It was a major moment in NFL history today. Dallas Cowboys stadium owner, Jerry Jones, after nearly three weeks of silence on the subject, told reporters in Indianapolis, “I do, along with the NFL, take responsibility for the seating issue."
Faint, and fall out.
Some of us were starting to wonder if Jones had entered a hibernation tank after the "Super Bowl Expansion Fumbled." Who wouldn't want to hide from thousands of angry football fans, a flurry of lawsuits and an abnormally frigid Texas winter? While the NFL fielded queries about the seating fiasco and mobilized damage control to placate displaced fans with "super choices" for super-sized refunds or freebie tickets and accommodations to future games, Jones hasn't talked publicly about it until today.
It's shame that the first Super Bowl in Arlington's new $1.2B stadium didn't go as planned for some fans (and that the Saints weren't in the game). But the stadium's efforts to increase capacity fell short for some 2,000 and about 400 ticket holders who didn't even get a spot in standing-room areas and were left out in the cold.
Seating Solutions, the contractor that alledgedly bailed out before finishing the job of installing the temporary seats, told reporters it was being used as a scapegoat in the whole fiasco, and that it simply didn't have time to finish the job, which was hindered by limited access due in part to melting ice.
What do you think? Should Jones have stepped up sooner? Who, if anyone, should be in the hot seat?