Justin and Tim Sehon love the Dallas Cowboys so much, they got married wearing blue and white.
Their house, just a few miles from AT&T Stadium in Arlington, is a shrine to the team. ESPN featured them in a documentary series about Cowboys fans.
The Sehons’ fandom is so strong, even a pandemic won’t stop them from going to games. They’ll be at the Cowboys’ first home game of the season on Sunday against the Atlanta Falcons.
“As much as we love the Cowboys? I gotta be a part of it,” Tim said.
“Mask on,” Justin said.
Of course, they already have team-branded face masks.
The Cowboys are one of the few NFL teams allowing spectators as the COVID-19 pandemic rages on. Head coach Mike McCarthy has said the stadium will be at 25% capacity for Sunday’s game, when the team has a chance to notch its first win of the season after losing to the Los Angeles Rams earlier this week.
According to NBC Sports, other teams have decided to play without fans for the first few games. Others will play to empty stadiums indefinitely.
That leaves Cowboys fans with a choice. Should they go to games or not?
Tim Sehon said he feels pretty safe going to Sunday’s game, but there won’t be the social aspect he and Justin enjoy so much.
For the Sehons, game day often starts early in the morning with tailgating and ends with more tailgating, or a postgame hangout at Texas Live.
“That is where I see the biggest change, because we’re not gonna be able to interact with the people we call Cowboy Family as much as we want to,” Tim said.
Justin said he’s a bit worried about going to the game in person, but he plans to wash his hands as much as possible and sanitize the area around him.
Other fans don’t feel ready to return to AT&T Stadium just yet.
Bala Krishnan lives in Plano and has been a Cowboys fan since he moved from India to North Texas in the late '90s. He said he won’t be at any large gatherings until there’s a COVID-19 vaccine.
“This is an extraordinary year with a lot of issues, especially with a pandemic,” he said. “Yeah, I would like to go, but I’m OK watching the game on TV.”
Cyndi Garza of Grand Prairie feels the same way. She’s a Cowboys season ticket holder, and her dog is named after the team’s quarterback, Dak Prescott.
Still, she said she’s not going to games any time soon.
"Personally, I don't think that the risk of going to games and being in crowds that size is a good idea,” she said. “And I don’t really think it’s a good idea for them to be playing the games either, for their health.”
Garza said her season ticket seats are in the nosebleeds, anyway — so the TV will offer a better view.
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