Playing for America's Team brings more attention, more interest and different challenges than playing for most other teams. The Cowboys have had fan tours at The Star before they even moved into the Frisco, Texas, training facility in 2016.
But the tours were cited as a possible reason (among many) that the Cowboys haven't been to an NFC Championship Game since 1995. An ESPN story on the tours quoted some former players as suggesting they are a hindrance to winning (despite the fact that the Cowboys won 12 games in each of the past three regular seasons).
Cowboys quarterback Dak Prescott said the tours are not an issue for him and no different than media in the building most days during the season.
"For one, this is all I know. I'm not going to let a couple people touring the building distract me. I'm present where I am," Prescott said Thursday, via Jon Machota of TheAthletic.com. "I think, honestly, it's an excuse. What's the different in [media] coming in the locker room and talking? Guys bitch about that, too, and I don't get that.
"It's being professional; some things you deal with. Obviously, I guess, the nature of this organization, the tours are probably 10 times more than other places, if other places are doing them. . . . You've got to embrace it, honestly. You can walk by and have a negative mindset about it and allow it to ruin your day, or you can be thankful that you're in an organization that people want to see.
"For me, it's just easy to say 'What's up,' wave and keep walking. I think I've heard you feel like a zoo animal, well, it's like, sometimes I bark back and I say 'Hey,' and you just keep rolling. A lot going on, I'm not going to allow a couple of people [walking] through the workplace, there's people on the other side of the building that you don't necessarily know. Is it a distraction when you're grabbing your plate and they're grabbing theirs? It's easy to focus on what you want to focus on, if that's your mindset."
Prescott said the tours, while much smaller, are no different than playing in front of 93,000 at AT&T Stadium.
"If that's the case, then the crowd is a distraction when you get out there," Prescott said. "It's the NFL. It's a business that those exact reasons that this game is entertaining; that people want to watch it; that you have the fans that you have and you can create the relationships. If you're distracted by that, then you're distracted by the fans in any arena you get into."