Fred Mabson, a local restaurant owner, said that he was a kid who "had no advantage in any way, shape, or form. His parents were not wealthy." Which would explain the small vague house across from the old town cemetary.
Rick Koceja, a sixth grade P.E. teacher, called him a typical boy who was "a little hyper. Very active. Got into his share of trouble, but knew when to settle down."
Antonio played for the Minis team in the Frank Roth League of the Burlington Little League. In 1993, the Minis beat Pick N Save 18-13, and he had 4 hits. After that win, he played for the Frank Roth All-Stars and helped beat the Ginger Beaumont League All-Stars 15-14 for the championship.
He played soccer until his freshman year at Burlington High School in Burlington, WI but became a "gym rat" first and foremost excelling in basketball. He decided to join the Demons football team his junior and senior year and became their quarterback. His basketball coaches were stunned to learn that he wanted to concentrate on football to get in to college since they fully expected that he would could be recruited to pound the hardwood by a mid-Division I school, but he felt like he could go further by learning to dissect secondaries as a quarterback.
During these high school years, his idol, Brett Favre was busy leading the Green Bay Packers to a couple of Super Bowl appearances.
At 6-2, Antonio Ramiro Romo was a little small as a QB, and he honestly admitted that he didn't deserve to be recruited by bigger schools like the Universtiy of Wisconsin who eventually turned him down. "I pretty much sucked compared to some of the guys that had come out of there, I tell you what, I would not have recruited me. I was an average quarterback. I mean, I did some things, I ran around and made some plays, but I didn't throw the football very well, a little undersized, all those things. There was nothing that said, 'Go get this guy.'"
But, someone did.
He ended up receiving a scholarship from the Division I-AA school Eastern Illinois where he became a three-year starter and was Division I-AA Player of the Year when he was a senior.
At the 2003 NFL draft, Romo did not even get selected. He was contacted during the draft by another former Eastern Illinois quarterback who said that his team had strong interest, but for some reason Sean Payton and the Dallas Cowboys did not select him. After the draft, he was approached again by Payton and yet another former EIU Panther QB, Mike Shanahan.
Romo was offered a $20,000 signing bonus by Denver and $10,000 by Dallas. He chose Dallas and later told Shanahan, "Coach, I thought I had a better chance of making the team there than I did at your place."
In training camp of 2003, coach Bill Parcells put Romo as the #3 QB behind Quincy Carter and Chad Hutchinson. He would not see any action at all that season while Brett Favre finished the year 10-6 and so far in his career had compiled 45, 646 yards and 346 TD passes.
In 2004, Dallas cut Hutchinson and signed Vinnie Testaverde to mentor Carter while trading a third-round pick to the Houston Texans for the rights to Drew Henson. The future did not look good for Romo who would now be #4 and Parcells does not carry four QB's.
Then fate arrived.
Awhile back, Quincy Carter had made the conscious decision to inject himself with cocaine and the result was a sudden release from the team under allegations from the NFL over substance-abuse. When the drugs entered the body, Romo entered the NFL.
He stayed the #3 QB that season but was elevated to #2 in 2005 behind newly-signed Drew Bledsoe. On October 23, 2006, Bledsoe threw an interception vs. the Giants right before halftime. When the teams returned for the second half, the Romo era began.
And now you know the rest of the story.
This fascinating journey comes to a memorable turn in the road when Tony Romo faces his idol, the legendary #4, this Thursday. The similarities are eerie. They both have sterling vision of the field and have the God-given ability to improvise by getting out of the pocket and creating plays. Watching them will make your heart stop. After a TD pass, they both streak down the field pumping their fists and smiling like an 8-year-old spotting his father taking out a brand new bike from the back of the family station wagon.
Can you imagine what will be going through Romo's head when he looks across the field and sees the man that he imitated growing up when he played street football with this friends? He's been on the sideline before when Dallas played the Pack, but he didn't play much less start.
This NFC battle is a big one, but a loss is not cataclysmic to either team's season although it just might determine who will have home-field advantage in the NFC Championship game if both teams make it that far.
I'm sure the bigger measuring stick that day as these two former 1967 Ice Bowl participants slam helmets will be held up by Antonio Ramiro Romo as he looks to show Favre that his legacy will live on after he retires....wearing a star.
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