Are you ready?

A few hours have passed since the final score was tallied. The stadium in Minnesota is now empty. The media has quietly dispersed to write their newspaper stories and edit their sound bites. The respective clubhouses have both been cleared out; one filled with the lingering questions of ‘what if?’ and the other covered with the remaining residue of a raucous champagne celebration.

One of the most exciting “regular season” play-in games to ever occur is now finished; but a distant memory to some, an unforgettable moment to others. For fans of one franchise, the season is now over, a bitter and long winter lie ahead, pondering the questions of what should happen next and who needs to go. Fans of the other lie in anticipation for a quick turn around to compete in a first round playoff game in the Mecca of sports, the big apple, New York City.

Players on one roster must pack their bags and board a plane to head home, their eyes cast downward, sorting the disappointment from their minds, playing back each moment in their heads, wondering what could have been done to prolong their season for one more week, at least. Players on the other roster pack their bags eagerly awaiting the red eye flight to New York, their heads held high knowing they were the last men standing in an all out dog fight for 12 innings and nearly 4 and a half hours, living to play another day.

The manager of one squad must live with the decisions he made possibly being the cause of his club’s defeat. Having all winter to second guess his choices while trying to sort out roster fluctuations and getting back to the grind in preparations for spring training in February. The manager of the victors has to move on from the utter jubilation of a hard fought victory and assert himself and his coaches to prepare for their upcoming game a few short hours in the future.

Of course, I am talking about the Detroit Tigers and the Minnesota Twins. In case you missed it, the Twins came from behind twice in the game (first down 3 – 0 and then down 5 – 4) to stage an improbable comeback 3 weeks in the making to win the American League Central Division Title and set up a first round match up in the American League Division Series with the New York Yankees.

For the past 10 days, Yankees fans have long been debating who they would rather see their beloved Bronx Bombers face, the struggling Detroit Tigers or the hottest team in the land the Minnesota Twins. It seemed as if people were on the fence (I, myself would talk myself into rooting for one and then 10 minutes later find myself thinking of reasons to root for the other) with their opinions, but now that the opportunity to debate is over with, let’s get down to the important matter, do the Twins pose a threat to the Yankees quest for a 27th World Championship?

In short, I’d say, yes, the Twins do pose a threat to the Yankees quest for a 27th title and a victory parade through New York City in 3 weeks. That’s not to say I expect the Twins to win the series, but I don’t think it’ll be as easy as many Yankee fans hope it will be. People will take a look at the head to head records of the two teams and see that the Yankees had a clean sweep of Minnesota this season defeating them in all seven games. But, if you take a closer look at the scores of the games, the Yankees beat the Twins by a 8 runs in 6 of those games. The only game that wasn’t close was a 10 – 2 victory in July. The rest of the games were decided by no more than 2 runs and in mid-May the Yankees needed three straight walk off victories to defeat Minnesota. It’s not as if Minnesota is just going to roll over and let the Yankees run right past them towards the American League Championship Series.

Many people felt that the Yankees were better suited facing the Twins because they lack superior starting pitching and their lineup isn’t as strong as Detroit’s, therefore they would be the better opponent for New York. I admit, before I began to take a closer look at the Minnesota team, I was one of those individual’s. After a brief analysis of their statistics, I came to the following conclusion: they’re a better team than Detroit. It’s really not even close.

The Tigers would have been an easier opponent for the Yankees to face (I know, I know, you’re going to start yelling at me that the Yankees would’ve faced Justin Verlander twice, but hear me out). Detroit was a team that should’ve wrapped up the division 3 weeks ago, then 2 weeks ago, then last week. Hell, they were up 3 games with 4 to play. It took a Hindenburg like disaster for the Tigers to lose this division to Minnesota (disclaimer, the Titanic of all collapses is still held by the Mets. Sorry, the Tigers made it close, but the Mets were the best team in the National League when they choked in 2007. Detroit was lucky to be in the AL Central and have a chance). Detroit is the team that all Yankee fans should’ve hoped and prayed they saw them face.

