Every game, it's the same.
Dak makes a play, quick, show Romo! Dak hits Dez for a touchdown, immediately, find Tony! Find a crack in the veneer, somehow, as if he's going to cuss out Garrett or throw clipboards at ballboys or something. There he is with a wry smile in sideline apparel, happy as hell for his understudy, but with mixed emotions no doubt. It really doesn't take the imagination that the media seems to think we don't have.
Such is the ugly side of an irrelevant media that's far more interested in who's standing for the national anthem then they are about who's winning the game. The media's fatal character flaws have reduced them to social media's little *****.
Romo is fully aware of these camera shots, and he also knows it's about to change for the worse. Now, when Dak throws an errant pass, or God forbid, an interception, the camera will pan his way again for a reaction. Only this time, he'll have a uniform on. This time, he can go in the game if called on. The analysts will pee themselves with glee.
Tony Romo is now the highest-paid and only elite backup quarterback in the NFL.
The media will want to feed us this narrative until we puke. Tear this team asunder one way or the other, anyway possible, for the sake of heightened, manufactured drama. That's the media's thing, to make news out of thin air, or at least exaggerate it beyond it's reality for effect.
That's why Romo stood at that podium that yesterday. It was soley for Dak Prescott.
Romo direly wants to play for the best offensive unit in the NFL. But that doesn't trump his respect and admiration for the new kid, who's done nothing but listened and respected Romo's guidance to now. Tony fears he'll be a weight hanging over Dak's shoulder on every throw, and he doesn't want the job back that way.
Sure, he could be aloof and distant, and leave Dak to his own rookie misgivings, but instead, he mentors the rookie tirelessly because Dak accepts it graciously. Romo wants it that way, even though Bledsoe didn't do the same for him. Farve didn't do it for Rodgers. Montana didn't do it for Young. You rarely see a transition with this much grace.
Tony Romo isn't finished. Whether circumstances reinstate him as the starting QB here, or he's taking a talented Denver or Arizona team into the playoffs next year, Romo has a LOT of good football left in him. I firmly believe that. Guys can finally heal. Look at Sean Lee.
Of all things Romo will be remembered for in Dallas - the spin-o-ramas and miracles with embarrassing rosters of misfit toys he's been dealt - that gesture yesterday for his young successor will be among his finest moments. At least among the less embarrassing side of our ridiculous fan base.
Tony Romo is a dude. A good dude.
