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By Eleanor Evans Staff Writer // eleanore@nwanews.com
Posted on Sunday, August 12, 2007
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BENTONVILLE — When Jerry Jones phoned the Bentonville Police Department to report someone rear-ended his truck, Sgt. Mike Smith’s ears perked up.
Smith, who claims to be the city’s biggest Dallas Cowboys fan, couldn’t wait to tell friend, police sergeant and Kansas City Chiefs fan Joe Falcon to “ be sure and take good care of that guy. ”
It wasn’t the truck of THAT Jerry Jones — the one who owns the Dallas Cowboys — just a man with the same name.
Falcon said that when he arrived at Jones’ house, he didn’t believe what he saw. The Bentonville Jerry Jones’ Ford F-150 is silver and blue — the colors of the Dallas Cowboys — and has Cowboys emblems on the front license plate and the front window.
“ I called Mike up and said, ‘ You aren’t gonna believe this, ’” Falcon said.
A few days later, Falcon was again dispatched to Jones’ house because the truck’s tires were slashed.
“ When I opened the door (and saw Falcon ), I said, ‘ We’ve gotta stop meeting like this, ’” Jones chuckled.
Jones, who moved to Bentonville from Greenville, Miss., last year, said he hasn’t been around long enough to give someone reason to slash his tires.
Falcon agrees — even though he thinks Jones is rooting for the wrong team.
“ He’s probably one of the nicest guys you’ll ever meet, ” Falcon said.
Falcon is a longtime fan of the Kansas City Chiefs — and his rivalry with Smith has been an ongoing joke amongst the two friends.
Falcon even transformed Smith’s daughter, Christine, 16, into a Chiefs’ fan — much to Smith’s dismay.
“ Joe converted my daughter to a Chiefs’ fan. My daughter of all people ! She even wanted to name my dog Chief, ” Smith said. Instead, he named his Labrador retriever Dallas. “ I named him after the best football team in the world, ” Smith said.
Although Bentonville’s Jerry Jones is a Cowboys’ fan, he swears his appreciation of the team came long before whom he calls “ the real Jerry Jones” purchased the Cowboys in 1989.
“ I called my mom and thanked her for naming me Jerry, ’” Jones said. He noted that at the time of the purchase, he had a Dallas Cowboys-themed credit card. It made for interesting moments when he’d flash the card to merchants.
“ It’s a great conversational piece, ” said Jones, who moved here to open a franchise of the Greenvillebased Queen City Furniture. He swears that while employed as a furniture salesman in Springdale, he talked to a customer who claimed to be the sister of the real Jerry Jones.
Jones isn’t ready to let a few slashed tires keep him out of Bentonville just yet — and hopes to open a furniture store in the fall.
He also doesn’t plan to get rid of his name.
“ It’s a really good selling tool, ” Jones said. “ You find out who the Cowboy fans are. ”
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