I fully understand that the Yankees would’ve had to face the Tigers ace Justin Verlander in 2 games of that series, but, who cares? Verlander wasn’t exactly that great of a pitcher in his career against New York and even if Detroit won those games, they still would have to win another game, which wasn’t exactly in their favor. Not to mention their closer had an earned run average way north of 4.00 (terrible, utterly terrible) and they had exactly 2 relievers with earned run averages under 4. Basically, you could score on their bullpen more than Paris Hilton.

And their starting lineup? Well, they’re just named recognition only. They aren’t throwing out the Magglio Ordonez or Placido Polanco of 3 years ago. They aren’t even throwing out the Curtis Granderson of last year. The only guy the Tigers lineup to really fear facing is Miguel Cabrera. He was the only person on that team who made you worried. Brandon Inge hit a bunch of home runs this season, but he’s batting lowering than David Ortiz on the season (in other words, he sucks guys). Curtis Granderson struck out nearly once per game and didn’t even get a hit one out of every four times (in other words, he sucks too guys). Their starting catcher and starting short stop were both batting worse than the previous two! Why was there even a debate on who the Yankees would be better off facing? I feel foolish for ever thinking Detroit was good!

But, Detroit lost, can’t talk them down any longer. I can only talk up the Minnesota Twins and what a problem they will pose for New York tomorrow night. Sure, the Twins starting pitching doesn’t boast an “ace” or someone that can conceivably silence the Yankees bats for a long stretch of time. But, they do have guys that consistently throw strikes and allow their defense (one of the best in baseball) to make spectacular plays behind them. They may not have the strikeout machine, flame throwing, pitchers that other teams have, but they’ve got guys who are crafty and know how to pitch. (even Carl Pavano).

Their bullpen is one to be weary of as well. Joe Nathan is their closer. He’s one of the top 3 closers in all of baseball (I’d rank him ahead of Jonathon Papelbon and about 9 miles behind Mariano Rivera). These guys don’t screw around. After adding Jon Rauch and Ron Mahay to the mix, to compliment Matt Guerrier, the Twins have one of the best bullpens in baseball as it stands right now.

Everybody thought the Twins were done when one of their best hitters in Justin Morneau went down with a back injury forcing him to miss the rest of the season (after all, that’s 30 home runs and 100 rbi they’re missing). But, they’re being powered by the MVP Joe Mauer (it’s not a question of IF he’ll win, but by how much he’ll win by…I vote unanimously). They also have two guys in Jason Kubel and Michael Cuddyer who have hit nearly 30 home runs and 100 runs batted in a piece. Orlando Cabrera is a veteran player who knows how to hit (and knows how to stick it to the Yankees. We haven’t forgotten 2004, you rotten little…) and Denard Span may be one of the biggest surprises of the season stepping into the center field job superbly and playing tremendous defense and adding in speed and poise at the top of the batting order.

All in all, the Twins are going to be a tough team to beat. They’ve essentially been playing must-win games for nearly a month and have risen to the occasion tremendously winning 17 of their last 21 games to reach the playoffs. There has been no team hotter in baseball over the past 6 weeks than these Twins. They are riding a hot streak we haven’t seen since the 2007 Rockies (who rode it all the way to the World Series).

I wouldn’t like to be the team that has to see these 25 guys sitting in the dugout across from you. They’re a fundamentally sound team, who are well coached by Ron Gardenhire and have not only momentum, but the confidence in themselves to play at a high level and succeed. Add in the fact they play their home games at the Metrodome (between those thunder sticks and the homer hankies, it’s a tough place to play in given all the noise) and the Yankees are in for a tall order to come up victorious in this five-game series.

Have I convinced you yet that the Yankees aren’t going to just steam roll right on through Minnesota? And that this series will be extremely tough and an absolute melee to see who comes out on top? Compelling argument isn’t it?

