It’s Time To Remember Why We Believe in Tony Romo
According to ESPN Radio Host Colin Cowherd, the Dallas Cowboys fan base is “the 4th most delusional fan base” in sports. Dallas Fans are far from delusional; they are believers. A delusion is a belief held with strong conviction despite evidence to the contrary. The Cowboys hold enough evidence of superiority to have fans that truly believe in them. They are not delusional. There are countless reasons to support the Cowboys, but one of them is certainly without a doubt Tony Romo. Let us go back in time and remember why Cowboy Fans have the conviction to look forward and believe.
I remember Dallas was playing against the New York Giants on an October night back in 2006. The Boys were struggling and so was their starting quarterback at the time, Drew Bledsoe. The game looked lost and chants for the unknown second string QB were being shouted all around Texas Stadium: “Romo! Romo! Romo!” Finally, without hesitation, Head Coach Bill Parcells pulled the trigger. Bledsoe was out and the crowd went crazy as the unproven quarterback from Eastern Illinois walked onto the field. Despite the chants for Romo, many were still skeptical about him and thought he might just be a one-day starter.
The fans really cheered because they wanted a change and they hoped Romo could be something special. They needed someone to end an endless drought of mediocre quarterback play. That’s a lot to expect from an unknown quarterback that was not a big name college athlete.
Romo’s reign of glory didn’t last long though as an interception on one of his first plays watered down fan’s initial expectations. Anger and frustration was soon replaced with hope as Romo started to move the ball and show some athleticism in the pocket. Although that day ended with a loss, it was a big win in the long run for the franchise. That same year, they went on to reach the wildcard round of the playoffs with Romo as their quarterback. Eventually, the Cowboys loss in a fashion that would leave dark clouds over the new starting QB that offseason. The Cowboys understood they had discovered a missing piece in their puzzle, a franchise quarterback.
Romo has been very solid at the quarterback position since that night in 2006 and hasn’t looked back. Tony is a top 10 quarterback, easily over guys like Michael Vick and Phillip Rivers. I would take him over those two any day. Romo had perhaps his best season last year despite the Dallas Cowboys going 8-8. The stats prove it. He threw for 4185 yards for 31 touchdowns and only 10 interceptions ending with a 102.5 rating. Vick in the other hand had only 3303 yards, 18 touchdown passes and 14 interceptions with a rating of 84.9. Romo has out played many of the supposed Top 10 quarterbacks in the NFL each year. He just fails to get the recognition he deserves because he’s always under the microscope. That’s simply the price of being the quarterback for America’s Team.
Just like Romo gave us hope when he emerged back in 2006, lets continue to have that hope in him now that he is older and much more wiser. Romo has committed his share of mistakes in the past but he has shown he can battle through them. Dallas has something great in Tony and I believe it’s only a matter of time before he leads the Cowboys to the Super Bowl and brings home the Lombardi Trophy. It’s time we all remembered why we first believed in Tony Romo in the first place.