Can Art and Football Mix?

George Plimpton famously combined letters and football when he took a break from his day job as editor-in-chief of The Paris Review to try out for the Detroit Lions – as a 36-year-old rookie quarterback. He documented the sobering experience in his classic book, Paper Lion. He was a great success at the art part… but as Plimpton readily admits, pretty bad at football.

Well, Dallas has given the creative/athletic fusion thing another go, by building a beautiful new football stadium for the Cowboys which essentially doubles as an art museum. Fans pass work by some of the world’s greatest artists (including Olafur Eliasson and Teresita Fernandez) on their way to watch the big game.

And it seems many of the artists were inspired by football.

I think Cowboy fans and art fans have plenty in common: they are dedicated to their sport and its craft, connoisseurs of its stars, and passionate about great work – on the field, or on the wall. And in a sense, the Cowboys have taken on art before … Check out three-time Superbowl champ Emmitt Smith master the intricacies of ballroom dance:

– Mike Guerriero