Well, forget every damn word you just read. It means absolutely nothing. It doesn’t matter that we play the Twins. It didn’t matter if we played Detroit either. They’re the New York Yankees. They aren’t the Yankees of 2000 – 2008. They are THE New York Yankees again. (did you just get chills reading that? Because I did). They’re back in the saddle and ready to roll on through October. No disrespect to the Twins, they are a great ball club and have been playing terrific baseball for the entire month of September (and into October), but what did that get you? It got you a first round date with the executioner; the Yankees. Sure, the Twins have been playing great for the past month, have you read the newspaper lately? The Yankees have been playing outstanding baseball for the past 4 months. Since June 23, the Yankees have gone 65 – 27, or just the best in the big leagues. They’re clicking on all cylinders. Offense, defense, pitching. You name it, they have it.

The Twins have starting pitching that challenges hitters and makes you put the ball in play, that’ll help in Minnesota, but in Yankee Stadium? You need to strike people out guys. That’s why the Yankees are the best in the business. No team fuels the high octane heat the Yankees throw out there on a nightly basis. They’ve got the big dogs in the rotation (Sabathia and Burnett). The big dogs in the bullpen (Hughes and Rivera).

The Twins have a terrific lineup filled with both power and speed, but, the bottom of their order is something to laugh at. Their 7 – 9 hitters couldn’t hit the backside of a barn if you gave them three tries. The Yankees 7 – 9 hitters? They hit a combined 67 home runs and 225 runs batted in. Yikes. The Twins have 4 players who hit 25+ home runs and had 90+ runs batted in. That’s impressive. The Yankees? They have 7 players who hit more than 20 home runs and had 7 with 80+ runs batted in. That’s historic.

The Twins are a terrific team, but the Yankees are better. It’s not even close. The Twins aren’t even in the same class as the Yankees. Honestly, no team in baseball is at this point in the season. The Yankees should be the odds on favorites to not only get to the World Series from the American League, but to win the whole thing.

The Yankees had the best record in baseball at 103 – 59, no other team was closer than 6 games back to the Yankees pace. The season the Yankees as a team and as individual’s had, would be the talk of town if it were any other team. But, it’s the Yankees and they just ‘spent another $400 million to get back to the post season’. If this were any other market in baseball, people would be salivating over them as being an unstoppable team with nothing in their way from a World Series birth. But, the Yankees don’t get the respect any more. They haven’t won anything in 9 years and didn’t make the playoffs last year and haven’t made it past the first round since 2004.

Things have changed. This was the year where the Red Sox and Rays were going to surpass the Yankees and leave them in a cloud of dust. Nobody expected the Yankees to be able to compete with the depth of the Red Sox or the youth and skill set of the Rays. How’d that work out for everyone? The Yankees effectively gave the rest of baseball the giant middle finger, a resounding “eff you” and went onto post historic seasons from many of their star players.

Derek Jeter? I wrote about him back in March, saying he was in decline, the Yankees needed to move on from him and get as far away from the Captain as possible. (I can be an idiot sometimes I guess) I was wrong. Dead wrong. Apologies to the faithful leader of the Yankees. He’s gone on to post arguably the best season of his career both offensively (.334, 18 home runs and 68 runs batted in) and defensively (he can actually move to his left this year) and would’ve been the sure-fire MVP if Joe Mauer decided not to play baseball this season. A giant “eff you” to me and the rest of the media for doubting him.

Alex Rodriguez? Embarrassed by being ousted as a former steroid user and subject to public ridicule, he suffered a hip injury and was forced to have surgery and miss the first 6 weeks of the season. What did he do? Come back with a passion and determination I never thought was possible and he put up numbers in ¾ of a season that most people would dream of having during a full season. A giant “eff you” to the entire world, including some of his own teammates.

