On a warm, sunny afternoon in Oxnard, a sports complex was packed with die-hard pro football fans who had traveled from around the country to cheer on the Dallas Cowboys.
"I'm a Cowboys fan since 1977. This is what we do," said Ken Burton, who drove to Oxnard from Phoenix to see some of his favorite players in action.
This is the 20th year the Cowboys have conducted their summer training camp at Oxnard’s River Ridge Training Fields.
Tom Hammet came from Bisbee, Arizona with his girlfriend Angela Ingram. He said he's been a lifelong fan.
"My dad was born in Paris, Texas, so I grew up being a Cowboys fan."
Some people who bought VIP passes are watching from the sidelines, right on the edge of the practice fields. Hundreds of people are watching from bleachers on the west side of the practice fields, and those seats are free.
Joshua Busby of San Diego is watching the practice from the bleachers with his one-year-old son, Joshua Busby Jr., and his wife, Persia Mayo. The infant is wearing a team jersey, apparently getting an early start on fandom.
"My father, mother, godparents, grandparents, everybody is a Cowboys fan," said Busby. "It's kind of like our religion in Dallas to be a Cowboys fan. It was either be a Cowboys fan, or you gotta go."
His wife Persia was a bit of a tougher sell.
"I had to convince her to come to the camp. I had to promise her a little side trip."
Jonathan Villagomez doesn't have to travel far to attend the training camp games. He's from Oxnard.
"I've been coming to the camp for 15 years," he said. "I live a 15-minute walk from here. It's cool coming over here and having them (the team) in my city."
Team officials say they like holding the camp in Oxnard, where it tends to be cooler than Texas in the summer. Meanwhile, Oxnard tourism officials like the tradition, because it brings fans to the region.
The Cowboys have a long history in Ventura County. From 1963 to 1989, they trained at California Lutheran University in Thousand Oaks. They came to Oxnard in 2001.
Multiple practice games are open to the public this year. On August 18, they'll play a scrimmage with the New Orleans Saints. They'll finish their summer training camp in Texas.
