Although it was the Cowboys final preseason game of the season, when we showed up to AT&T Stadium on Thursday night, something felt different. It wasn't that we were playing our second preseason game of the year on a Thursday night, it wasn't the fact that we knew the starters would be out of their pads by halftime, it was something else. That something else appeared during warm-ups in the form of number 94 wearing an orange jersey. DeMarcus Ware returned home on this night with smiles, handshakes and hugs for former teammates, co-workers and friends.
After warmups a highlight video of DeMarcus played on the stadium's video board as a tribute for the man that gave his all for nine seasons in Dallas.
This image was posted on our Instagram and Facebook accounts.
If you've worked with DeMarcus, you know he's soft spoken, polite and a joy to be around. For those of us that have had that privilege, he will always be a Cowboy. After the game the two teams met at mid-field on the star, as they normally do, but this night DeMarcus was walking from the opposite diretion. One of the first to greet DeMarcus was Anthony Spencer, then Dez Bryant, Brandon Carr, Cole Beasley came in with a flying hip-check and Tyron Smith hung around the longest before DeMarcus had to head to the locker room.
Nights like Thursday are a reminder that football is a business. We all love DeMarcus as a player on the field and as a person off it. It was hard to see him in another team's jersey, but it was good to see that familiar smile again back at home.