The list could go on and on, but you get the picture. This isn’t your typical run of the mill Yankee team from years past. This is a team that is unified and actually likes one another. It’s a team that has a little old school flavor with that new school look. From top to bottom you can see it in their eyes. From the old guard in Jeter, Rivera, Pettitte and Posada, to the new guard of Sabathia, Burnett, Teixeira and Swisher. They have the look. The hunger in their eyes. The determination. The grit. This is the year where all the past demons are exorcised. Consider this post season to be “The New York Yankee Exorcism”

First up on the agenda? The Minnesota Twins. The Yankees need to exorcise the first round post season demons that have plagued them in years past. In 2007, the Yankees soundly defeated the Indians in all 6 regular season match ups, only to be bounced out of the playoffs by the Indians and some bugs. In 2006, the Yankees were poised to wipe the floor with the Detroit Tigers and were promptly send home packing in stunning fashion. It’s always been said what happens in the regular season means nothing once the playoff starts. Usually, that would be the case. In this instance, it’s not. The victories the Yankees had over the Twins during the season speak volumes. They beat them early, they beat them late, they came back when they were down. They did it with offense, defense, pitching. In any way you could win a game, the Yankees did so against Minnesota. It’s time to exorcise the first round demon.

Carl Pavano is a Minnesota Twin. Yes, the American Idle himself. Spending 4 years and $40 million of the Yankees money to sit on the bench and never pitch, Mr. Pavano finds himself in the unfamiliar spot of actually having to pitch. (think you can find the Yankee stadium mound on Friday night Carl? You haven’t seen it too much before). There is nothing any Yankee fan wants to see more, than they want to see Carl Pavano on the receiving end of a good old fashioned butt whooping courtesy of the Yankees. Let’s exorcise that demon, shall we?

Let’s say the Yankees are able to get past Minnesota and move onto the American League Championship Series, this is where the exorcising demons get interesting. Red Sox or Angels; take your pick. There’s revenge to be sought from each of them. Memories of 2004 whirl around in our heads with each passing day on the calendar. Every time the Yankees play the Red Sox our blood pressure rises with the memories of the celebration on our field in 2004. But, then the Angels have eliminated the Yankees from the post season not once, but twice in the past decade. They’ve also been the only team over the course of the last 10 years to constantly and soundly spank the Yankees worse than a troublesome four-year old. We want revenge on each of them. It doesn’t matter who. One would be sweeter than the other, but the prize would be equally the same. Exorcise those demons any way you want.

If the Yankees somehow make it to the World Series, ah the sweetest revenge. We WANT the Dodgers. No, not for the posterity of avenging our 1981 World Series defeat. No, it’s Joe Torre. It’s Manny Ramirez. It’s the showdown people have been itching to see in New York. Torre was forced out of New York and didn’t have the most glowing things to say about some of his former Yankee friends. Manny Ramirez is just hated by everyone for being, well Manny. Nothing would be sweeter than to see Joe Torre and Manny Ramirez in Yankee Stadium for Game 1 of the World Series. Actually, the only thing sweeter would be seeing them walk off the Yankee Stadium field in disappointment following a Game 6 loss as the Yankees celebrate (we can only dream).

This could be the year for it all to end. Every demon can be exorcised. Every loss, criticism and failure atoned for (this means you A-Rod and you too, CC). The next 3 weeks could dispel the bitter taste that has been in the mouths of all Yankee fans since that faithful night in 2001 when Luis Gonzalez’s bloop floated majestically over the head of Derek Jeter, ending the Yankee dynasty and putting us through 9 years of baseball hell.

The next 3 weeks could put the Yankees back on the track to beginning a new dynasty; with a mix of old Yankees and new Yankees united as one. Will it happen? I’m not sure. Can it happen? You bet. Do I think it will? I hope.

One thing I do know, and I’ve been seeing it for the past 6 months from game 1 all the way to game 162. Derek Jeter has the look. He’s got that championship gleam in his eye. He’s 35 years old, but he’s hungrier now than when he won the World Series for the first time 13 years ago.

If he comes running out of that Yankee dugout at 6:05pm tomorrow evening for Game 1 of the Division Series with a little extra hop in his step, well, the rest of baseball should be worried, because then I won’t be the only one thinking they’re back.

