Behind the Banner - September 2022

BEHIND THE BANN

State Fair Classic showdown rises to occasion

By Amber Billops

From Wiley Wildcats and Langston Lions to Grambling State Tigers and the Prairie View A&M Panthers, the State Fair Classic has grown tremendously “ We’ve had some up and down years with 9/11, Hurricane Katrina, and COVID, but this year is going to be one of our best attended games since pre-Katrina, which was 64 ,000 people,” said founder of ALW Entertainment , Al Wash.

The classic began in 1925 featuring Wiley Wildcats and Langston Lions. Both teams met four consecutive years in Dallas before Prairie View

replaced Langston in 1929 Wiley wasn’t the only college to play Prairie View in the State Fair. The Panthers battled Tennessee State in 1958 and Texas Southern in 1959 After relocating to Dallas in 1961, Bishop College eventually took Wiley’s place in the annual contest in the 43rd classic in 1967. It wasn’t until 1992 that the classic would see the annual PVAMU GSU showdown. Since 1992, the State Fair Classic is held annually at the Cotton Bowl in Dallas between the Tigers and Panthers of the Southwestern Athletic Conference

the Texas State Fair, which is the longest running and one of the largest state fairs. “About 20 years ago, we were back and forth from playing in the fair one year and not playing in the fair the next. Every time the game was in September, we were out the fair, when the game was in October, we were in the fair. So, the fair came to me asking if wanted to be a part of the fair every year, they would just extend it a week to make sure the classic would be played there every year just like Texas-Oklahoma.”

On our ticket sales reports, according to Wash, their highest sales come from Dallas, of course, and second highest in Houston. Yet, they also saw a sale increase in other Texas cities like Sherman, Waco, San Antonio, Austin, Abilene, and East Texas. There has been an overwhelming amount of support from other cities outside the classic’s

market like Jackson, Detroit, Albuquerque, Chicago, Fort Smith, San Francisco, Los Angeles, San Diego, Baltimore, Paducah, Bangor, Boston, New York City, Toronto, Orlando, Tampa Bay, Miami, Greensboro, Charolette, Raliegh, Atlanta, Augusta, Seattle, Denver, Pittsburgh, Australia. “Those are just a few cities, and we are still right at about two weeks out from the game,” said Wash. “That gives you an idea of how the numbers are growing tremendously. Our target market is Texas, Louisiana, and Oklahoma, and we are selling tickets outside the boundaries of our markets.”

Wash believes the other markets are probably alumni or people who just want to come experience a HBCU game, so, they will always be in the top three of attendance to HBCU classic games. Only the Bayou Classic (Grambling v Southern) and the Magic City Classic (Alabama State v Alabama A&M)

have higher attendance than the State Fair Classic when it comes to HBCU football classics. “I don’t think we can get any broader than what we are reaching. These are alumni people who are coming from all parts of the country. I am trying to get more people out of the Oklahoma City and Louisiana area, but I am drawing very well out of the Texas.”

COVID had a big effect on the classic. “In 2021, we had to move it to a spring game in Arlington at Globe Life Field, and we had only about 15,000 people. During that time, people just didn’t come out,” said Wash. “This year, COVID is not as effective

as it was two years ago, and I see people buying well ahead of where we have been in the past three years on ticket sales today.”

The State Fair Classic week of events kicks off with Shucky Duckey and Friends at Arlington Improv on September 28, a VIP Reception on September 29, Radio-One Annual Celebrity Golf Tournament at Cedar Crest Golf Course on September 30, and the pre-game performance featuring Ashanti at the State Fair of Texas-Chevy Main Stage on October 1 along with other events throughout the week.

Dallas cowboys rally behind prescott

By Jean-Jacques Taylor

The Dallas Cowboys’ 2022 season hinges on a quarterback, who has started two games in five seasons and has a salary-cap figure of $844,278.

Dak Prescott, who’s expected to miss another 4-6 weeks with a broken thumb suffered in the opener, has a salary-cap figure of $19.3 million.

Clearly, there’s a difference between the two players.

But Rush led the Cowboys to a 20-17 win over Cincinnati in Week 2 and there’s no reason based on how he’s played to think he can’t keep the Cowboys in the playoff hunt until Prescott returns.

“Every time you’re out there you just want to go play ball and do your job. Fortunately, I have a very good football team,” Rush said. “Having great players around me helps and you just want to keep getting better.

Dallas’ next six games are against the New York Giants, Washington, Los Angeles Rams, Philadelphia, Detroit and Chicago.

Right now, only the Rams and Eagles seem better than Dallas. All that means is the Cowboys will have a chance to win several of those games if Rush can limit his mistakes and make the offense functional.

That’s what he did against Cincinnati, when Rush

completed 19 of 31 passes for 235 yards and a touchdown.

Coach Mike McCarthy and offensive coordinator Kellen Moore want to use the running game more, while Prescott is out.

Elliott remains the lead runner, but the Cowboys are determined to get Pollard more opportunities because of his big-play potential. He had a 17-yard run and a 46-yard reception against Tampa Bay.

The Cowboys have also made CeeDee Lamb the focal point of the passing game since they traded Amari Cooper to Cleveland for a fifth-round pick in the off-season.

As the No.1 receiver, opposing defensive coordinators create schemes designed specifically to limit Lamb’s effectiveness whether it’s with double coverage or something more creative.

He struggled in the first game, catching just two of the 11 passes directed toward him for only 29 yards. He caught seven passes for 77 yards against Cincinnati and impacted the offense much more than he did in Week 1.

The way the defense is playing, the offense doesn’t have to do all that much for the Cowboys to win.

Micah Parsons has been the Cowboys’ best player and one of the league’s best defensive players.

He’s had two sacks in each of his first two games, giving him 17 in his first 18 games. No NFL player has ever had more since they started keeping track in 1982.

He also had 10 pressures and five quarterback hits against the Bengals. He’s literally been a one-man wrecking crew.

More important, he’s making those around him

better by creating such havoc.

The defense has followed Parsons’ lead, allowing just one touchdown in each of the team’s first two games. And it made Cincinnati really earn it’s only touchdown with a 19-play drive that took nearly nine minutes off the clock in the fourth quarter.

For most of the time Jerry Jones has owned the Cowboys, they’ve been built around offensive stars such as Troy Aikman, Emmitt Smith, Michael Irvin, Tony Romo, Dez Bryant, Prescott and Elliott.

This team is built on defense with Parsons, DeMarcus Lawrence and Trevon Diggs, who led the NFL with 11 interceptions last season.

He did not intercept a pass in the first two games, but he wasn’t giving up big plays like he did last season either

The Cowboys want him to find a balance between giving up big plays - he led all cornerbacks in yards allowed last season - and interceptions.

He has such good ball skills that he doesn’t need to gamble to create turnovers.

Dallas forced a league leading 34 turnovers last year and it fueled their 12-5 season.

With Prescott out, it’s going to be much harder to consistently move the ball and score points, which is why defensive coordinator Dan Quinn’s unit must play at an elite level.

“How you address adversity is from within, and this team addressed it from within,’’ Jerry Jones told reporters. “Everybody just got a little better and played better.’’

And they’ll have to keep doing that as long as Prescott is out of the lineup.

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