Ball Hitting Scoreboard

[Crazysight]

It is the world's largest video screen. They said during the game that the thing weighs over a million pounds, has 30 million lightbulbs in it and is 159 feet in length. For comparison consider that from goal line to goaline is only 300 feet. The screen is therefore over half the length of the field of play.

Epic fail, indeed.

[Crazysight]

If they need to take it down they can always put it in my backyard. I have the room. If not I'll clear a few trees.

[The Wolf]

Bill Polian quote in this morning's MMQB on SI.com:

 

"The irony is that our stadium architect [at new Lucas Oil Stadium] wanted to hang the videoboards the same way in our stadium,'' Polian said. "So we put a metal beam about 90 feet above the ground and had our punter at the time, Hunter Smith, punt the ball up there trying to hit it. He hit it the majority of the time. That's why we put our replay boards on the wall.''

 

I've read that the Cowboys did make the league aware of their plans and that the league did approve it...so someone is seriously gonna hang for this, esp if JJ has to spend a lot to move them skyward. However...when you spend that much on a Stadium, how does someone NOT think of its affect on how it plays?? Just as Yankee Stadium had major flaws, (restaurant created 300 restricted view seats, scoreboards in walls made park play shorter, etc.) this is a blunder of epic proportions.

[Furd]

Its almost unbelievable.

 

Dumbasses.

[Bronco Billy]

Bill Polian quote in this morning's MMQB on SI.com:

 

"The irony is that our stadium architect [at new Lucas Oil Stadium] wanted to hang the videoboards the same way in our stadium,'' Polian said. "So we put a metal beam about 90 feet above the ground and had our punter at the time, Hunter Smith, punt the ball up there trying to hit it. He hit it the majority of the time. That's why we put our replay boards on the wall.''

 

I've read that the Cowboys did make the league aware of their plans and that the league did approve it...so someone is seriously gonna hang for this, esp if JJ has to spend a lot to move them skyward. However...when you spend that much on a Stadium, how does someone NOT think of its affect on how it plays?? Just as Yankee Stadium had major flaws, (restaurant created 300 restricted view seats, scoreboards in walls made park play shorter, etc.) this is a blunder of epic proportions.

 

Someone please explain to me how the league is responsible for this error. It's like holding the Building Department responsible for an engineering error - which you can't do.

 

It is the obligation of the owner and the owner's agents to provide a facility that will function properly for it use. That's not to say Jerrah did anything wrong (unless you consider excessive gaudiness a crime). But whomever designed the place had a responsibility to ensure that it would function for the use for which it was designed. They didn't. It isn't s a structural flaw, so I would guess the onus goes on the architect.

 

What, did they have another guy who got his education in prison design this too? What is it with DAL and hiring building people who don't know what the hell they are doing? Kind of like head coaches...

[rattsass]

The rules governing the playing field conditions are OLD. I am assuming that when the rules were formed, kickers did not regularly get hang-time and height like they do today. Therefore the parameters used to place the scoreboard were out of date. Kind of a league problem, but mostly still a Jerry problem I would say.

[Bronco Billy]

The rules governing the playing field conditions are OLD. I am assuming that when the rules were formed, kickers did not regularly get hang-time and height like they do today. Therefore the parameters used to place the scoreboard were out of date. Kind of a league problem, but mostly still a Jerry problem I would say.

 

I dunno. I coached with a guy named Frank Garcia who used to punt for TB. Even out of shape he'd send some booming punts downfield - well over the light standards at our stadium - I'd guess they were at least 25 yds high and probably higher. That was back in the late 80s/early 90s. The kids had a blast trying to see if they could field his punts - and I swear he'd put a spiral on almost every one of them that looked like a thrown ball.

Edited August 24, 2009 by Bronco Billy

[The Wolf]

Someone please explain to me how the league is responsible for this error. It's like holding the Building Department responsible for an engineering error - which you can't do.

 

It is the obligation of the owner and the owner's agents to provide a facility that will function properly for it use. That's not to say Jerrah did anything wrong (unless you consider excessive gaudiness a crime). But whomever designed the place had a responsibility to ensure that it would function for the use for which it was designed. They didn't. It isn't s a structural flaw, so I would guess the onus goes on the architect.

 

What, did they have another guy who got his education in prison design this too? What is it with DAL and hiring building people who don't know what the hell they are doing? Kind of like head coaches...