But, until then, I’ll leave you with this thought. To quote a song by T.I. and Jay-Z

"No one on the corner have swagger like us"

And it’s true. No one does. Sorry Minnesota Twins. It’s an admirable job you’ve done by making the playoffs. But, your good fortune is about to run out. It’s the New York Yankees time again.

Living a nightmare

Please bear with me for a little bit, because I have some hostility to get off my chest in the direction of Tony Romo. Yes, it has been nearly a month into the NFL season and I have yet to condemn Romo’s ability or question his passion for the game of Football; until now. Ask anybody and they will tell you that I am an ardent supporter of anything having to do with the Dallas Cowboys. I bleed silver and blue, it’s a part of who I am and a part of what I am about. Despite my disdain for Romo’s surfacing prima donna attitude, I have (more often than not) kept quiet about my feelings towards #9 and have remained highly supportive of him (unless you count the time last year when he broke his pinky and I applauded), simply because he was (and to steal a line from Terrell Owens) MY quarterback.

For 3 years I lived under the mantra that the Cowboys won and lost as a team. It didn’t matter if Romo played bad and they won, or if he played terrific and they lost, it was a team effort. Well, after 3 years of hearing about him dating country singers, making commercials, vacationing in Mexico the week of the big playoff game, playing professional golf, or whatever other excuse you can dream of to explain the failures of a franchise, I can finally say, without a shadow of doubt; it’s on Romo.

Winning and losing as “a team” can only take you so far. At the end of the day, you can’t blame the coaches for a team failing to execute (although Wade Phillips sure makes it hard to do that). You can’t blame the owner/General Manager for butting into areas of game management where he doesn’t belong (although Jerry Jones sure makes it hard to do that). No, the blame for defeat or praise for victory lies with one and only one person; the quarterback. In this case, it happens to be Tony Romo.

As a fan of the Dallas Cowboys, life has not been too pleasant in the land of the big D for much of the last decade. The Cowboys, winning an impressive 3 Super Bowl titles in a 4 year span in the early 1990’s, have not won a playoff game since 1996. A 40 to 15 victory over the Minnesota Vikings was the last time the Cowboys played deep into the heart of January during the NFL season. Barry Switzer is the last Cowboys head coach to win a playoff game. Since his departure following the 1997 season, Cowboy fans have endured an un-impressive two year coaching stint from Chan Gailey (thanks for the 8 and 10 win seasons, with nothing to show for it), the worst coach in Cowboys history Dave Campo (you actually won 15 games in 3 years? I didn’t think it was that many), a guy who has turned around more franchises while sporting the dumbest nickname ever (Tuna) in Bill Parcells and for the past three seasons, Wade Phillips. What do the Cowboys have to show for it? Nothing. Zilch.

But, Cowboy fans remained supportive; after all, they didn’t have a quarterback during that time. It’s true. Troy Aikman wasn’t “Troy Aikman” any more. To say he was a shell of his former self would be an understatement. Once Aikman retired following the 2000 season, the revolving door of Dallas Cowboy quarterbacks began.

Being the Quarterback of the Dallas Cowboys is the most publicized pressure filled position in all of sports (all due respect to being the Centerfielder of the Yankees, the Cowboys is more important). Throughout the history of the Cowboys there have been two franchise quarterbacks who lived up to the hype and billing of being THE guy for “America’s Team”; Roger Staubach and Troy Aikman (all due respect to Don Meredith, Danny White and Steve Pelluer, but, you guys sucked). The Cowboys have won 5 Super Bowls as a franchise and three of them were Aikman and the other two were Staubach. Needless to say, not many people have played at a consistently high level for Dallas.

The search for the next franchise quarterback began in earnest following the 2000 season and continued on for the next 6 years until Romo stepped in. Quincy Carter, Anthony Wright, Ryan Leaf, Clint Stoerner, Chad Hutchinson, Vinny Testaverde, Drew Henson and Drew Bledsoe all had their chances to lead the Cowboys back to the playoffs and find a new level of success. To say they all failed would be an inaccuracy. While there’s no doubt in my mind Ryan Leaf was a train wreck and Anthony Wright was forgettable, Clint Stoerner plays for Team Arkansas in the All-American Football league, Chad Hutchinson can rest assured that his professional baseball career was far worse than his pro-football career, same with Drew Henson. Vinny Testaverde can at least resign himself to the fact that he played for 25% of the league in his career.

