e-mail   murphy@murphymartin.com

Murphy Martin Commentary
November 1, 2007

"Romo Runs the Table"

There it was, bigger than life. A picture of a young man flashing his pearly- whites in a huge smile while wearing a gimme-cap backwards. The cut-lines on the picture said he had just agreed to a six-year contract that would pay him more than sixty-seven-million dollars.

After re-reading those cut-lines and finding they said the second time the same as I thought they said the first time I read them. So, I grabbed one of my well-worn gimme caps and head straight for the Social Security Office. As I entered the door, I turned that cap around and put it on backwards, put on the biggest, happiest smile I could conjure up and marched to the closest desk with an empty chair. I said I am hear to discuss an increase in my monthly checks. The young lady said why would I expect an increase? I told her of the picture in the morning paper, about the big smile and the gimme cap worn backwards and all the money he was going to be paid over the next six years. Of course had I really pulled a dumb stunt like that, I would have been missing one of the great stories of someone who started at the bottom and now is the new "face" of America's team,--the Dallas Cowboys.

The infectious bright smile of Tony Romo got a little brighter and as long as he produces for the Cowboys and keeps them in the thick of a run for all the marbles, he can wear his gimme cap any old way he pleases.

Here is a young man signed as a Free Agent in 2003 and with hard work and a truckload of patience, he worked his way into a starter's role in the middle of last season and wound up playing in the pro bowl.

Writers and talk-show hosts kept trying to get Romo to talk about a new contract---one worthy of the success he was bringing the Cowboys. Romo never fell for the bait tossed out by numerous questioners. He said those things will be worked out at some point in time and he would just continue to work harder on his football abilities. In seventeen games as a starter, he has won 12 and lost 5. Now he is the heart of the franchise and who knows what young female star will next be mentioned as the object of his affections.If he ever happens to be in the same room where a party is underway, he will be reported in the gossip columns as being "with"whomever is the biggest female name in the room. THAT is the price of stardom.

Don't expect any of the "star-status" to change Tony Romo. He will still play golf when it does not interfere with his football job. He will still wear his gimme caps backward, and will still flash that winning smile, sometimes in the heat of battle.

This kid who came out of a small Illinois College with an arm-load of Class 1-AA awards. No NFL team drafted him but Dallas signed him as a free agent and he went to work. He had little to say to members of the press. Just work, work, work.

Now he is going to be rewarded, suddenly catapulted by Jerry Jones to the financial levels of Brett Favre, Tom Brady, Drew Brees, Peyton Manning,Carson Palmer,and Marc Bulger.

` What these people and many others make as professional football players is almost incomprehensible by players in earlier days like Charlie Waters, Cliff Harris, Calvin Hill, Robert Newhouse. Many of these people have told us at one time or another, they probably would have played for practically nothing, just to be in the National Football League.

Even Roger Staubach, who negotiated his own contracts, without the help of an agent, never really concentrated on money first.

Reading all the stories about Romo's signing this week reminded me of a story that involved Staubach and money.

We were doing the P.A. announcing at the stadium, it was approaching the two-minute mark in the fourth quarter. This was when Troy Aikman was leading the Cowboys at quarterback. The ball was at about the opponent's 25-yard line and Aikman had them moving. Between plays, with my microphone OFF, my spotters and I were talking when I said : "This looks like A STAUBACK drive."

On the next play, Aikman took the snap, rolled left, could not find a receiver and I opened my microphone and said" STAUBACK rolls left and runs out of bounds." Sixty-four thousand fans snickered at my mistake and I then opened the mike again and said "That was just a test. I know that was number 8, Troy Aikman, and not number 12 Roger Staubach who ran out of bounds."

That night I get a call from Staubach who said very seriously: "Murphy I don't appreciate you saying I ran out of bounds. I never ran out of bounds when I played." There was a brief pause, then Roger had a controlled laugh before saying...."But there is one thing you can do for me. Get me AIKMAN'S money!"

Roger Stauback is today a most successful international commercial real estate man with offices all over the world. But despite all that success, Roger still wonders why quarterbacks like Romo, Manning etc draw to huge bucks that he recalls toiling for so much less during his playing days.

Roger would be the first to be proud of what today's QBs are making but he wouldn't hesitate to also say if he were still playing: "Get me some of Romo's money!"

Congratulations to Tony Romo and Jerry Jones. They worked out a new long term deal, in the midst of a season , and Tony Romo "ran the table" and did not let it interfere with the games on the field.

That's my time, thank you for yours!

Murphy Martin

Your thoughts and comments forwarded to my website will be appreciated.

e-mail   murphy@murphymartin.com

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