Romo, Tony

▪ 2008

Antonio Ramiro Romo 

born April 21, 1980, San Diego, Calif.

      In 2007 the Dallas Cowboys' Tony Romo staked his claim as one of the elite quarterbacks of the National Football League (NFL) with a series of phenomenal performances. He threw for more than 300 yd in four of the first five games of the season and on November 29, in a 37–27 victory over the Green Bay Packers, notched his 30th touchdown pass and thereby broke Danny White's team single-season record for scoring passes. In the Cowboys' next outing, on December 9, Romo engineered an 11-play, 83-yd drive in the game's final two minutes to secure a come-from-behind win over the Detroit Lions that gave the Cowboys their first National Football Conference (NFC) East Division title in nine years. Romo finished the regular season with 36 touchdowns and 4,211 passing yards—another franchise record.

      Romo, the son of a Mexican American father and a mother of Polish and German descent, spent most of his childhood in southern Wisconsin, where he idolized Packers quarterback Brett Favre, whose aggressive, risk-taking style of play he eventually sought to emulate. Although Romo was a standout player for Burlington (Wis.) High School, he was not recruited by the major college football teams and wound up attending Eastern Illinois University, a Division I-AA school in Charleston, Ill. At Eastern he was a three-time (2000–02) Ohio Valley Conference Player of the Year, and in his senior season he received the Walter Payton Award as Division I-AA's top offensive player.

      Despite being eligible for the 2003 NFL draft, Romo was again overlooked. Later that year he signed with the Cowboys as an undrafted free agent, but he earned little playing time in his first three seasons. He did not take over as starting quarterback until 2006, when he replaced an aging Drew Bledsoe near midseason. Romo blossomed almost immediately in the starter's role, helping the Cowboys land a wild-card spot in the play-offs. His ability to improvise plays and his willingness to throw downfield quickly made him a fan favourite. He finished the season having passed for 19 touchdowns and 2,903 yd and became the first Cowboys quarterback to be selected for the Pro Bowl since Aikman in 1996.

      Although Romo was blamed for the Cowboys' 2006 play-off loss to Seattle—he dropped the snap on a potentially game-winning field-goal attempt—he returned to lead the team to a 12–1 start in 2007, the best in franchise history. He raised his profile off the field with a spate of television commercials and a stint as a judge for the 2007 Miss Universe contest. Meanwhile, his rumoured relationships, notably with country singer Carrie Underwood (Underwood, Carrie ) and singer-actress Jessica Simpson, provided plenty of fodder for the tabloids. In December Romo was again chosen for the Pro Bowl, joining Favre and the Seattle Seahawks' Matt Hasselbeck at the quarterback position on the NFC team.

Sherman Hollar

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▪ American athlete

born April 21, 1980, San Diego, Calif., U.S.

      American professional gridiron football (football, gridiron) player who emerged as one of the leading quarterbacks in the National Football League (NFL) in the early 21st century.

      Romo spent most of his childhood in southern Wisconsin, where he idolized Green Bay Packers quarterback Brett Favre (Favre, Brett), whose aggressive, risk-taking style of play he eventually sought to emulate. Although Romo was a standout player for Burlington (Wis.) High School, he was not recruited by the major college football teams and wound up attending Eastern Illinois University, a Division I-AA school in Charleston, Ill. At Eastern Illinois he was a three-time (2000–02) Ohio Valley Conference Player of the Year, and in his senior season he received the Walter Payton (Payton, Walter) Award as Division I-AA's top offensive player.

      Despite being eligible for the 2003 NFL draft, Romo was again overlooked. Later that year he signed with the Dallas Cowboys as an undrafted free agent, but he earned little playing time in his first three seasons. He did not take over as starting quarterback until 2006, when he replaced an aging Drew Bledsoe near midseason. Romo blossomed almost immediately in the starter's role, helping the Cowboys land a wild-card spot in the playoffs. His ability to improvise plays and his willingness to throw downfield quickly made him a fan favourite. He finished the season having passed for 19 touchdowns and 2,903 yards and became the first Cowboys quarterback to be selected for the Pro Bowl since Troy Aikman in 1996.

      Although Romo was blamed for the Cowboys' 2006 play-off loss to the Seattle Seahawks—he dropped the snap on a potentially game-winning field-goal attempt—he returned to lead the team to a 12–1 start in 2007, the best in franchise history. He threw for more than 300 yards in four of the first five games of the season as the Cowboys went on to win their first National Football Conference (NFC) East Division title in nine years. Romo finished the regular season with 36 touchdowns and 4,211 passing yards—another franchise record. In December he was again chosen for the Pro Bowl.

Sherman Hollar

 

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