Cotton Bowl update, 1/1

Hey everyone. Happy New Year to all the peeps. We're going to have a great year in Montgomery, I can just feel it, so it's time to get happy.

Early observations:

• Saw Terry Bowden this morning at the hotel. He looks old to me. I remember him being a young-looking guy with plenty of youthful enthusiasm. He has retained the personality and all. He's just gray. I know. It happens.
  
• We're here at the Cotton Bowl already. It's 8:12 a.m. It looks like a bigger Cramton Bowl. One major difference: The east-side scoreboard is a massive LCD contraption. It rivals the widescreen scoreboard at Arkansas' stadium, which is saying something.
• Be glad you're not in this traffic. The Cotton Bowl isn't a particularly accessible place in the first place. These days, though, there is massive construction in progress. The traffic pattern is a mess. A lot of those empty seats you'll see at kickoff are paying patrons stuck in traffic.
• I attended the Dallas-Detroit football game yesterday at Texas Stadium. We were hosted by the Irving C.V.B. and a lovely gal named Diana Pfaff. The place is OK inside. Outside? Really not much. Looks incredibly dated. Cowboys owner Jerry Jones is building a billion-dollar stadium in Arlington that's supposed to be open for the 2009 season. You know what that means -- Texas Stadium has seen its final burst of financial investment.