IRVING, Texas -- For one final time earlier Thursday morning, Jason Witten turned left into Valley Ranch in his Cadillac Escalade and felt the butterflies in his stomach for a practice.
It’s only June and it’s only a minicamp, but that feeling has remained the same for 14 years. Witten was 20 the first time he pulled into Valley Ranch, a rookie unsure how long he would last in the league. He’s now 34, one of 13 players to have 1,000 catches in NFL history, and has played in 10 Pro Bowls.
Thursday will be the Dallas Cowboys' final practice at Valley Ranch, their practice home since 1985. When they return from training camp in Oxnard, California, they will move into The Ford Center at The Star in Frisco, Texas, a state-of-the-art facility complete with a 12,000-seat indoor stadium.
“It’s similar to a home when you’re growing up,” Witten said. “The memories you have are not just the great ones, but also the ones that were learning experiences for you. Every time your car pulls in this parking lot, there’s emotions that come with that. Not to get too deep, but that’s what pro football is all about. The guys that can be able to handle that and kind of embrace what that entails inside of a locker room, the wins and losses, the dreams, the hard work and commitment when nobody’s here. But also, just the brotherhood that comes with that. There’s been some great relationships that I’ll have for the rest of my life due to this facility and this opportunity that we all have.”
Like Texas Stadium, time just ran out on Valley Ranch. The foundation of the place is solid, but it has shown its age. In some spots the roof leaks. In others bugs somehow fall from the light fixtures. Sometimes the power flickers on and off. Two years ago a closet was turned into the running backs’ meeting room.
The stories it could tell, however, are legendary. In 1987, Tony Dorsett, Randy White, Ed “Too Tall” Jones and Danny White crossed the picket line. It was Tom Landry’s final home. Jerry Jones and Jimmy Johnson plotted their takeover of the NFL at Valley Ranch and saw it work. Then they saw it all evaporate after a second Super Bowl in 1993.
Michael Irvin threw a trash can in the direction of the media during the Jones-Johnson feud. Larry Allen once bench-pressed 700 pounds there. Darren Woodson remembers the Thursday practices with money on the line in the two-minute drills. Antonio Bryant sealed his fate as a Cowboy when he threw a sweaty jersey at Bill Parcells back in 2004.
All the memories weren’t great. In 2009, the indoor practice facility collapsed from a microburst. Rich Behm, one of the team’s scouts, was paralyzed. Former special teams coach Joe DeCamillis suffered a broken neck. Other members of the staff were hurt and carry scars, emotional and otherwise, to this day.
Stephen Jones was in his mid-20s when his father bought the team. He immediately went to work, burning hour after hour. He remembers 20-hour days in the beginning.
“It’s more than just walls and brick and mortar,” Stephen Jones said. “It’s the personalities and the people that have gone through the building.”
Garrett’s perspective on Valley Ranch comes in multiple ways, as backup quarterback in the 1990s fighting to making the team to occupying Landry’s old office as the head coach since midway through the 2010 season. If he closes his eyes he can still feel the ball leaving his hand on an out route to Irvin, who just beat Deion Sanders.
“I can remember being on this practice field with Michael Irvin, by ourselves on hot July days when no one else was around and he has a weighted vest on,” Garrett said. “He has a weighted girdle on. He’s got his shoulder pads; he’s got his helmet; he’s got his Walter Payton mouthpiece in; and he’s running route after route after route.”
That work made Irvin a Hall of Famer. It helped make the Cowboys Super Bowl champions.
On the first day of the draft last April, Woodson had an appearance at Valley Ranch. As he took a group of people through the building and approached the curtain to one of the locker room entrances, he swears he could hear Nate Newton and Charles Haley arguing. Or maybe it was Mark Tuinei, Erik Williams and Troy Aikman. Maybe it was Ken Norton Jr., James Washington and Jay Novacek.
“It was like everybody had as loud a personality that you ever wanted to be around,” Woodson said. “I was never that loud. I was more to myself. I remember always the laughter, the jokes. Sometimes there were fights in the locker room too. But this was home. This was it. I didn’t want it any other way.
“When you walk through those curtains, it’s home sweet home.”
The moving trucks come July 20. By the end of July, the Cowboys hope to be settled into The Star. In August, the Cowboys will be raving about their new home.
Nobody is quite sure what will happen to Valley Ranch.
Nobody will forget it, though.