Cowboys Fans Cheer on the ‘Home’ Team

As the charter buses and their police escort whipped past, Mario Monares broke into a sprint worthy of a first-string running back.

Eager to welcome the Dallas Cowboys to their Oxnard training camp, the 14-year-old high school sophomore was among hundreds of fans who lined the streets Monday, welcoming the five-time Super Bowl champs to a renovated practice facility that was once summer home to the Los Angeles Raiders.

He held up a homemade sign and cheered himself hoarse. Then he ran nearly half a mile to cheer some more at the Residence Inn, where 140 players, coaches and cheerleaders will spend two weeks as they bring big-time football back to Ventura County.

“This is their home now,” said Mario, who was joined by 10 members of his family, including a few who traveled from San Antonio to take in the training sessions. “We’re all die-hard Cowboys fans. They may be America’s team, but the biggest fans are in Oxnard.”

It certainly appeared that way Monday. Waving signs and wearing blue-and-white jerseys, a crush of Cowboys supporters descended on the training facility near the River Ridge Golf Club in north Oxnard--the field abandoned by the Raiders six years ago when the team moved back to Oakland.

From behind a security rope, fans shouted at their favorite players and asked them to sign autographs. They chanted Cowboys slogans and even cheered on the trainers and equipment managers.

It all sounded good to Cowboys owner Jerry Jones.

“When we travel we get a huge reception no matter where we go, but this is really impressive,” Jones said. “And we plan to take advantage of it.”

Unlike the Raiders, who drew criticism from fans and city officials for hiding the team’s practices behind a black tarp, the Cowboys have erected bleachers so hundreds of supporters can watch their practices for free.

The team also split with Oxnard the cost of repairing two full-size practice fields and an adjacent locker room. Team officials even erected a miniature theme park next to the football fields, with souvenir booths, a Cowboys museum and interactive games.

The team’s openness is nothing new to Ventura County. From 1963 to 1989, the Cowboys practiced at Cal Lutheran University in Thousand Oaks, where some players struck up friendships with local families.

In Oxnard, Mayor Manuel Lopez liked the new relationship so much that he gave Jones the key to the city Monday and invited him to bring his team back.

“It’s 180 degrees from our previous experience,” Lopez said. “They appear to be so open and so willing to have the community become part of their camp. I think that will go a long way toward endearing them to the local people.”

Waving a giant Cowboys flag and wearing a dark-blue Cowboys T-shirt, Ventura resident Scott Bailey took half a day off from his electronics job at the nearby Navy base to greet his heroes. Oxnard native Richard Salazar told his boss Monday morning he wouldn’t be showing up at the oil platform offshore; instead, he took his 2-year-old son, Nickolas, to see the Cowboys.

And Esequiel Rivera gave up a day’s pay from his construction job to join the crowd, erupting in cheers with the others as popular running back Emmitt Smith made his first appearance.

“That was it right there, that was worth a day off without pay,” said Rivera, wearing an Emmitt Smith jersey. “You’ve got to be a fan. You’ve got to stay loyal.”

Deep in the crowd and at least a head shorter than almost everyone else, 12-year-old Cody Strickland got the thrill of a football lover’s lifetime. As Jones exchanged high-fives with the Dallas faithful, he pulled off his Super Bowl ring, stopped in front of the Oxnard boy and slipped the diamond-studded band on his finger.

“It was heavy,” said Cody, who plays football for the Channel Islands Warriors. “But it fit.”

Of course, not everyone was interested in Super Bowl rings. Or, for that matter, football.

Victoria Vaivao, 16, and Joanna Houston, 17, spent the morning drooling over football players. They offered to carry their luggage. They squealed with delight whenever they landed an autograph or a hug.

Then, as a late birthday present, Victoria got the hug to end all hugs. A cousin who was working security managed to get her a brief private audience with Smith. He gave her an autograph and a bear hug.

She fell to the ground afterward in tears and had trouble breathing.

“I can’t handle any more of this,” she said, taking a deep drag from the inhaler she uses for asthma. “If I’m going to be here for two weeks, I’ve got to gain my composure.”

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