
D.C.-area die-hard Washington Commanders and Dallas Cowboys fans watched their teams’ squabble in Texas with Sunday’s regular-season finale, only to face a regional squabble with the snow back home — leaving scores of fans from both teams on a Southwest Airlines flight from New Orleans to Reagan National Airport a full two days after the Commanders’ 23-19 playoff-clinching win.Both deflated and celebratory fans headed back to the DMV Tuesday night donning team scarves, coats, hoodies and blankets on Flight 2115.
“I don’t even know what day it is,” said Cowboys fan Joy Harris, who proudly wore her team’s gear on the plane despite the loss. “I definitely didn’t plan to stay this long since we were supposed to leave Monday afternoon at 12, but that flight got canceled. They had us on another flight to leave at 5 and that got canceled. [Tuesday] morning, our 6 a.m. flight got canceled. Instead of a straight flight, this flight took us from Dallas to New Orleans and from New Orleans to D.C. It was still a good experience because we had a lot of blessings while we were down there.”
While the weather in Dallas on Sunday barely made it to 40 degrees, fans returned to blistering cold temperatures in the 20s, with a real feel in the teens.Waldorf, Maryland, resident Monica Myers traveled to see the $1.2 billion AT&T Stadium with a Commanders fan group of about 150 people to Dallas. The group package included game tickets, flights, hotels and a tailgate, she said.“I was hoping to get home before it got too bad,” said Myers. “It would have been nice to get a heads up [on flight cancellations] before we checked out of the hotel because we had to find a new one, but it was worth it. I wanted to whoop them at their house, and we did it. The people that I went with had a good time networking, doing trivia and having functions. Jayden Daniels’ mom was there and some of us got to meet her and said she was down to earth.”Kimberly Daniels, a Prince George’s County Public Schools reading specialist, and her boyfriend bought tickets for the trip in May. Daniels is a Cowboys fan while her boyfriend who also works for PGCPS roots for the Commanders. She said although the weather and her team’s loss were downers, the couple made the best of the trip.“Unfortunately, my team was not able to be victorious, however, I’m a football fan so I did enjoy the actual stadium tour, going to the stadium and enjoying the whole experience,” said Daniels.
Daniels said she didn’t mind spending an extra few days in Dallas because they had the day off due to school closures.“It was an added bonus for us and we were able to get some more quality time together,” she said. “I’m looking forward to next season since we will probably have a better draft pick and get a coach that is a little bit younger to help build the morale in Texas for the team.”Rescheduling the trip home to Fort Washington, Maryland, on Tuesday instead of Monday wasn’t a big inconvenience for Steven Phillips because he’s retired. Born and raised in D.C., and a self-proclaimed Washington team fan for 35 years, Phillips said the trip, despite the weather delays, was worth it for many reasons.“My daughter paid for it, they won, and the stadium was nice,” he said while holding his “three-time Super Bowl” letterman jacket in his arms at the baggage carousel at National Airport.
Source: Washington Informer