FRISCO - Dallas Cowboys quarterback Dak Prescott on Thursday here in Frisco inside The Star held court with the media on the so-called "controversial'' subject of the fan fan tours of the facility ... and did so - ironically - right in the very hallway that seems to be the source of this misplaced debate.
Team leader Prescott expressed a really perfect take on the situation, noting that the fans who pay to tour The Star - and who sometimes walk down this very hallway alongside a tinted glass wall that looks into the weight room - is in a sense the exact opposite of a "distraction.''
"You can walk by and have a negative mindset about it and allow it to ruin your day, or you can be thankful that you're in an organization that people want to see," he said of the occasions in which fans are in the corridors of the building.
Prescott noted that other teams may not deal with quite the same level of issues because of the high profile of "America's Team,'' and that the fan tours are simply part of this franchise's general marketing-minded approach to engaging with the fan base.
"You got to embrace it. Honestly," he said.
ESPN attempted to write an "expose'' on the fan tours, complete with a few quotes from former players who have in a couple of cases insisted that the reporter misquoted them about the severity
“All I know,” Prescott said, “is that II'm not going to let a couple people touring the building distract me. I'm present where I am."
The Cowboys under owner Jerry Jones have earned criticism for stressing the “America’s Team” marketing of the franchise to the point at which it interferes with the success of a football team that hasn’t been to a Super Bowl in 30 years.
But try as they might, it’s impossible for critics to draw a direct correlation between fan tours and team's wins and losses, as Prescott noted.
"If that's the case then the crowd is a distraction when you get out there,” he said. “It's the NFL. It's a business (in which) those exact reasons that this game is entertaining, that people want to watch it, that you have the fans that you have and you can create the relationships.”
For more on this subject from Frisco? Come inside the Fish Report!