If not for the combined efforts of Quincy Carter and Drew Bledsoe, Tony Romo would have never been given a chance to play in Dallas. (we’ll get back to that in a minute, but first I want to get to the root of the problem with Romo). The career of Tony Romo can be summarized with two words; Who knew? Who knew that a guy would be signed from relative obscurity to be a Dallas Cowboy, simply because one of the coaches on the team went to the same college and heard good things? Tony Romo didn’t go to a big-time athletic school with a chiseled out collegiate program that prepares you for the NFL. Nope. Romo went to Eastern Illinois, a college nobody has heard of, nobody knows where it is, nor does anybody really care. After his senior year, nobody in the NFL wanted him and he went undrafted.

But, there he was, signed by the Dallas Cowboys as an undrafted free agent at the insistence of then assistant head coach Sean Payton. What Sean Payton saw in him that no other coach (other than former Bronco’s coach Mike Shanahan) nobody will ever know, but he saw something that warranted a contract and a roster spot. In 2004, Romo, then the emergency quarterback, was facing being cut from the roster the first week of training camp. However, thanks to the drug problems that “Cokehead Quincy” Carter suffered from and his overall poor attitude during camp, Romo was retained and Carter was released. See? Dallas fans can thank Quincy Carter for Tony Romo having a job right now.

A mere 2 years later, Romo finally got his chance; I was there to see it on October 23, 2006, Texas Stadium, Giants vs. Cowboys on Monday Night Football. After another underwhelming 1st half performance from Cowboys quarterback Drew Bledsoe, amid boos and chants of “We want Romo”, the switch was finally made. At the start of the 2nd half, in front of a crowd of 63,512 crazed Dallas fans (and my wonderful family of Giants fans, whom I wouldn’t even sit with at the game), Romo trotted onto the field and begun taking practice throws, signaling to the crowd that he would be taking over the quarterback position for the Cowboys; the rollercoaster ride would begin.

Greeted by a standing ovation and chants of “Romo, Romo”, the Drew Bledsoe era had officially been given the Old Yeller treatment and a new era was ushered in. The results were largely unimpressive in his first prolonged taste of NFL action throwing 3 interceptions, but there were flashes of brilliance. With Romo behind center, fans were on the edge of their seats with every drop back, every dazzling scramble to avoid taking a sack, every throw sailing majestically into the Dallas night; a star was born that night in Texas.

The first highlight reel play from Romo came late in the 4th quarter, the outcome of the game already decided (resounding victory by the Giants), Romo unleashed a dazzling bomb to a wide open Patrick Crayton for a 53 yard touchdown pass. As the remaining crowd leapt to their feet with excitement, it wasn’t the fact that the Cowboys scored that we were cheering about, it was the fact that for the first time in 6 years, we had something to cheer about.

Two days later, on October 25, Tony Romo was announced as the new starting quarterback for the Dallas Cowboys. In his first career start against the Carolina Panthers on Sunday Night Football in front of a national televised audience, Romo dazzled yet again, leading the Cowboys to a 35 – 14 victory and a media darling was created.

Tony Romo became the new hit of the NFL. Leading the Cowboys to impressive victories over the undefeated Indianapolis Colts on November 19th and a Thanksgiving Day victory over Tampa Bay which saw Romo throw a career high 5 touchdown passes, Romo was leading the charge to get the Cowboys back into the playoffs.

