Cowboys Country

'Red vs. White': A 49ers NFL Playoffs 'Takeover' vs. Dallas Cowboys at AT&T Stadium?

"I just don’t want to see a lot of the other fans,” McCarthy says. "Our crowd has been great, just the energy. I know that’ll be there.''

Mike Fisher

ARLINGTON - The San Francisco 49ers will try to play "Bully Ball'' over the Dallas Cowboys.

And, some fear, the 49ers fans will also be bullying their way into the Cowboys' building.

Speaking on his weekly 105.3 The Fan radio show, Jerry Jones said Tuesday he wants to see attendance Sunday afternoon here at AT&T Stadium reach a rare threshold.

Said Jones, "I’d like to push that 100,000 this week. It'll be roaring.”

The owner later noted that yes, part of that crowd in today's NFL Playoffs game will be wearing 49ers red. And they are already assembling in Arlington.

But ...

"Percentages is what you want to look at it," Jerry said. "I guarantee you this will be a Cowboys crowd. Without question."

Coach Mike McCarthy is also pleading for maximum effort from America's Team's fan base.

"I just don’t want to see a lot of the other fans,” McCarthy said. "Our crowd has been great, just the energy. I know that’ll be there.I love the white towels; that’s always a good thing. AT&T’s been rocking, and frankly, we have a big responsibility in that ourselves. We need to get out there and get going fast and get the crowd into the game.''

In their upset rally over the Rams last weekend, 49ers fans swamped Los Angeles' SoFi Stadium and turned it into a deafening sea of red. Admitted Rams' quarterback Matthew Stafford of the atmosphere inside his own stadium:

"It was a tough environment for us to communicate in.”

Added Rams coach Sean McVay, "It did catch us off-guard.”

The Cowboys are 3-1 in playoff games in Arlington. They drew 94,327 for the 2018 Wild Card win over the Seahawks, and this season led the NFL in attendance by 15,000, averaging more than 93.000 per game.

But they haven't topped 100,000 for a game since the stadium opened against the Giants on Sept. 20, 2009. That crowd - 105,121 - is the record for football, but the 2010 NBA All-Star Game holds AT&T's record attendance at 108,713. Other events to top 100,000 there: WrestleMania 32 in 2016 (101,763), George Strait's final tour in 2014 (104,793) and a Taylor Swift concert in 2018 (105,002).

The Cowboys were only 5-3 at home (7-2 on the road), including a recent loss to an Arizona Cardinals team that swept the 49es in the NFC West.

With ticket prices for Sunday’s game more than tripling on re-sale sites such as SeatGeek and NFL Ticket Exchange, it could signal a potential "Red Sea" headed from northern California to north Texas. In the 2014 season opener, 49ers fans filled AT&T Stadium in support of a team that was coming off consecutive appearances in the Super Bowl and NFC Championship.

“When you have the stadium the size that we have - which is easily the highest-attended stadium in the NFL - you’re going to have opposing jerseys in there, opposing fans, opposing colors,” Jones said. “I welcome it. I think it’s a great atmosphere.”

The Cowboys are only 61-47 (56 percent win percentage) all-time in Arlington. With a high temperature expected in the 50s Sunday, AT&T Stadium's doors and roof will likely be closed. Playing in that "dome" configuration since 2009, the Cowboys are 40-28.

The roof closed also means it will be loud. Now it's just a matter of "red vs. white'' when it comes to noise-making and maybe record-breaking.

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Mike Fisher
MIKE FISHER

Mike Fisher - as a newspaper beat writer and columnist and on radio and TV, where he is an Emmy winner - has covered the NFL since 1983 and the Dallas Cowboys since 1990, is the author of two best-selling books on the Cowboys.

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