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The Star, no matter how lavish, is no substitute for sweat equity; and the Cowboys are ready to work to win
By David Moore
FRISCO -- Hours before the high school band began to play, long before owner Jerry Jones, his family and city officials cut the ribbon to christen the official opening of the Cowboys' new headquarters, many of the players walked through the door at The Star for the first time.
The response was universal.
It's impressive.
It's state of the art.
It's a spectacular work environment but no substitute for the work this team must put in to be successful.
In Jason Garrett's world, Sunday was just another day of camp. The venue shifted from Oxnard to Frisco, but the routine remains the same.
But this wasn't just another day. For the first time in 31 years the team broke training camp to return to a facility other than Valley Ranch. Garrett didn't conduct any guided tours, but he did encourage the players to drop by Saturday or early Sunday morning to get their bearings before Sunday's team meeting at noon.
"It's pretty special," quarterback Tony Romo said. "I don't think I've seen anything like it.
"It's just beautiful. Until you set foot in this place, you can't appreciate it."
Defensive tackle Tyrone Crawford called it amazing and said the players were lucky.
"It's huge,'' defensive end Jack Crawford marveled.
Vernon Bryant/Staff Photographer
Dallas Cowboys Jason Witten smiles as he makes his way to the players area after looking at a photo of himself at the Dallas Cowboys new headquarters at The Star in Frisco on Sunday, August 21, 2016. The Star, is a joint project with the City of Frisco, and Frisco ISD. (Vernon Bryant/The Dallas Morning News)
Tight end Jason Witten called it unbelievable and state of the art before qualifying that, "words can't describe it." He also struggled to find the words for his thoughts of the huge mural that hangs over an entrance to the Ford Center.
The scene depicts the iconic play against Philadelphia when the Pro Bowl tight end lost his helmet yet continued to chug downfield.
"I just took a quick peek at it," Witten said. "I haven't been able to evaluate it thoroughly, but it looked pretty good to me."
Key moments from the franchise's rich history are part of the architecture. A player can't walk through the dining hall, down a hallway or into a meeting room without soaking in the Super Bowl accomplishments and great individual performances of the team's past.
"They did a great job capturing that and helping everyone understand what the standard is," Garrett said. "The standard has been set over the last 56 years and our players understand that, but there's also a great attention to how our players and coaches function in this day and age in 2016.
"The facilities are outstanding, everything that we could ask for to help us do our jobs as well as we could do them."
Romo said there are subtle, updated touches in place that weren't available at Valley Ranch that will aid the players in doing their jobs. Witten talked about how the Jones family made their lives easier and gave them the best chance to be successful.
"That's what cutting edge is all about," Witten said.
The bells and whistles and HydroWorx 2000, the underwater treadmill in the training room, are all significant upgrades. Garrett stressed this building doesn't take the place of the foundation the players put in place and have been building on since February.
Surroundings, no matter how lavish, are no substitute for sweat equity. As center Travis Frederick pointed out, the meetings are the same and the film work is the same regardless of the setting.
"We may be in a new place, but the same people are here," Frederick said. "It's all the same whether we're in Valley Ranch or moving to Oxnard or moving back here to Frisco.
"It's about the work you put in, not about the facility."
It's about winning, something the Cowboys didn't do much of last season.
"This is all nice and this is great, but if we don't win, this doesn't mean anything," cornerback Orlando Scandrick said. "This will be someone else's building, this will be someone else's locker soon if we don't win football games."
A quote from Jones greets the players in the hallway that leads from the parking lot to the locker room. It reads:
"We must win. We will win. Win is the name of the game."
Players and coaches will tell you what made Valley Ranch special had nothing to do with the facility. It had to do with the hard work that was put in on the way to championships.
The Star is spectacular. It's state of the art.
But a lot of hard work lies ahead before anyone can begin to think of this place as special. The next step, Witten said, is to win.
"This is first class," Scandrick said. "Now it's time to go win football games.
