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Updated: August 20, 2010, 8:07 PM
All Aboard!
Nick Eatman
DallasCowboys.com Staff Writer
Email | Follow nickeatman on Twitter
Players passed the time on the train with a variety of card games.
SAN DIEGO - As a team, they flew to Canton, Ohio for the Hall of Fame Game, and then later out here to California. To and from meetings, many of the players get rides on golf carts, others ride bikes and there have been some electric bikes as well.
In a training camp that has included just about every imaginable means of transportation, the Cowboys added another to the list Friday as they rode the Amtrak train from Oxnard, Calif. down to San Diego for Saturday night's third preseason game against the Chargers.
The Cowboys made the same trip two years ago, with HBO's Hard Knocks cameras following the team around. This year, crews from CBS' 60 Minutes and NFL Network were on hand to capture the team's ride along the Pacific Ocean en route to the next game.
Cowboys vice present Stephen Jones, also the team's director of player personnel, said the trip has multiple purposes.
"When you go through a training camp, obviously it can get long and laborious," Jones said. "You can get in a little bit of a rut. I think this camp is far from that. There is a train today. It's the opportunity to do something you just don't get the chance to do in our part of the country. To get to go down the coast is something new and something we enjoy. I think when it's all said and done, I think it's a good change-up for the players, too."
Keith Brooking wasn't on the train ride back in 2008, but even in his second season with the club, the veteran linebacker said he's not surprised by anything that occurs.
"It's a traveling circus here with the Cowboys," Brooking said. "Just another stop in the traveling circus. But it's a good time. We've got a card game going on in the back. I think it's a good chance to have some camaraderie. We're pretty much stuck on this thing for about four hours. So it's chance to hang out and enjoy one another."
Brooking said he's been on a few trains before in Europe. For rookie linebacker Sean Lee, Friday's train ride was his first.
"I've heard about people taking trains but I've never been on one before," Lee said. "It's relaxing. The weird thing is that we've gone the whole way backwards. That's a little different. But I like it. It helps you get your mind right before the game."
And it's not just any game for Lee, but his first as a professional. The second-round pick from Penn State has been held out of the first two games with a strained quad he suffered early in camp.
"I'm excited to get out there and show what I can do," Lee said. "So far it's been a fun camp. We've had the planes, trains and automobiles going. I'm just excited about getting a chance to play."
The games are still the primary part of the show. But how the Cowboys get there has certainly been part of the entertainment.
All Aboard!
Nick Eatman
DallasCowboys.com Staff Writer
Email | Follow nickeatman on Twitter
Players passed the time on the train with a variety of card games.
SAN DIEGO - As a team, they flew to Canton, Ohio for the Hall of Fame Game, and then later out here to California. To and from meetings, many of the players get rides on golf carts, others ride bikes and there have been some electric bikes as well.
In a training camp that has included just about every imaginable means of transportation, the Cowboys added another to the list Friday as they rode the Amtrak train from Oxnard, Calif. down to San Diego for Saturday night's third preseason game against the Chargers.
The Cowboys made the same trip two years ago, with HBO's Hard Knocks cameras following the team around. This year, crews from CBS' 60 Minutes and NFL Network were on hand to capture the team's ride along the Pacific Ocean en route to the next game.
Cowboys vice present Stephen Jones, also the team's director of player personnel, said the trip has multiple purposes.
"When you go through a training camp, obviously it can get long and laborious," Jones said. "You can get in a little bit of a rut. I think this camp is far from that. There is a train today. It's the opportunity to do something you just don't get the chance to do in our part of the country. To get to go down the coast is something new and something we enjoy. I think when it's all said and done, I think it's a good change-up for the players, too."
Keith Brooking wasn't on the train ride back in 2008, but even in his second season with the club, the veteran linebacker said he's not surprised by anything that occurs.
"It's a traveling circus here with the Cowboys," Brooking said. "Just another stop in the traveling circus. But it's a good time. We've got a card game going on in the back. I think it's a good chance to have some camaraderie. We're pretty much stuck on this thing for about four hours. So it's chance to hang out and enjoy one another."
Brooking said he's been on a few trains before in Europe. For rookie linebacker Sean Lee, Friday's train ride was his first.
"I've heard about people taking trains but I've never been on one before," Lee said. "It's relaxing. The weird thing is that we've gone the whole way backwards. That's a little different. But I like it. It helps you get your mind right before the game."
And it's not just any game for Lee, but his first as a professional. The second-round pick from Penn State has been held out of the first two games with a strained quad he suffered early in camp.
"I'm excited to get out there and show what I can do," Lee said. "So far it's been a fun camp. We've had the planes, trains and automobiles going. I'm just excited about getting a chance to play."
The games are still the primary part of the show. But how the Cowboys get there has certainly been part of the entertainment.
