Culture / Sporting Life

Dallas Cowboys Hold the Greatest Sleepover in History: Jerry World Becomes an All-Night Playland

BY // 06.28.16

Imagine getting locked into the world’s most famous 21st-century stadium one night and having free run of the place till morning. This unlikely kid’s dream became reality at Jerry World.

In what’s undoubtably the greatest sleepover in history (with possible apologies to a young Hugh Hefner or Derek Jeter), the Cowboys put 100 beds on the field of AT&T Stadium and kids lived out one of those seemingly unattainable fantasies. The world famous Cowboys cheerleaders even showed to hang out with the kids — and several players joined in the fun as well.

Better yet, the Cowboys didn’t offer this treat up to the highest bidder. These weren’t the sons and daughters of Fortune 500 company CEOs, oil tycoons or Republican party chairs.

Instead, they were underserved kids — the poor kids who often get the worst of everything — living it up on the field where Dez Bryant catches fade patterns. So much for any perception Jerry Jones only cares about dollars. Jerry World is not just the biggest ATM in the world, always printing money. Once in a while, it’s just a cool spot to be a wide-eyed kid.

Many of the youngsters who slept on the field didn’t have beds of their own at home. Now, they do. Every child who came to the dream sleepover got to keep the bed they slept on. Ashley Furniture, which sponsored the whole event, delivered the beds to the kids’ homes the next morning.

Each bed came with Cowboys blankets and sheets, a teddy bear and a football. Having all 100 of those decked-out beds spread around the football field — which was in game-day condition — added to the sense of grandeur with this sleepover. Each bed had a name placard with a specific child’s name on it — and at the beginning of the night, the kids were told to run around the field and find their bed.

It’s enough to put Easter Egg hunts to shame.

Later, the kids watched Finding Nemo. Because that’s what you do at a sleepover: watch a movie. Only, they watched it on the most famous scoreboard in the world, Jones’ absolutely gigantic 160-foot video screen. Later, the kids slept in their new beds on the field. Or pretended to sleep.

That’s how you roll at the greatest sleepover in the history of sleepovers. The bar’s been raised. You’re up, Texans.

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