The Dallas Cowboys Leave MetLife Stadium with a Win Over the New York Giants

Last night was the long-awaited opening game of the 2012 NFL season between the Super Bowl Champion New York Giants and the Dallas Cowboys at MetLife Stadium. As a die hard Dallas Cowboys fan, I was fortunate enough to land myself a ticket to the game. I was initially hesitant to wear any Cowboys paraphernalia to the game but ultimately made the decision to sport the team colors and just hope for the bets. We got to the stadium early enough so that we could walk around the parking lot and check out all the really cool tailgate parties going on. I have to say that I was pleasantly surprised that other than a "COWBOYS SUCK" and a "ROMO'S A CHOKE ARTIST," quips, I really didn't hear much from the home town Giants fans before the game. Here's a picture from our tailgaiting festivities last night including NJ1015's News Anchor Matthew White and Saturday Night Jersey 80's host Matt Ryan.

After getting in some good tailgating time, we headed into the stadium for the game. MetLife Stadium was all decked out for the opening night with plenty to see and do, including a concert on the concourse by the 90's group Naughty by Nature. The pre-game was capped off by New Jersey's own Queen Latifah singing a rousing edition of the Star Spangled Banner and a fly over by 3 Army Helicopters.

Dallas held the lead for the majority of the game and was even able to hold off a late rally from the Super Bowl Champs thanks to the strong play of quarterback Tony Romo, running back DeMarco Murray, wide receiver Kevin Ogletree and defensive standout DeMarcus Ware.

As the game started to wind down and Dallas looked as if they would come away with a win, I started to find myself thinking "Grumpy Giants might equal a long walk to the car for me." So I kept my celebration to a minimum as the game came to a close. Again, I found myself pleasantly surprised as we walked the way back to our car without any grief whatsoever with maybe only a few good-natured jokes comments along the way.

In all, it was a fantastic way to kickoff the NFL season with a great game with an even better experience for the fans from both the home and visiting teams.

Check out the gallery below with pictures from the 2012 NFL Kickoff: