FIFA “brought out the curtains” for Japan-Sweden’s Group F match at Dallas Stadium on Thursday, and it is “expected to be the only match to need the curtains to negate the sun’s glare,” according to the DALLAS MORNING NEWS. The other eight World Cup matches at the venue are “in the early afternoon or after the sun has already set.” Thursday’s match is the latest event at Dallas Stadium to “have curtains blocking the west-facing windows,” but do not “expect to add Dallas Cowboys games to that list any time soon.” Much like the grass field FIFA is using during the tournament, the curtains are “likely destined for storage” after the World Cup (DALLAS MORNING NEWS, 6/25). The AP’s Jamie Stengle noted fans at Dallas Stadium “could still look out to see the views from the glass panels on the east end” Thursday but the west end “was covered with black curtains for the match.” The glare from the west end has “impacted plays during football games over the years.” Curtains have been “used for some concerts and at other events at the stadium,” but Cowboys owner Jerry Jones has “rejected putting them up” for football games (AP, 6/25).
DRONE PATROL: The FBI said that more than 50 drones “have been seized by law enforcement officials at World Cup sites in Dallas-Fort Worth” since the start of the tournament. FBI Special Agent in Charge Joseph Rothrock said that “over half of the confiscated drones were taken from the area surrounding Dallas Stadium.” Eighteen of them were “taken during the weekend of June 14″ — the stadium’s first match (DALLAS MORNING NEWS, 6/25).
WHO RUNS THE WORLD: In Dallas, Alyson Rodriguez wrote attendees at the FIFA Fan Festival in Dallas may have “spotted some lime green 3D-printed statues as they walked in through the south entrance” of the festival. The statues are a part of the #IfThenShe Can-The Exhibit: Game Changers, which “features 26 STEM innovators who have helped the world of sports.” The exhibition is from Lyda Hill Philanthropies’ IF/THEN initiative and “features 10 Dallas-Fort Worth-based women.” There are “many Dallas icons showcased,” including former Mavericks CEO Cynt Marshall (DALLAS MORNING NEWS, 6/25).
CLEAN UP CREW: In Dallas, José Sánchez Córdova noted Japanese fans “continued their famous tradition of cleaning up the stands” after their team’s 1-1 draw against Sweden at Dallas Stadium on Thursday. Fans of Samurai Blue have become renowned for their cleanup efforts after World Cup matches and have done so since their tournament debut in France 1998, according to ESPN. Thursday “was no different as the fans stayed behind to tidy up their sections at the stadium.” Fans often “bring their own blue trash bags to the stadium for the purpose of cleaning after the match” (DALLAS MORNING NEWS, 6/25). In Fort Worth, Lawrence Dow writes the reason Japan fans clean up after themselves at the World Cup “can be explained by a Japanese proverb about the importance of leaving no mess.” The tradition is “not without its detractors.” Some Japanese women “complained about male fans being praised internationally who don’t live up to that reputation at home” (FORT WORTH STAR-TELEGRAM, 6/26).