Cowboys Altering Travel Plans to Visit Ground Zero

The Cowboys got some help in the standings last night from the Eagles. On Friday they’ll get an emotional boost from New York.

With his team now just a half-game out of first place in the NFC East thanks to the Eagles' win over the Giants, head coach Jason Garrett is altering the Cowboys' travel schedule in advance of Sunday afternoon’s game. The team will leave Dallas Friday instead of Saturday for a pit stop to Ground Zero and the One World Observatory in Manhattan.

"Jason is really into those kinds of things for the team," owner Jerry Jones said on his Tuesday radio show on KRLD-FM. "We’re going to go to Ground Zero and go to the observation tower and really experience that in the downtown area of New York and get a feel for what really heroes were like during those trying times."

Normally the Cowboys travel to road games the day before.

Garrett was living in the Upper West Side of Manhattan as a backup quarterback for the Giants on 9/11, and was among a group of players who delivered water to first responders. During his tenure he’s also taken his team on bonding excursions such as a dinner in the Tower of London and a visit to the Navy SEALs in San Diego.

I was in New York covering the U.S. Open tennis tournament the day before 9/11, and I went back six weeks later to write about Michael Jordan’s return to the NBA with the Wizards. During that trip I visited Ground Zero, which was still a pile of smoldering rubble surrounded by countless, haunting “Missing” posters.

That scene – especially the eerily quiet reverence surrounding it – changed my perspective forever.

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Win or lose Sunday, it will likely do the same for the Cowboys.

A native Texan who was born in Duncanville and graduated from UT-Arlington, Richie Whitt has been a mainstay in the Metroplex media since 1986. He’s held prominent roles on all media platforms including newspaper (Fort Worth Star-Telegram, Dallas Observer), radio (105.3 The Fan) and TV (co-host on TXA 21 and numerous guest appearances, including NBC 5). He lives in McKinney with his wife, Sybil, and two very spoiled dogs.

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