I had heard pretty much everything you could about Cowboys Stadium before last weekend’s big game. Friends who had been there, as well as numerous sports pundits, all seemed to agree that the stadium was “big,” “nice” and “fancy.”

But nothing I heard or read could have ever prepared me for experiencing it in person as I did on Friday and Saturday.

My first in-person glimpse of Jerry World – the massive structure that Dallas Cowboys owner Jerry Jones opened in May 2009 – came around 9 a.m. on Friday morning, just five hours removed from the nearly 10-hour treck from Tuscaloosa to Dallas. My eyes may have been heavy that morning, but what I saw shot them open immediately.

The stadium looks big from the highway but so do most. You don’t really get a feel for how big a stadium actually is until you get up close and personal with it. When the rest of The Crimson White sports crew and I walked up to the mammoth collection of steel and mortar, we knew this was no ordinary stadium.

The best way I’ve found to describe Cowboys Stadium in the few days since I’ve been there is a gigantic, five-star hotel with a football field in the middle of it. Everything from the carpet to the walls to the lighting is first-class and almost feels like the inside of a palace. There are TVs everywhere and murals of old Cowboys’ triumphs line the walls and elevators.

And did I mention the video board?

It’s hard to put into words the glistening screen that stretches from 20-yard line to 20-yard line. Yes, it’s big, but the picture is crystal clear. Even sitting high up in the press box, there was no mistaking what was on the display. Most of the time, the players on the screen appeared larger than the players on the field.

But it’s also the little things that made my Cowboys Stadium experience one to remember. The main thing that jumped out to me was the numerous friendly staff members located just about everywhere you looked. They were always happy to point me in the right direction and never did so with a sense of annoyance.

It’s difficult to imagine your favorite team playing in such a venue week-in and week-out (the Cowboys, in fact, are my least favorite professional sports team). And on Saturday, when I step into Bryant-Denny Stadium, I’ll do something I never thought would. I’ll think to myself, “Is this it?”