will be evaluated so future Super Bowl bidders are armed with all the facts before Houston tries again. Also, the commissioner's sway is limited. The owners, who ultimately make such decisions, so far have rejected his calls to hold the game outdoors in New York or Washington, D.C., a campaign further damaged this winter by bone-chilling conditions in the Northeast. Texans owner Bob McNair said last week that owners are growing reticent about indoor Super Bowls in cold-weather cities, such as the 2006 game in Detroit, much less games exposed to the elements. Weather was one of the few down sides in Houston. The city endured a cool, damp spell much of the time visitors were here, then Reliant Stadium's roof was closed because of looming thunderstorms that didn't materialize until after the New England Patriots beat the Carolina Panthers 32-29. On getaway Monday, out-of-towners were greeted by brilliant sunshine and temperatures in the upper 50s - conditions organizers would have preferred the day before. All that didn't seem to bother Valerie Gravitt, 42, whose biggest bummer of the week was watching the team from her native Carolinas lose. "We had an awesome time. It was a great weekend," Gravitt said. Fans who waited in long security lines to get into the game Sunday found more of the same Monday at the city's airports. Bush Intercontinental experienced one of its busiest days ever as tourists crowded the terminals for their flights home. "For us it's an all-time record number of check-ins in Houston," said David Messing, spokesman for Continental Airlines, which is based in Houston and runs a major hub at Intercontinental. He said planes were leaving 90 percent full, on average, and about two-thirds of the passengers aboard departures are originating in Houston where usually two-thirds of outgoing passengers are just here to change planes. About 30,000 passengers were flying out on Continental alone Monday, more than twice the usual number, Messing said. The airline was printing boarding passes at 15 major hotels to expedite customers' trips. The airline and the Transportation Security Administration had extra hands on deck, as did trash collection companies serving the downtown party areas and Reliant Stadium. "It was much more than we expected," said Don Smith of Waste Management Inc., the company in charge of hauling the trash. "Downtown, I thought, would be like Mardi Gras. I think it was that and then some." It wasn't perfect. There were a few traffic tie-ups, a nonfatal shooting at the downtown festivities Saturday night, a Cincinnati Bengals football player arrested for allegedly tussling with an officer and two embarrassing brushes with nudity during halftime. Mike Wywoda, a Patriots backer from New York, said the NFL's security measures at the game caused confusion among fans but he found his trip otherwise enjoyable. "I thought getting out of downtown was pretty good, security made us feel safe," he said. "Everybody was really nice. It's a really hospitable town." ------------------- Visiting Journalists Leave Houston On High Note Click2Houston.com HOUSTON -- After a rocky start for journalists visiting Houston for Super Bowl XXXVIII, many seemed to have left with a better impression than when they came, News2Houston reported Monday. "Super Bowl XXXVIII had it all, making it the best ever," said a headline on the Sports Illustrated Web site. The article by Peter King stated, "I am surprised to say I give Houston a B-plus for the week. I wasn't expecting to like the city as much as I did. But I loved the sports facilities, all gorgeous. I loved the restaurants. I loved the verve here." He also pointed out, "Coffeenerdness: A Super Bowl is really super when there's a Starbucks 200 paces from the media room. Heck of a job, Houston." The San Antonio Express-News also wrote favorable comments. "Even those who aren't die-hard Super Bowl fans said they appreciated the game coming to Houston. In the past week, Houstonians' civic pride has soared to what could be an all-time high." Earlier in the week, the national media wrote some negative reviews of the city. A Dallas Morning News article described Houston as "featureless terrain, uncontrolled sprawl, (with) billboard-cluttered freeways." A San Jose Mercury News columnist may have provided the most critical comments with, "Yikes. Get me out of here! Sorry, didn't mean to overreact. It's just that I have already been here for, oh, seven or eight hours. And with Houston, that's plenty enough time to wish you were somewhere else. Waiting for Sunday's Super Bowl here will be like waiting five days in a dentist's waiting room -- a really flat, sprawling, scrubby-grassed dentist's waiting room." The Washington Post compared Houston to an "ungainly adolescent determined to shine at the prom." The Christian Science Monitor reported, "It will take an awful lot of beaming faces to cover up Houston's flaws. The city is, in many ways, well, ugly ... detractors say it's like putting a bow on a pig, and once the Super Bowl is gone, the motivation to beautify the city will vanish, too." ------------------- Visitors raving about stadium, friendly people Wait to enter Reliant top complaint By MIKE TOLSON Copyright 2004 Houston Chronicle What a difference a decade or three can make. Houston's long Super Bowl journey -- from an indifferent city that offered fans splintered bleachers and hot dogs, to a bound-for-glory venue wrapping them in high-tech luxury and stuffing them with gourmet snacks -- may have been hard to appreciate for those unfamiliar with that long-ago game on a cold, foggy day at Rice Stadium. But the reviews from those lucky enough to get into Sunday's game were all but unanimous: Reliant Stadium rocks, and Houston itself isn't far behind. "The stadium is phenomenal," said Matt Tugwell, a 27-year-old Panthers fan from Charlotte, N.C., who paid $2,000 for a nosebleed seat just before kickoff. His only disappointment was that the stadium's retractable roof was closed, a concession to the possibility of rain. "I think this is the nicest stadium I have been in, and I have been in a few," said Mallory Liles, 59, a Panthers fan who also made the trip from Charlotte and has been to several Super Bowls. As for Houston, Liles