 

Not saying the league is solely responsible, BB, but if the below from Peter King in MMQB is to be believed, the league approved the positioning of the screens:

 

I was told Sunday night the Cowboys definitely got the green light from the NFL for all football and competitive aspects of the stadium, including the positioning of the board 90 feet above the field.

 

Ultimately, JJ and the team is responsible. However if they did check with the league and it was signed off by the league, than the NFL is most definitely partly to blame.

[Furd]

Ultimately, JJ and the team is responsible. However if they did check with the league and it was signed off by the league, than the NFL is most definitely partly to blame.

 

I disagree with this. To use an analogy (which are usually flawed, I admit), if the city permits you to build your house near the edge of a cliff, and the cliff crumbles and your house plunges 300 feet into the ravine, is it the city's fault for letting you build the house there? Or is it your fault for building it there in the first place.

 

The Cowboys are 100% to blame. Its their stadium. They decided where to place the scoreboard. I don't know which is more funny: a) that they built the thing too close to the field; or 2) listening to Jerry Jones protestations that the scoreboard is not too low and that a punt would hit the thing only if the punter intended to do it.

[Bronco Billy]

Ultimately, JJ and the team is responsible. However if they did check with the league and it was signed off by the league, than the NFL is most definitely partly to blame.

 

And I'll try to explain it again. Even if the league signed off on it does not necessarily mean that they have any liability for it. And again, I will refer to a municipal building department that approves engineering drawings but has no liability for the design - that falls on the engineer of record.

 

So I guess the point is that you can try to place (or misplace) blame all you want. But assigning liability is a completely different thing. In fact, it would not surprise me if Jerrah as a plaintiff were able to go back on the architect and make a play to collect damages if indeed he does have to make a change (and it would seem that a change is absolutely in order). Whomever is responsible for the height of the building, which I assume is driven by the scoreboard supports and placement, appears to not have done proper research on what proper height would be for this kind of facility and then assigning a factor of safety on that height.

Edited August 24, 2009 by Bronco Billy

[The Wolf]

I disagree with this. To use an analogy (which are usually flawed, I admit), if the city permits you to build your house near the edge of a cliff, and the cliff crumbles and your house plunges 300 feet into the ravine, is it the city's fault for letting you build the house there? Or is it your fault for building it there in the first place.

 

The Cowboys are 100% to blame. Its their stadium. They decided where to place the scoreboard. I don't know which is more funny: a) that they built the thing too close to the field; or 2) listening to Jerry Jones protestations that the scoreboard is not too low and that a punt would hit the thing only if the punter intended to do it.

 

We agree to disagree my friend. If they received clearance from the league, how are the Cowboys 100% at fault? Not to mention that the monstrosity of a video screen is still 5 feet above the minimum clearance that league rules allow. There was an earlier post about the league rules being outdated. Perhaps this is the event which helps get them updated.

[The Wolf]

And I'll try to explain it again. Even if the league signed off on it does not necessarily mean that they have any liability for it. And again, I will refer to a municipal building department that approves engineering drawings but has no liability for the design - that falls on the engineer of record.

 

So I guess the point is that you can try to place (or misplace) blame all you want. But assigning liability is a completely different thing. In fact, it would not surprise me if Jerrah as a plaintiff were able to go back on the architect and make a play to collect damages if indeed he does have to make a change (and it would seem that a change is absolutely in order). Whomever is responsible for the height of the building, which I assume is driven by the scoreboard supports and placement, appears to not have done proper research on what proper height would be for this kind of facility and then assigning a factor of safety on that height.

 

I made no mention of liability in my posts BB. Simply stating that this is a problem and that the Cowboys are not 100% to blame. Mostly? Yes...it is their building and there is a responsibility to ensure that the competition taking place on the field it not adversely affected by entertainment. However, the governing body of the league ultimately holds this responsibility, as It's clear that owners are not always looking out for the best interest of the league.

[Bronco Billy]

However, the governing body of the league ultimately holds this responsibility

 

 

No, it doesn't.

 

We're going to have to agree to disagree here. The Cowboys are completely responsible for thier own facility to ensure that it functions properly. They hire experts to do the work for them to ensure its functionality.

 

If the NFL does anything else other than a cursory check to make sure that all professionals are in order/credentialed and that it doesn't look like a phallic symbol, it would greatly surprise me.

