IRVING, Texas - When the Cowboys open their $1 billion new stadium in Arlington, Texas, Calvin Hill imagines he'll feel awestruck - similar to the first time he laid eyes on Texas Stadium midway through the 1971 season.

Hill, a Cowboys running back from 1969-74, played his first two seasons in Dallas' famed Cotton Bowl before the franchise moved into Texas Stadium in October 1971.

"It was interesting," said Hill, who now works as a consultant in the Cowboys' player development department. "The Cotton Bowl was such a traditional place and there were so many great games played there. I remember going over to Texas Stadium. It's like this new stadium is going to be, I imagine, in 2009. It was so unique with the hole in the roof and the boxes, etc., and you had the carpet. It was just so pristine.

"I remember we went to practice there and Bob Lilly says, 'I wonder if it's OK if we spit on the carpet?' Because it just seemed like we were in an opera house or something.

"But it became a real advantage for us. If you look at the record, the first two or three years we were tough to beat at Texas Stadium."

Unbeatable, in fact, during that storied '71 season. The Cowboys won all six home games there, part of a 10-game winning streak that resulted in the franchise's first Super Bowl championship.