As a participant in Sunday night's football game between the Dallas Cowboys and New York Giants, John Phillips had the distinction of playing in front of the largest crowd in regular-season professional football history.

You could have taken the population of Phillips' native Bath County and the four Virginia counties that surround it and not matched the crowd of 105,121 at the new Cowboys Stadium.

"It's just unreal," said Phillips, a rookie tight end from the University of Virginia. "You're just taken aback the first time you see it. I know I was back in the summer time.

"Plus, we've got the craziest fans. Even when we played at Tampa Bay the first week, it seemed like half the people in the stands were Cowboys fans."

It wasn't a foregone conclusion that Phillips would make the Cowboys' roster when he was selected in the sixth round of the NFL Draft, nor was it a certainty that he would make the active roster on a team that went to camp with six tight ends.

Part of the thrill Monday night was getting on the field and playing.

Phillips is a regular on the Cowboys' kickoff returns and punt teams and occasionally serves on the punt-return unit. He also has gotten playing time when the Cowboys have employed three tight ends.

Normally, Dallas would use three tight ends in running situations, but Phillips was the Cowboys' second-leading receiver in the preseason.

Phillips was one of two rookies from UVa to make the Cowboys' roster. The other was undrafted wide receiver Kevin Ogletree.

"It's been a big help having him down here," said Phillips who stayed with Ogletree prior to training camp and has roomed with him on the road. "He's made a strong first impression and shown that he definitely was a draftable guy."

Ogletree is on the Cowboys' 53-man roster but was not among the 46 players who were activated for the game.

A third rookie from Virginia, outside linebacker Clint Sintim, was selected by the Giants in the second round of the draft but was nursing an injury and did not make the trip to Dallas.

"We had an interesting text conversation after the game -- a friendly back and forth," said Phillips, who roomed with Sintim for two years at UVa. "It's a neat little fraternity. It's a unique lifestyle that we have. You know when they're off and there's always somebody you can call or text."

Phillips said his parents, Gene (Bugs) and Susan, will be making their first appearance at Cowboys Stadium this coming Monday night, when the Cowboys entertain Carolina.

Older brother Jake is assisting with the football team at the Phillips brothers' alma mater, Bath County High School, while monitoring possible openings in arenafootball2 (which once had a franchise in Roanoke) and the new United Football League.

Jake Phillips played quarterback at William and Mary, which gave him family bragging rights after the Tribe defeated Virginia 26-14 in Charlottesville earlier this month, "but he didn't give me too much grief," John said.

"We've got too many other things to worry about."

That's not to say that Phillips feared that he would be cut.

"I was very confident," he said. "You've got to be very confident in this league. If you don't think that you've got a chance, then you're putting yourself behind the eight-ball."

One key for Phillips was his preparation during OTAs (Organized Team Activities) and mini-camps.

He made a name for himself on the field and off. On May 2, when a severe thunderstorm caused the Cowboys' practice facility to collapse, Phillips was hailed for his efforts in assisting Cowboys staff members who were injured.

"We've all seen the video footage by now," wrote Nick Eatman in a blog on the Cowboys' Web site. "We see the shots of guys like tight end John Phillips going face-first into a broken glass window that he kicked out, looking for more survivors."

To this day, Phillips is uncomfortable talking about his role in the rescue effort.

"You still have some reminders, when you see our special-teams coach [Joe DeCamillis] had a broken neck out of the deal and [scouting assistant Rich Behm] was paralyzed from the waist down," Phillips said. "It was a tragic accident, and we're just trying to put it behind us."

That's in the past and the present hasn't been all rosy. The Cowboys.

After winning its opener 34-21 at Tampa Bay, Dallas lost its home debut to the New York Giants, 33-31, on a last-second field goal.

"We had something like 250 yards rushing and did some things very well, but we had a bunch of turnovers," Phillips said. "Obviously, it's very disappointing, especially when you give a game away like we did."

Phillips isn't content to be a footnote in history.

"I think every little kid, whether it's in Bath County or wherever, dreams of playing for a particular team or just professional sports," he said. "That's how me and my friends were. My dream kept getting closer and closer.

"I'm here now, but that's not the ultimate goal. It's to keep getting better and work my way into a predominant role."