Sunday, February 22, 1998

Culture and climate: Big training camp changes ahead for Cowboys

By DENNE H. FREEMAN / AP Sports Writer

IRVING, Texas (AP) -- The Dallas Cowboys just became bigger in Wichita Falls than the "Hotter 'n Hell" bike race and the Oil Bowl.

The Cowboys should be in great shape after six sizzling July and August weeks at Midwestern State University.

At least those who survive heat exhaustion should. Hello, Nate Newton! Put down the pizza and try to lose some weight or owner Jerry Jones will be dialing 911.

The average high temperature in July and August in Wichita Falls is 96.6 degrees. Breezes will be optional, depending on El Nino's staying power.

At least it's a dry heat in Wichita Falls. The Austin humidity occasionally requires wiper blades for your glasses.

In the early Tex Schramm-Tom Landry years, the Cowboys believed the cooler the clime the more work could be done. So they trained at such spots as Pacific University in Forest Grove, Ore., St. Olaf College in Northfield, Minn., and Northern Michigan College in frosty Marquette, Mich.

They boosted the thermometer a notch when they went to California Lutheran College in Thousand Oaks., Calif., in 1963. But it was always pleasant, thanks to winds off the Pacific Ocean.

Along came Jones, and the heat-loving Jimmy Johnson, and the team loaded the wagons and left California after the 1989 camp, settling in Austin.

Johnson, who had a national champion at Miami, believed great teams were forged under the summer sun -- the hotter the better. Although miserable for a football player loaded down with pads and helmets, Johnson's theory helped yield two Super Bowl championships.

Barry Switzer, who recently stepped aside as coach, also subscribed to the hotter-than-a-pepper-sprout theory and kept the Cowboys in Austin. Dallas won a Super Bowl in one of four Switzer seasons.

There will be both a climatological and cultural change for the first team under Chan Gailey, who can tell you about some jalapeno-hot days down in hometown Americus, Ga.

Players who aren't too tired to mingle with the local populace will need some adjusting to Wichita Falls.

Austin has the hustle, bustle and neon of a major city with a variety of restaurants, night clubs and just about anything else a professional football player might desire.

The city also has been the site of some memorable times for America's Team.

It was Austin where Crazy Ray, the team mascot, ran over Emmitt Smith with a recreational vehicle; where Jones found a 300-pound guy in a bar and encouraged him to try out for the Cowboys, much to Johnson's mirth; where players were exposed for trading autographs for condoms at a convenience store; and where the players smashed security cameras installed so Jones could monitor curfew violations.

Wichita Falls is unchartered waters, but perhaps the players will forge new traditions. Maybe Leon Lett can learn to wrestle steers. Smith can learn to line dance. Deion Sanders can dump his do-rag and start wearing a Stetson. Or Troy Aikman can learn to ride a cutting horse.

The players also may be surprised by the eateries and clubs available. There's world-class barbecue at "Stanley's" and the "Branding Iron."

Nick Gholson, sports editor of the Wichita Falls Times Record News, says the chicken fried steaks at the Pioneer Restaurants are so celestial, they can make a grown man cry.

He laughs that some people think of Wichita Falls as a "one-stoplight town."

For entertainment, he recommends "Graham Central Station" with seven nightclubs in one, ranging from country and western to rock 'n' roll.

Still, there's no zany Sixth Street, Austin's version of a yearlong Mardi Gras. But maybe that's a good thing, as the Cowboys have shown lately they can be distracted easily from their appointed duties.

Aikman says the change will be a needed fresh start for the Cowboys, whose 6-10 season kept them out of the playoffs for the first time in seven years.

In any case, Cowboys, be advised that Wichita Falls folks are serious about football.

At an Oil Bowl game back in the 1970s, a man was shot down in the stands. Play on the field never stopped.