IRVING, Texas - Former Cowboys linebacker Lee Roy Jordan played his first eight full seasons at the Cotton Bowl before the franchise moved to Texas Stadium midway through the 1971 season.

Jordan, who played from 1963-76, remembers the stadium's pristine condition when it opened for a Week Six win over New England. The Cowboys, of course, won the rest of their home games that season and eventually captured their first Super Bowl title.

"It was just absolutely terrific having new surroundings, new dressing rooms," Jordan said. "That was some of the disappointment I guess for the Cotton Bowl is the dressing rooms and so forth were built in the '40s and '50s - a little bit dilapidated.

"But it was a great feeling to come to Texas Stadium with the shape of Texas Stadium having the upper-deck fans pretty close to the action. The Cotton Bowl was way spread out. It was really exciting for us as players because you felt like the fans were really close to you."

Jordan anchored the Cowboys' "Doomsday Defense" for 14 years, earning five Pro Bowl trips. He was inducted into the team's famed Ring of Honor in 1989.