A highly-anticipated matchup between the Dallas Cowboys and Philadelphia Eagles brought fans across the country to North Texas on Saturday.
Hours ahead of the game Saturday, fans tailgated outside of the AT&T Stadium. Dana Thurston and her family traveled from Philadelphia, arriving in Texas on Friday. Major flight cancellations were reported Friday at airports across the country amid a powerful cold front.
“So, we ended up having three cancellations flying into Milwaukee eventually where it was 20 below. Stayed there for about two hours and we ended up in Dallas around 3 p.m. yesterday [Friday]”, Thurston said. “We did whatever we needed to get here.”
Longtime Cowboys fan Bill Warfield drove from Ohio for the big game. Saturday was his first time visiting the AT&T Stadium.
Get top local stories in DFW delivered to you every morning. Sign up for NBC DFW's News Headlines newsletter.
“19 hours! But once you hit south…hit North Carolina, then I came on down. No rain, no snow…just windy,” Warfield said. “I like the Cowboys, plus the Cowboys are good. Bob Hayes played for the Cowboys. I’ve been a Bob Hayes fan since that of the Cowboys.”
Don Clement of North Richland Hills is a Cowboys fan, though his tailgate included a friend who is a fan of the Eagles. For them, the game is all about friendly competition.
“We welcome all. When we tailgate out here, we welcome all fans,” he said. “We want to have a good game day experience. It’s fun tailgating with people all over the US and Canada, get them all over the world, really.”
Local
The latest news from around North Texas.
Other fans said they take the rivalry more seriously. Troy Williams is a lifelong Eagles fan.
“The rivalry here isn’t probably as great as the rivalry in Philadelphia. But Philadelphians just hate the Dallas Cowboys. It’s bred in our blood from the time we were born,” Williams said. “Here, it’s friendly. In Philadelphia, it’s violent.”
As of this writing, the Cowboys are 10-4 this season while the Eagles are 13-1.
