It’s the day Dallas Cowboys fans have anxiously awaited. Sunday is the home opener against the New York Giants. <\/p>\n
From decked-out trucks lining the streets to festive music filling the air, thousands of Dallas Cowboys’ fans packed the parking lots of AT&T Stadium to tailgate ahead of the home opener. That included superfan Jose Maturino. <\/p>\n
“We set up TVs, we have a DJ, and we put the tailgate on before the game,” Maturino said.<\/p>\n
Maturino founded Rowdy Nation Cowboys Tailgaters<\/a> in 2020. Now, it has about 60 members. <\/p>\n “I’ve been a Cowboys fan since 1986, so I lived through the Super Bowl years in the 90s,” Maturino said.<\/p>\n Tommy Salgado saw the Cowboys win the Super Bowl almost 30 years ago when he was a high school junior.<\/p>\n “I went to the parade. Everybody always asks, ‘Why are you still a Cowboys fan? You need to jump ship,’ and I say, ‘I saw it. I saw the glory years,” Salgado said.<\/p>\n Rowdy Nation’s setup began Saturday.<\/p>\n “We got here around 3:00. If you’re a diehard fan, you’re diehard out here,” Xavier Amos said. <\/p>\n Amos said he’s been a Cowboys fan for more than five decades. <\/p>\n “I’ve been a fan since ’73. I’m 52 right now, so since ’73, so ever since I was born,” Amos said.<\/p>\n It’s not every day you see a horse tailgating, but that’s what fans took in when Michael Duncan and his horse, Ranger, walked down the sidewalk. Ranger sported his cowboy hat and oversized bling Cowboys necklace.<\/p>\n “We come to a couple of games every year, and he tailgates,” Duncan said.<\/p>\n Ranger has an ID here so he can get into the bars and get fans into the team spirit. <\/p>\n “He just motivates a lot of people. Has a lot of fun, and he brings a lot of happiness and joy to everybody,” Duncan said.<\/p>\n Ranger is a star in his own right. He has his own Instagram page, @thebarhorses<\/a>, as he is well known in North Texas.<\/p>\n “Ranger always wears a cowboy hat,” Duncan said. “He’s a social horse, so he’s been in over 400 bars and restaurants around town.”<\/p>\n Ranger puts his best hoof forward and hopes for a playoff berth this season.<\/p>\n