How was he doing this? How did this nobody from a school I can’t even locate on a map lead the Dallas Cowboys to the forefront of the NFC after years of failure? It’s simple, he was playing the game in a way that his Cowboy quarterbacking predecessors Bledsoe, Hutchinson, Carter, etc didn’t; with passion. Tony Romo played the position with a youthful enthusiasm that was rarely seen in Dallas for as long as I, or anyone can remember. With the somber and boring Drew Bledsoe, the Cowboys played just that, somber and boring. There was no excitement, no fire, no heart, from the team or fans in the crowd. Every minute of every quarter, for every game, for every season, it was just as if we were going through the motions, the game lacked a certain feel, whether it be hopefulness or joyousness to be watching “America’s Team” play. Tony Romo brought those feelings back. Tony Romo saved the Dallas Cowboys franchise on that cool Monday night in October 2006. He was the new sheriff in town. The new gunslinger in town ready to topple the NFC and lead the Cowboys back to the Super Bowl.

Or, so we thought. There was only one problem with that whole theory. Nobody knew that Tony Romo was lacking the most important gene that can be wired into an NFL player’s psyche; fortitude. Romo played with passion, he played with heart, but he would wilt under the pressure quicker than Alex Rodriguez in October. The first example of this was made clear in the 2006 playoffs as the Cowboys played the Seattle Seahawks in the first round. With 1:19 left on the clock and Dallas trailing 21 – 20, the Cowboys attempted a 19-yard field goal for the win; an easy chip shot, the 2nd round was in our sights. As the ball was snapped and Romo caught it to hold for Mike Vanderjagt, the unthinkable happened; he bobbled the ball, the kick was blown, the game was lost and the tears began to flow. As Tony Romo sat on the field with his hands on his head shaking in disbelief, I sat in a friends basement sobbing like a little school boy who was told there was no Santa Claus.

The next season began and it was more of what Romo had done in the previous season when he stepped into the starter’s role. Excitement, jubilation, smiles on the sidelines, exhibiting true joy in not only playing football, but being a part of this team. But, it all began to change exactly one year to the day of his first career start. On October 29, 2007, Romo was given a six-year $67.5 million contract extension with the Cowboys. Two weeks later he began dating pop-star Jessica Simpson (ughhhhhhhhhhhh) and the downward spiral would begin.

Romo finished off the 2007 regular season breaking the all-time Dallas record for touchdowns and completions in a season, leading the Cowboys to a 13 – 3 record and a playoff date with the New York Giants (who the Cowboys had manhandled twice previously in the season). What happened? Oh, it’s just those pressure situations we spoke of before. You know the rest. Romo chokes. Cowboys lose. Giants win the Super Bowl. My family rejoices and I shorten my life expectancy by at least 7 years with the amount of alcohol I consumed to get over my grief of yet another failed playoff venture.

The 2008 season was one of the biggest disappointments in Dallas Cowboy history. Being labeled as a Super Bowl contending favorite, the Cowboys faltered down the stretch during the last month of the season (which has become classic Romo due to his 5 – 8 career record in the month of December) and they failed to make the playoffs. It was midway thru the 2008 season that I had realized what was wrong with Romo; he lost his passion.

Call me crazy, call me a cynic, call me whatever you like; I stand by this statement; Tony Romo lost his passion for football and it became all about the stardom. Therein lies the problem. Before he received that wealthy extension with the Cowboys, Romo was just another guy who got a chance to play a game he loved as a living. Once he hit pay dirt, you could instantly see his eyes go “cha-ching”. Weeks later he’s become some sort of Hollywood party goer with Jessica Simpson. Months after that, in the week leading up to the biggest game of his career (the aforementioned playoff meltdown against New York), instead of preparing for the contest, what does he do? Flies to Mexico for a little love on the sand with his bosomy blonde bimbo Simpson. Hallelujah at least we know he scored at some point in the month of January in his NFL career (wow, that was a tasteless cheap shot and I don’t even care).

Bottom line is simple; at some point Romo stopped being about football and began thinking about life outside of football and becoming a mega-star. It’s no secret that Romo is an avid amateur golfer and has attempted to qualify for the PGA tour (and hey, guess what? Failed at that too. He chokes at two sports!). He is also a frequent guest on local sports radio programs in the Dallas area and even hosted his own sports radio program. He’s featured in commercials and TV ads, you get the picture. At some point it became less about being the quarterback for the Dallas Cowboys and more about being Tony Romo, rising star.