"I want to win, that's it. I love all of this, but I want to win."
By David Moore
FRISCO -- Hours before the high school band began to play, long before owner Jerry Jones, his family and city officials cut the ribbon to christen the official opening of the Cowboys' new headquarters, many of the players walked through the door at The Star for the first time.
The response was universal.
It's impressive.
It's state of the art.
It's a spectacular work environment but no substitute for the work this team must put in to be successful.
In Jason Garrett's world, Sunday was just another day of camp. The venue shifted from Oxnard to Frisco, but the routine remains the same.
But this wasn't just another day. For the first time in 31 years the team broke training camp to return to a facility other than Valley Ranch. Garrett didn't conduct any guided tours, but he did encourage the players to drop by Saturday or early Sunday morning to get their bearings before Sunday's team meeting at noon.
"It's pretty special," quarterback Tony Romo said. "I don't think I've seen anything like it.
"It's just beautiful. Until you set foot in this place, you can't appreciate it."
Defensive tackle Tyrone Crawford called it amazing and said the players were lucky.
"It's huge,'' defensive end Jack Crawford marveled.
Vernon Bryant/Staff Photographer
Dallas Cowboys Jason Witten smiles as he makes his way to the players area after looking at a photo of himself at the Dallas Cowboys new headquarters at The Star in Frisco on Sunday, August 21, 2016. The Star, is a joint project with the City of Frisco, and Frisco ISD. (Vernon Bryant/The Dallas Morning News)
Tight end Jason Witten called it unbelievable and state of the art before qualifying that, "words can't describe it." He also struggled to find the words for his thoughts of the huge mural that hangs over an entrance to the Ford Center.
The scene depicts the iconic play against Philadelphia when the Pro Bowl tight end lost his helmet yet continued to chug downfield.
"I just took a quick peek at it," Witten said. "I haven't been able to evaluate it thoroughly, but it looked pretty good to me."
Key moments from the franchise's rich history are part of the architecture. A player can't walk through the dining hall, down a hallway or into a meeting room without soaking in the Super Bowl accomplishments and great individual performances of the team's past.
"They did a great job capturing that and helping everyone understand what the standard is," Garrett said. "The standard has been set over the last 56 years and our players understand that, but there's also a great attention to how our players and coaches function in this day and age in 2016.
"The facilities are outstanding, everything that we could ask for to help us do our jobs as well as we could do them."
Romo said there are subtle, updated touches in place that weren't available at Valley Ranch that will aid the players in doing their jobs. Witten talked about how the Jones family made their lives easier and gave them the best chance to be successful.
"That's what cutting edge is all about," Witten said.
The bells and whistles and HydroWorx 2000, the underwater treadmill in the training room, are all significant upgrades. Garrett stressed this building doesn't take the place of the foundation the players put in place and have been building on since February.
Surroundings, no matter how lavish, are no substitute for sweat equity. As center Travis Frederick pointed out, the meetings are the same and the film work is the same regardless of the setting.
"We may be in a new place, but the same people are here," Frederick said. "It's all the same whether we're in Valley Ranch or moving to Oxnard or moving back here to Frisco.
"It's about the work you put in, not about the facility."
It's about winning, something the Cowboys didn't do much of last season.
"This is all nice and this is great, but if we don't win, this doesn't mean anything," cornerback Orlando Scandrick said. "This will be someone else's building, this will be someone else's locker soon if we don't win football games."
A quote from Jones greets the players in the hallway that leads from the parking lot to the locker room. It reads:
"We must win. We will win. Win is the name of the game."
Players and coaches will tell you what made Valley Ranch special had nothing to do with the facility. It had to do with the hard work that was put in on the way to championships.
The Star is spectacular. It's state of the art.
But a lot of hard work lies ahead before anyone can begin to think of this place as special. The next step, Witten said, is to win.
"This is first class," Scandrick said. "Now it's time to go win football games.
"I want to win, that's it. I love all of this, but I want to win."
