(Above photo courtesy of Mark Hertzberg mhertzberg@journaltimes.com)
Dallas Cowboys quarterback Tony Romo was back in his hometown of Burlington this week conducting has annual Tony Romo fundamental’s football camp for 7th through 12 graders. About 330 youngsters, including more than a dozen girls, took part in the two-day camp held Wednesday and Thursday.
Despite his “jet-set” lifestyle, the former Burlington High School star athlete is still a small-town boy at heart.
Married on May 28th, wife Candice accompanied Tony to Burlington for the two-day youth football camp.
Did you know that Tony seemed destined to attend UW-Whitewater after graduating from Burlington High School in the spring of 1997.
Former high school teammate Steve Tenhagen (a year ahead of Romo at Burlington H.S.) a grade ahead of Romo, had a huge impact on Romo’s high school sports career.
As a junior, Romo completed 126 of 193 passes (65.2 percent) for 1,863 yards, with 26 touchdowns and 10 interceptions.
Tenhagen was Romo's favorite receive during the 1996 season. The 6-foot-5 Tenhagen earned first-team All-State honors after catching 56 passes for 934 yards and 14 of Romo's 22 touchdown passes.
Romo was originally going to attend college at nearby UW-Whitewater to join Tenhagen as a member of the UW-Whitewater football team.
According to Green Bay Press Gazette sports writer Pete Dougherty in a November/2007 article: “Tony Romo probably would have attended the University of Wisconsin-Whitewater as a football and basketball player had not Division I-AA Eastern Illinois stepped in late and offered him a football scholarship.
Tenhagen finished his Warhawk football career as one of the top receivers in school history. Meanwhile, as a senior at Eastern Illinois University, Romo earned the Walter Payton Award, given annually to the Nation's top player at the NCAA Division I-AA level.
He was signed as an undrafted free agent by the Dallas Cowboys following the 2003 NFL Draft.
Despite his success Tony remains a hometown boy even in the limelight as an NFL quarterback.
On of the mom’s of a participant in this week’s Romo camp tells the Racine Journal-Times, “Tony continues to give back to his community. That shows the man still has values... something only a small town and great parents can install! His wife seems to be a lovely woman who shares the same interest as he! They make an amazing couple!”
In a day of questionable values by professional athletes, Tony Romo’s small town attitude is very refreshing!
To view the Racine Journal-Times video story on Romo's trip back home to conduct his annual youth football camp CLICK HERE
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