was equally impressed. "I love it," he said. "It's a fantastic city. Either y'all have been well trained for the Super Bowl or people here are just super friendly." The weeklong run-up to the game lacked the sunny weather that organizers had hoped for, but that may have been the extent of Houston's shortcomings. Fans and visitors raved about the stadium, the downtown entertainment and the good nature of a city that has taken its share of knocks over the years. Patriots fan Danny Chick of Lynn, Mass., fell in love with Houston on his first visit. "Everybody is so damn friendly," he said. "How could you not want to come back to Houston? Incredibly nice. If we weren't here, we'd be in 20-degree weather." Chick's girlfriend, Sheryl Flannery, described Reliant Stadium as incredible and said it outshines Gillette Stadium, the Patriots' new home in Foxboro, Mass., which opened in 2002. "Ours is nice, but not like this," she said, surveying the $500 million showpiece. Self-described "rabid Pats fans" Matt Leger, 37, and Matt Hartnett, 32, of Massachusetts bought tickets from a broker Wednesday for $1,800 apiece. Both effusively praised Houston, calling the city "top-notch." "It's a beautiful city -- lots of nice people, friendly people," Leger said. "We've had a great time. Main Street was just wall-to-wall people. It's a beautiful stadium." About the only significant complaints concerned the long, slow-moving lines to get into the stadium. Jeff and Sally Betts, of Cincinnati, waited in the security line for an hour. "We were in New Orleans in 2002, after 9/11," Jeff Betts said, referring to the Sept. 11 terrorist attacks. "Three months after that and it wasn't this bad. "The surprising thing was, it was a huge, huge wait and then it seemed to me the (security) check was very minimal. The checks previously have been much more thorough, but the waits weren't this bad." But overall, they gave Houston high marks. "It's been very easy to get around," he said. "People are very friendly. From a crime standpoint, given the number of people and all that's been going on, it's been great. As a host city, it has been very nice." The game itself, decided in the waning seconds by a New England field goal, turned out to be one of the most exciting in Super Bowl history and a far cry from Houston's previous version, an easy Miami victory over Minnesota. Fans couldn't have asked for more. "Incredible, absolutely incredible," said Chris Dolce, of Long Island, N.Y., after a touchdown pass and two-point conversion by the Patriots late in the fourth quarter. "I've been to six Super Bowls and this is probably the best." If the score had stayed 29-22, Dolce would have won $35,000. Minutes later, though, the Panthers scored. Alfonso Ribeiro, a co-star of the TV sitcom Fresh Prince of Bel-Air, stood in amazement as the game-winning field goal was launched. Moments earlier, he had declared: "I don't care who wins because it's such a good game, with back-and-forth scoring in the fourth quarter. But I really do want the Pats to win." After the kick, he exclaimed, "That is the greatest game! That's it! I'm out of here!" Ribeiro, trying to get a jump on the postgame traffic, had paused on a Reliant Stadium concourse to watch the final moments on a large-screen TV. Recognizing his face, several people asked permission to take his picture and he obliged. Panthers fan Jon Brady of Charlotte loved everything but the outcome. "One thousand miles to watch Adam Vinatieri kick that ball. It sucked," Brady said. "Other than that, it was a great game." Fans of both stripes were excited as they left the stadium, aware that they had just seen a game beyond anyone's expectations. Patriots fans, of course, were in slightly better spirits. "We're champions, baby!" said Eddy Allen, 14, of Boston as he talked on his cell phone with a classmate. His friend, Melissa Lefkowitz, was almost speechless. "I don't know what else to say but -- amazing!" she said. Chronicle reporters Todd Ackerman, Robert Crowe, Peggy O'Hare and Rosanna Ruiz contributed to this story.
That figures. NOW that everyone is leaving, they say, "hey, it wasnt that bad after all...." BAH! At least people are leaving with a good impression.
with all the hotel and rental car taxes collected during the SB, The Harris County Sports Authority should have enough money in special taxes to build ANOTHER stadium!!
Since we have three brand new stadiums, maybe they can loan a little $$$ to the city so we can get our damn roads fixed!
great articles... how about Dallas being the one with the identity problem, now? playing second fiddle. my, how things change. i just want to say that i loved this town before it was cool to love this town!
What?!?! That's the dumbest thing I've ever heard! People don't want to eat cotton candy before a SuperBowl! They want to drink beer and party till 4 am! Not much of that happening at a theme park. And a theme park would really alter the image of the football game: an amusement park is much more juvenile. I can see it now: "get your picture taken with Bill Parcells or Kermit the Frog". Bad idea. -- droxford
I'm glad they're getting an Ikea. Currently, Houston's is the only one within almost a thousand miles and it is packed with people who drive in just to shop there. Maybe this way, the people from Arkansas, Oklahoma, New Mexico, etc. will go there instead of crowding our store!
preach on brotha. i've done a lot of shopping there after i moved away to college, but it is always packed. way to go dallas!
Seriously, do these people not realize there are a couple of newfangled ways to purchase IKEA products from the comfort of their own homes, and have said merchandise delivered to their front door?
IKEA....? Bleah. Send our IKEA to Dallas. I can do without all those "versatile solutions for modern living" (thank you Tyler Durden).
I'm not so sure....I love to rag on Dallas, but the Texas State Fair is a blast!........especially on that one particular day every year.
Tyler Durden was insane. You don't have to like IKEA, but the stuff looks good, is fairly high-quality and is pretty darn cheap as far as furniture goes. I guess you could go to Gallery Furniture and make your place look just like your parents' house for about the same price.
