Kicking It At Cowboys Stadium

The screen’s the limit for football players at the new Cowboys Stadium in Arlington, Texas, and this controversy’s even got U2 in the middle of it.

The new home for the NFL’s Dallas Cowboys debuted as a football venue Aug. 21 when the Boys hosted the Tennessee Titans. The crowd was not only thrilled by the game, but by the world’s largest high-definition screens suspended 25 yards above the 50-yard line. The screens stretch from 20-yard line to 20-yard line.

Everything was fine until the third quarter when Tennessee backup kicker A.J. Trapasso punted. The ball bounced off the video screens.

When officials realized what happened, Trapasso kicked again and nearly hit the screens a second time.

Cowboys owner Jerry Jones helped set the 90-foot height, which is just 5 feet above the team minimum.

“I’m not worried about it,” Jones said. “I’m very comfortable that our height on our scoreboard is OK.”

Trapasso thought differently, saying the board is something that “you’re going to be thinking about” when kicking the ball. In fact, Titans kickers used it for target practice during warm-up.

Jones said he believes the only way a kicker would hit it is if he’s launching the ball straight up in the air. Tennessee coach Jeff Fisher, co-chair of the NFL’s competition committee, is going to try to get the video screens raised.

Enter U2. For all of the supposed controversy, the screens will be raised 25 feet to accommodate the Claw stage Oct. 12. The Cowboys could leave it at that new height or they could add a system that can lower and raise it at will.

Only Jones knows for sure.