BURLINGTON, Wis. — On a night when Burlington dedicated their field to Tony Romo, the former Demons quarterback could only think about the old one he played on, complete with a running track in the corner of the end zone.
"All the teammates come back. And they're out here," Romo says. "And the number one topic was Dinty Moore Field and the corner of the end zone. And how we had concrete, and the track on it. And so we didn't get any, you know, home playoff games. And like all athletes when they're gone and they're done, they're like, if we'd have just had those home playoff games, we'd have won three straight state championships! I mean it's unbelievable! Cost us everything."
Romo had time to reflect on a playoff game his junior year, when Burlington faced future NFL players John Navarre and Lamar Gordon with Cudahy.
"The Cudahy game, I'm glad you brought that up," Romo says. "That might still be one of my top three losses in my career, in my life. So thanks for bringing that up. That was a tough loss because we had a chance to win that game against a team that was boom, way up here. And we were, you know, a smaller school going against a giant, it felt like at the time."
Romo took a selfie with the student section. Because 25 years ago, he was those kids.
"I'm giving the speech, and at the end I'm like, alright, let's go over and take a picture with them because I was that kid once," Romo says. "And I remember what it was like to, you know, be in high school and just support your teams and to be out at games and there's nothing like it. It's truly just pure joy. And you're just, your whole future in life is in front of you. This time period in life? It's just a special moment."
Romo adds he feels like he's the luckiest person in the world. Yes, he would have liked to have won five Super Bowls. But he wants to say thank you for Burlington bestowing this honor upon him, because in Tony's words, nobody deserves that.
