Shutdown Corner

Starter, the company that made those ubiquitous sports jackets back in the day, is making a comeback built around Texans' two favorite things: Wal-Mart and Tony Romo(notes).

As Darren Rovell wrote this week on his Sports Biz blog, Starter is re-launching with a direct-to-retail deal with Wal-Mart and an advertising campaign that features an NFL logo-less Romo. (Starter doesn't have rights to show NFL trademarks, so the company is not-so-subtly dressing him up in Cowboys colors. It's the advertising equivalent of generic cereal at the grocery store.)

It's not mentioned if Starter's most famous product, the winter coats with sports logos popularized by rap groups like N.W.A. and Public Enemy, will be reappearing on store shelves, but it seems like a great time to capitalize on nostalgia for 1992. America is in a recession, the Democratic party is invigorated by a fresh-faced president, Dr. Dre is readying a solo album and the Washington Redskins are poised to make a run to the Super Bowl. (Oh come on, I can dream, can't I?)

In case you forgot how cool it was to have a Starter jacket, check out this commercial from 1992:

Wait ... what? Was that Roger Dorn Corbin Bernsen? I mean, I love me some Theo Huxtable, but which ad executive thought it would be a good idea to show him stealing MC Hammer's dance moves while wearing a Georgetown jacket? (I'm guessing a former ad executive.) And for a company whose value skyrocketed due, in part, to street cred, opening a commercial with Brooke Shields would be like Jay-Z doing a duet with the guy from Coldplay. (Oh, wait.) No wonder Starter went bankrupt in 1999. 

At least Iconix, the company who purchased Starter from Nike in 2007, is using a better endorser this time around. Romo is a good catch. And exclusive deals with Wal-Mart usually seem to be winners. If that fails, I'm sure Malcolm Jamal-Warner is available for the next set of commercials.

Perhaps wanting to bring some good karma into his new, $1.15 billion building, Jerry Jones invited his old coach (and nemesis) Jimmy Johnson to the debut of Cowboys Stadium this weekend. A massive country music concert involving George Strait, Reba McEntire, Lee Ann Womack and Blake Shelton (what, Tony Romo(notes), no Jessica Simpson?) opened the massive stadium this weekend to rave reviews.

Johnson flew in from Florida to take in the concert from Jones' luxury box and the two, who reconciled their problems a few years back but aren't usually so chummy, were shown on the massive HD screens to the delight of Texans in the crowd. As the Associated Press reported:

When [Jones and Johnson] were shown on TV screens during the intermission between McEntire and Strait, it took about 30 seconds for people to notice and realize what they were seeing. Once it clicked, cheers followed.

The four, center-hanging video screens at the stadium measure in total excess of 5,000 inches and it still took people 30 seconds to realize that the architects of the Cowboys' mid-'90s dynasty were doing the lambada in a luxury box? They look like they're reenacting the end of "Tango and Cash." How did it take a half-minute to see that? Was Lee Ann Womack really that interesting?

Despite that momentary lapse in attention and the usual traffic and line problems that plague stadium openings, the stadium received high marks from fans:

"This is one of the best venues I've ever been to in my life," said Kyle Chapman, 20, of Wichita, Kan.

That quote isn't nearly as impressive when you consider both how it's qualified ("one of the best") and that the speaker was born in 1989. Shoot, he probably doesn't even remember the last Cowboys playoff victory. Surely some 65-year old woman would have said it was the best venue to which she had ever been.

At one point during the show, George Strait led the crowd in a "Jerry, open the roof" chant. Twelve minutes later, the retractable roof was opened for the first time. Jones better be careful at giving the populace a voice, though, lest they think that chanting "Jerry, fire Wade Phillips" will work during the season.

Cowboys Stadium will make its regular-season debut on Sept. 20 when the Cowboys host the New York Giants on Sunday Night Football. The next event at the stadium will be a Jonas Brothers concert on June 20. Tony Romo is said to be very excited.