You all know this by now but it doesn’t hurt to say it again, Tony Romo, the Dallas Cowboys starting quarterback, is hitting a broadcasting booth to call games for CBS after a decade on the field. But that is old news and what is, well not new but interesting is a list of 10 things you probably didn’t know about him! Here it goes:
#1 His love for golf started at age 8
Besides him being a QB Tony is also passionate about golf. According to Romo’s official website you can find out that his first set of golf clubs came for Christmas when he was just eight. The natural next step is him taking his clubs and going to tee up a golf ball in the empty lot next to his parents’ home. When his mother saw this, she warned Tony’s father by saying “Tony was outside getting ready to hit a golf ball directed at the neighbor’s home” to which his father replied, “it’s okay he’ll miss it.” Since failure is not Romo’s thing, he managed to hit a 70-yard shot that ended up in neighbors’ living room.
#2 As a junior, he was his high school’s third-string QB
As we managed to find out from D Magazine story by Peter Simek, Romo at the beginning of his junior year (1996) at Burlington High School was the varsity’s third-string quarterback. His luck changed when his two first colleges didn’t manage to do anything game-braking and when his coach decided to put him on the field. Romo without having ever played a game managed to organize a match of his life, passed for 308 yards.
#3 He could hoop back in the day
As you can see in this picture, Romo (left) was a member of the 1998 Racine County (Wisc.) All-County boys’ basketball team, but he also played varsity basketball, golf and tennis at Burlington High School. Thanks to his hyperactivity he is the first BHS athlete to receive all-state recognition in three different sports.
#4 His cute kids
Romo has two sons – Hawkins and Rivers, that are already taking after their old man. Besides that they are also very cute, check it out in these videos here.
#5 Romo outperformed almost every QB from his draft class
If you remember the 2003 draft, then you know that 32 teams made 262 selections and that 13 QB were selected. Out of those 13 only one – Carson Palmer, selected No. 1 overall by the Bengals managed to make Pro Bowl. Romo, undrafted, has played in three.
#6 He was wanted by Saints
In an interview with The Ticket 96.7 FM / 1310 AM this year, Payton discovered that one of the Cowboys’ biggest competitors to signing Romo as an undrafted free agent was Mike Shanahan and the Broncos. If you remember, in 2006, Payton who was a head coach of the Saints at the time, offered a third-round draft pick for Romo, but the Cowboys refused.
#7 Why he was attracted to his wife, Candice
This was explained by Romo in an interview with NBCDFW.com’s Meredith Land – “Part of what attracted me to Candice was because she’s similar to me” said Romo and added “Inherently, we’re homebodies who like family. We go on vacation, we take her parents, we take mine. And that’s fun. Enjoyable. No one loves her family, her husband, her kids more. At the same time, no one works harder.”
#8 He and Tom Brady have something in common
The two most underappreciated QBs at the time were Romo and New England’s Tom Brady. They both got their career break at the same time and in the same way – by replacing Drew Bledsoe. Brady replaced an injured Bledsoe in 2001, and the Patriots won a Super Bowl, while Romo took over for Bledsoe several games into the 2006 season.
#9 He has some unflattering history
Do you recall 2007? Yes, it was the year when Romo became only the second player in the history of Monday Night Football to throw five interceptions in a winning game as the Cowboys rallied to defeat Buffalo. The first place belongs to Romo’s QB coach with the Cowboys Wade Wilson.
#10 Romo is already a Hall of Famer
On October 17th, 2009, Romo was inducted into Eastern Illinois’ Hall of Fame, and he practically became the first player to have his number (17) retired by the school. He was also given the key to the city from Charleston Mayor John Inyart who you can see on the right in the picture shown.
