Maximum Sports Connection, Arlington

For the guests of Cowboy Fan Connection, a Dallas Cowboys game actually starts three hours before kickoff. For both home and away games, the company hosts all-inclusive tailgate parties—with or without tickets to the game itself—that keep revelers sustained with burgers, brats, drinks, and raffles for Cowboys merchandise. Customers can dress the part with apparel from the online store to show off their fandom or eerie resemblance to Troy Aikman to current and former players during private autograph sessions.

In addition to game-day events, Cowboy Fan Connection also hosts Saturday-night dinner parties where fans come together to break bread as sportswriter Mickey Spagnola and former Cowboy Nate Newton broadcast their weekly radio program, Radio Road Show. Stadium tours the day before or after a game enable fans to guide themselves throughout Cowboys Stadium, while off-season trips such as a weekend in the Bahamas give fans the chance to draw up defensive plays in the sand with current and former Cowboys.