[Double Agent]

Cowboys are responsible. But the NFL needs to revise its guidelines. Obviously their minimum is too low.

 

The Cowboys knew this was a possibility. McBriar was hitting objects over 100 feet high in the Alamodome.

[matt770]

Poetic justice at its finest. Jerry's $1.5 billion ego-stroking monstrosity is now the laughing stock of the NFL. And in typical Jerry fashion, he's blaming Tennessee's punter for hitting the thing on purpose. Just priceless.

 

This is all over the media and is going to be a big story this week. I'm betting the NFL forces him to raise the thing.

[Azazello1313]

Poetic justice at its finest. Jerry's $1.5 billion ego-stroking monstrosity is now the laughing stock of the NFL. And in typical Jerry fashion, he's blaming Tennessee's punter for hitting the thing on purpose. Just priceless.

 

This is all over the media and is going to be a big story this week. I'm betting the NFL forces him to raise the thing.

 

what he said. this story is like a comedic parable of what is wrong with america....from the gawdy excess, right down to jerruh's pathetic attempts to deflect blame to everyone but him and those around him. "that guy tried to hit it!" "the league said it was OK!" "the rules are clear....you just have to keep trying until the punter misses it!"

[STL Fan]

Although the new screen meets the league minimum standard for height, I'll bet that standard was written by people who assumed (there's that word) that there would never be a reason for a scoreboard to stretch from the 30 to the 30. They were thinking of relatively small, square scoreboards that hung right over the logo in the center of the field.

 

This thing is so freakin' long it creates problems never even imagined by folks even 20 years ago. Talk about a cluster.

[STL Fan]

And by the way, I don't mind saying that it would freak me out a little to play football underneath that HUGH monstrosity. Paranoid, I guess.

[WaterMan]

And by the way, I don't mind saying that it would freak me out a little to play football underneath that HUGH monstrosity. Paranoid, I guess.

 

I feel the same way.

[matt770]

And by the way, I don't mind saying that it would freak me out a little to play football underneath that HUGH monstrosity. Paranoid, I guess.

 

Ditto. If the height was this poorly considered, it wouldn't surprise me if it came crashing down.

[Azazello1313]

saw this in one of the espn articles:

 

Jones reportedly planned to temporarily raise the board by 25 feet to accommodate sightlines for a scheduled U2 concert in October.

 

so what, they can raise it for a one-night u2 concert, but it is just too expensive and unnecessary to move it for the NFL? just move it up for u2 and leave it up. problem solved. what am I missing here?

[Azazello1313]

And by the way, I don't mind saying that it would freak me out a little to play football underneath that HUGH monstrosity. Paranoid, I guess.

 

especially given the quality of engineers jerruh jones is known to hire.

[matt770]

so what, they can raise it for a one-night u2 concert, but it is just too expensive and unnecessary to move it for the NFL? just move it up for u2 and leave it up. problem solved. what am I missing here?

 

I hope Jerry is not present when Bono arrives, because that much ego in one place could lead to a nuclear explosion.

Edited August 24, 2009 by matt770

[whomper]

Another thing I read: the screen has to be moved for an upcoming U2 concert . So it's not that the screen cannot be moved because of logistics, it's just Jerry being his usual stubborn a-hole self.

 

I hope Jerry is not present when Bono arrives, because that much ego in one place could lead to a nuclear explosion.

 

 

Wow , Bono must have some leg

[Grimm74]

 

No, it doesn't.

 

We're going to have to agree to disagree here. The Cowboys are completely responsible for thier own facility to ensure that it functions properly. They hire experts to do the work for them to ensure its functionality.

 

If the NFL does anything else other than a cursory check to make sure that all professionals are in order/credentialed and that it doesn't look like a phallic symbol, it would greatly surprise me.

 

Folks we live in America! Personal responsibility is ALWAYS deflected onto someone else.

 

It is time to sue:

 

The NFL

The Punter(s)

The Widescreen TV manufacturer

The folks who installed the field turf (blades are too tall)

The Punter(s) shoe manufacturer

The football manufacturer

The player who made the tackle that created the 4th down play

The player who was tackled that created the 4th down play

etc etc etc.

 

Jerry Jones fault or who ever directed the creation of this stadium...the buck stops there. The league is not at fault. I get they OKed it but that does not make them responsible.