Redskins Spoil Ring Party 14-13... Oh What a Night...

Oh What a night..... Back in September.. 20005...


AFTER NINE YEARS OF HUMILIATION LIVING IN IRVING TEXAS, home of Texas Stadium .....

Where the Redskins had not won a game against the Cowbowys in Texas Stadium for nine years....

REVENGE.... And not just a small piece... We're talking the largest crowd in a decade, 65,000+ on hand for the Cowboys Ring of Honor induction of Jerry's so called triplets... Troy Aikman, Emmitt Smith and Michael Irvin.... DENIED !!!!! Makes me want to break out in song.. "Hail to the Redskins, Hail Victory, Braves on the warpath.... FIGHT for 'ol DC" AND with old coach Joe Gibbs at the helm, at the LAST meeting of the 'Skins and the 'Boys in the old Texas Stadium before a new one gets built in Arlington... well life just doesn't get much sweeter. Oh... did I mention... I am watching the game in the Flying Saucer in downtown Fort Worth with a few hundred or so die hard Cowboys fans all around me.... Whooping and Screaming it up, I was, all by my lonesome when Moss catches the 11th hour recption in the end zone... thinking "I may get beat up".

And this is just the dolce half of the lucious meal of an evening...

While searching for a football fan friend to watch the game with, I find a friend who is also looking for someone to join a spontaneous indulgence of having just bought front row tickets to... LYLE LOVETT AND HIS LARGE BAND at Bass Performance hall in downtown Forth Worth... The Jeep and I think its a grand idea and we turn West into the Sunset. Friend is waiting in the car, and as we arrive hands me a cold brown bag that I keep low as we swing past the Police Station and head towards Cow Town.

Now I've never been to Bass Hall but I was amused that this gorgeous new hall with its hand painted dome and spiraling tiers of balconies and muted candelabras at each notch is filled to the brim with Jeans, Cowboy boots, Cowboy hats, Cowboy shirts and a few... Cowboys.

The Large Band is so very aptly named, and not being overly familiar with Lyle, and having pretty much swore off Country music in general, I was a bit amazed that the night kicked off with a brass band and a jazz round robin through all the instrumets. The intro culminated with a spotlight in the back on Ms. luscious Francine who jazzed and bopped and sayshayed her little black bootie up to the front stage to welcome out her four soul brothers who covered a '70s staple "Dinosaur" with so much groove & steam the Soul Train was jealous.

What the hell kind of Country music is this? I asked myself and my wide eyes?

I suppose that had I known Lyle was a Houston Texas native it would have made sense that the progression of Texicana that has a natural slight turn to the Swing would follow that bent and spread into Blues and Swing at its "Large Band" edge while recessing into its Americana folksy story lines at its Ballad roots. All mixed together with Lyles Dry Dry humor... and with a few Gospel Souls thrown on top the evening made for a simply electrifying satisfaction of the musical appetite. You were wiping your eyes on your neighbors shirt one moment, falling off of your chair at Lyles poll of the audience as to which of the individual band members they thought drove a truck the next, and ready to rise up and shout Alleluia and stomp your feet by the end.

At the end of the Show, Lyle comments, "Its been a pretty good day, if you care to know. Started with coconut pie at my favorite diner in the afternoon and ends in Bass Hall with you fine Texan people". With the exception of losing a cutthroat game of checkers in double sudden death overtime, I just couldn't more fully agree.