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BREAKING NEWS: Experts Weigh In on How Realistic It Is to Fix Sunlight Issue at Cowboys’ AT&T Stadium.Cau

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2m ago

Nov 17, 2024 / 5203 Views

Evan Walker

After the Dallas Cowboys’ Week 10, 34-6 loss to the Philadelphia Eagles, there was plenty of blame to go around. Notably, some of that blame was shared by the sun.

Wide receiver CeeDee Lamb missed a touchdown pass after being blinded by the glare of the afternoon sun. Afterward, Lamb expressed his support for putting curtains up on the windows at each end of the stadium during day Games. When asked if he would talk to Cowboys owner Jerry Jones about it, Lamb joked and said the press was doing his job for him by getting his grievances on record. Jones, however, had a meltdown over the idea, refusing to put curtains up because the team knew where the sun would be during the Game.

That brings up the question of how realistic is fixing the sunlight issue at AT&T Stadium. The answer is that it’s not just realistic but that the solution is already built in.

Per The Sporting News, AT&T Stadium has curtains for the windows at either end zone, but they are only used for non-Cowboys events. What makes the sunlight such a problem during day Games is that Dallas’ stadium was designed to be an indoor stadium with an outdoor feel. It was placed east to west with windows installed at either end to allow fans to track the sun’s movement during the Game. As a result, the glare of the setting sun pouring in from the window above the end zone facing west blinds players heading in that direction.

“Every venue has certain things that at certain ways and times can create an advantage. That really goes under the category of home-field advantage,” Jones explained in an interview on Dallas’ 105.3-FM The Fan when asked about the shades again. “It has been an advantage for us to know where the sun is. I don’t want to change that.”

It’s difficult to see how knowing where the sun is during a Game is an advantage for the Cowboys, given that they’re winless at home this season. On the other hand, Eagles offensive coordinator Kellen Moore, a former coach for Dallas, explained in a news conference he considered the sun when calling plays. The sun also didn’t stop his offense from recording 348 total yards during the Game.

The Cowboys also missed multiple opportunities to keep the Game close, which shows that there are much larger issues for Dallas than just the sun. Their product on the field needs to be addressed first. Yet, with a simple solution available for a problem one of the teams’ captains has openly spoken about, it’s hard to understand why the curtains can’t go up during day Games.

Jones’ stance also contrasts with the stadium’s innovative features. AT&T Stadium is the third-largest stadium in the country and boasts retractable doors at either end of the stadium for fans to watch the Game outside if they wish, as described by the Cowboys’ official website. It’s not that the organization can’t address the sun; it’s that Jones refuses to consider it an issue. So, while fixing the sunlight issue is simple, it isn’t realistic until the owner changes his mind.