LAS VEGAS — Micah Parsons is lording above the neon-lit Strip, almost sneering at drivers and pedestrians who are trying to catch a glimpse of the Dallas Cowboys rookie linebacker before his image on the big-screen marquee near the Fashion Show mall flickers out.
A sea of NFL jerseys, with the occasional cheesehead, ripples as fans traverse a volcano, dancing water fountains, the Eiffel Tower, the Statue of Liberty and a pyramid complete with a Raiders-inspired, eyepatch-wearing Sphinx standing guard.
It’s Pro Bowl week in the NFL’s newest market, which is making an audition, of sorts, as host of the league’s biggest events. It wasn’t that long ago that the NFL wouldn’t allow Las Vegas to purchase commercial airtime during the Super Bowl. And now, the league’s all-star game is about to be held here (3 p.m. ET, Sunday, ESPN), followed by the NFL draft in April, and in two years, Super Bowl LVIII. Indeed, Las Vegas is in line to become the first city to play host to all three NFL events, thanks to the Raiders setting up shop here in 2020.
This desert oasis used to be the sporting domain of Jerry Tarkanian’s band of Runnin’ Rebels from UNLV, rock stars in their own right who probably couldn’t have imagined the NFL rolling into town, even if Stacey Augmon and Larry Johnson did rock Los Angeles Raiders caps for a photo op during the 1990-91 season.
So there was a certain symmetry in Raiders tight end Darren Waller, Las Vegas’ Walter Payton NFL Man of the Year candidate, taking in the Rebels’ win over rival Nevada on Tuesday night at the Thomas & Mack Center. Waller was hounded for pictures and autographs and obliged before grabbing the rim on his way off Tarkanian Court. And, remember, it was “Sweetness” himself…
Source : espn