If you don’t believe me, just watch him play now compared to two years ago. Everything is different. Sure, most of the statistics are the same (right up to the usual December meltdown), but the body language is different. He doesn’t have the same loose attitude and jovial demeanor he exhibited when he became the toast of the town in 2006. The smiles on the sidelines have diminished. It stopped being about playing a game and having fun and just seems like it’s something he does to get paid to do. After a week 17 annihilation at the hands of the Eagles last season, Romo finished off his post game press conference with this doozy of a quote when asked about how he’ll deal with another loss and not going to the playoffs:

“I wake up tomorrow and I keep living”

The quarreling with offensive coordinator Jason Garrett has increased. He alienated his star receiver Terrell Owens (call him a bad teammate if you like, but he was never a problem in Dallas) and ultimately led to his release. Even today I read reports that Romo and current receiver Roy Williams are having trouble getting on the same page. This is NOT the same Tony Romo that won the hearts of millions of Cowboy fans over the world. That’s the Tony Romo I cheered for. This Tony Romo I want to see benched and ridden out of town. I don’t want this Romo as my quarterback. He doesn’t belong.

He had the opportunity to be a franchise altering quarterback for the Cowboys and be this generation of Cowboy fans Troy Aikman. Instead, he’s already lost my faith and has begun to lose the faith of Dallas fans across the nation. Only one man can fix this and it’s Romo himself. He needs to take a good, long, hard look in the mirror and decide what he wants to be. Does he want to be just another NFL star who had a good career, made a lot of money and ventured off into other avenues? Or, does he want to be one of the next great players in this league and lead his team to a cavalcade of accolades? In my heart I always felt it would prove to be the latter, these days I feel like it’s going to be the former.

All I know the joy I used to have in watching the Cowboys play every Sunday is slowly diminishing with each incomplete pass and seeming indifferent attitude over failure that Romo exhibits now. He’s not the same man and I don’t think he will ever lead this team to the level people think he can. It just isn’t in his genetic makeup. Some people that ability to rise to the occasion, with your back against the wall and lead your team to a level of play you didn’t think existed, while others don’t. Tom Brady has it. Donovan McNabb doesn’t. Peyton Manning has it. Jay Cutler doesn’t. Eli Manning most certainly has it. Jamarcus Russell most certainly doesn’t. Brett Favre had it and has shown glimpses even in his old age that he still does. Tony Romo’s idol is Brett Favre, maybe he should study some film of old #4 and see what true heart is all about.

That’s what it’ll come down to for Romo in the end. He either has the heart of a warrior and a true competitive spirit a la Brett Favre, who despite his constant flip flopping on if he’s retiring or playing, has never once shown a lack of heart, or he doesn’t. Favre plays the game day in and day out today with the same passion and excitement he did 20 years ago. That’s the kind of man I want as my quarterback. That’s the man I thought was my quarterback on that Monday evening in Texas 3 years ago when I stood up and cheered with my eyes beaming with fervent excitement. As the games tread on and Romo’s lackadaisical play continues, I grow more and more weary of the bleak future for the Cowboys.

You’re 29 years old now Tony. What have you won? Nothing. So often you are compared to Troy Aikman for your talents and god given abilities. Well, Troy Aikman had 3 Super Bowl titles by the time he was 29.

With a matchup in Denver tomorrow afternoon, all eyes will be on Romo. He’s coming off 3 straight weeks of shaky performances, following a disappointing pre-season and an off-season in which he spent more time on the putting green than he did in the film room. It’s entirely up to Romo. Find the passion you once had for the game and get it back, before it’s too late. The excuse that you’re a young quarterback no longer plays into effect. The time is now to either take the road less travelled and become one of the elite, or go down the path of so many before you and just be “some guy who went to work every Sunday to collect a check”.

I don’t know if he’ll ever regain that look in his eyes that he used to have, but I can hope. But, until that day, there’s only one thing I can do in the meantime;

Wake up tomorrow and keep living