Why I'll always love Tony Romo

First of all let me get this out of the way right now. I love Tony Romo! I've dealt with a lot of hatred from people over the years because of this fact. I've defended him against all sorts of haters for a long long time. People hate him for all sorts of reasons. He dropped the snap on the field goal against Seattle and cost the Cowboys a win in the 2006 playoffs, he took Jessica Simpson to Cabo in the bye week and then proceeded to lose to the Giants in the playoffs in 2007, people don’t like him because he’s injury prone, but most of all people don’t like him because at the beginning of his career as QB1 of the Dallas Cowboys he wasn’t a leader. All of these facts are valid points. The one thing that people fail to realize is that Tony Romo single handedly saved the Dallas Cowboys. When Troy Aikman retired following the 2000 season, we were in the purgatory of the NFL. We went through eight starting quarterbacks from 2001-2006. Quincy Carter was supposed to become “The man”. He is now playing Arena league ball for a some team in Corpus Christi. For God sakes we started Ryan Leaf at one point! Ryan Leaf, arguably the biggest bust in the history of pro football. On October 23rd, 2006, Drew Bledsoe getting hurt changed the face of the Cowboys franchise. That was the day that Tony Romo became QB1 for the Dallas Cowboys. We finally had stability at the one position that so many teams wish they had. Did Tony Romo ever win us a super bowl? No he did not, and quite frankly that’s a travesty. Since he became our starter in 2006, Tony Romo has 25 4th quarter comebacks. No one in the NFL has more in that time frame. In an era dominated by Tom Brady, Peyton Manning, Aaron Rodgers, and Drew Brees, Tony Romo sits at the top of the mountain when it comes to comeback victories. People claim he’s not clutch? I beg to differ. His passer rating in the 4th quarter is 102.9 or 5 points higher than the second person on the list. Who is that you may ask? Oh just some guy named Aaron Rodgers, the best quarterback in the NFL right now. But Tony Romo never won a super bowl so that means he isn’t good right? Quite frankly the way that fans view players will never make sense to me. Dan Marino never won a super bowl so obviously because Eli Manning has won two that means that Eli is better right? No knowledgeable football fan will agree with that statement. Yet, those same people will argue that Romo “isn’t good”.

Dak Prescott is now QB1 for the Dallas Cowboys. That is something that he earned this season. Tony Romo just can’t stay healthy anymore. Does he still have the talent? Yes! Do I think he can still be a starting quarterback in this league? Yes! But the page has turned in the Tony Romo chapter of the Dallas Cowboys book. Hopefully in the offseason Jerry Jones will do the right thing and either trade him or release him so he can go to a team where he has the opportunity to start. Not because that’s the “smart football move”, because that’s what Tony Romo deserves. He’s been the face of our franchise for ten years. He made us relevant again. For that, I’ll forever be grateful. As a Dallas Cowboys fan, I will always love whoever the starting quarterback is. But you can believe that I’ll always hold a special place in my heart for Tony Romo. If this is the end and he never takes another snap as a Dallas Cowboy, I just want to say Thank you Tony. Thank you for making us believe in Dallas Cowboys football again. We would be nothing if we wouldn’t of had you the last ten years.