SHARE

On Friday I vowed not to expect a win during last night’s game against the Jets; my hope was for the Cowboys to make it to New York and back safely despite a vague threat of a terrorist action at the 9/11 anniversary.

So in that vein I offer a positive spin on last night’s heartbreaking, frustrating, infuriating, confounding, %@!!+^#*!!^#…woah, now, stay positive…24-27 loss.

FWW VITA 300x250

“Talk about gutless,” a friend texted shortly after Tony Romo threw the game-ending interception in the final minute.

Earlier, Romo fumbled near the goal line on third down instead of protecting the ball and ensuring a field goal to protect the team’s lead. It was obvious Romo was going to come up short of the goal line. The smart thing is to slide feet first and protect the ball. But he attempted to take on tacklers. That’s another example of Romo blowing a clutch situation, like when he fumbled the snap on a field goal attempt and lost the playoff game against Seattle Seahawks in 2007.

Bleacher Report once called Romo “the biggest choker in NFL history.” And this New York writer proved clairvoyant, writing in a blog post yesterday afternoon, “Will Tony Romo choke and lose the game for his team as he has done so many times in the past?”

Yes, Romo choked. Again. But he wasn’t gutless. It’s courageous for a quarterback — especially one playing for the first time since breaking his clavicle bone — to lower his shoulder and try to plow through defenders like he did on the goal line in the fourth quarter.

The Jets are a good team, playing at home in front of a huge crowd and a national TV audience, representing New York and, in a way, all of America last night. They played their hearts out and overcame their own quarterback’s brain farts. They earned the win.

Before the game started, a TV camera caught Romo slapping hands with teammates and encouraging them to play hard. He showed a fire I hadn’t seen in him before.  After the playoff loss against Seattle a few years ago, Romo cried in the locker room, devastated about fumbling a snap. After last night’s loss, he took responsibility for blowing the game with his crunch-time fumble and interception, but he didn’t cry or whine. He came across like a leader willing to take it on the chin and then get back to business.

The Cowboys proved last night they can play against an elite team…at least for three-and-a-half quarters. I’m betting coach Jason Garrett, Romo, and the rest of them learn to close out games. They’ll make a run at the playoffs again this year. Don’t give up on them yet, even though a Fort Worth Star-Telegram survey shows the majority of voters would rather “blow this thing up and find somebody else” than to stick with Romo any longer.

7 COMMENTS

  1. I cant stand you people from the midwest, why are you invoking 9/11 as an excuse for your teams poor showing, thats just bushleague to say that the only thing you were hoping for was a safe return is a blatant copout. Besides you guys always go on about 9/11 and the fact is you guys cant stand what nyc stands for, nor washington, nor the eastern seaboard, y0ou guys use 9/11 as another reason to start trouble and spend money nobody has on wars and defense programs nobody needs. Dude talk football, but keep 9/11 out of your friggan mouth because we all know you guys just dont care.FROM A REAL NEW YORKER SOMEONE WHO WAS THERE

  2. Jay,Now you just made 9/11 geographically political. Come on jay, what a bush league comment. And I’m a real New Yorker who can think without the cloud of your incessant ideology clouding your liberal mind. All he was saying was he was glad nothing terrible happened at the game as far as terrorism is concerned. Wise up Jay. And never mind being a real New Yorker how about being a real American. It was our entire country that was attacked that day. It’s amazing how you pulled that crap out of an innocent article. “you people from the midwest’?! jay, you’re an idiot.

  3. Yo Jay, you was there. So what!! What did you do take pictures?

    The guy was just talking about the day because it was shoved down our throats no matter where you lived in America. So just relax & enjoy your lucky win, cuz if we had a real QB, you guys would be 0-1.

    Romo needs to go back to golf, leave football for real men.

  4. Jay has some excellent points, but lovestotroll drew blood – ok, it was only a very mild abrasion – with his rapier-like rejoinder, “u mad bro?’

    Seriously, how is throwing an inadvertent interception at a critical point in this game gutless? Ill advised yes, wrongheaded maybe, mistaken certainly…those I can understand, but “gutless????”

    Gutless is what Monday morning quarterbacks are…and Dallas is full of those. You may not like the results, but at least Romo is out there trying.

  5. Jay, I’m inspired by your gravitas but underwhelmed by your knowledge and insight. Texas ain’t in the “midwest.” Midwesterners didn’t start any wars. Nobody knows what New York, Washington or the eastern seaboard stands for. Nobody knows what you’re talking about. But you seem passionate, in a Jersey Shore kind of way, so that’s good. I guess.

LEAVE A REPLY