In case you haven’t heard, there’s a pretty big debate sweeping America by storm. It’s on the forefront of millions of people’s minds, and it’s become so polarizing that even men who have held the position in the past are taking public sides – and sometimes not the side you’d expect.
Oh, and there’s also that presidential thing going on.
I’m talking Dak Prescott vs. Tony Romo – the biggest question mark America(‘s team) has faced since… well, I guess April when the team had a high first round draft pick and had to pick between Ezekiel Elliott and a slew of quality defensive players.
This conundrum, however, is far different than “a basket of deplorables” and “nasty women.”
For starters, nobody gets to vote, which, let’s be honest, is a good thing. I’m not sure fan input in the management of a professional sports team would ever yield positive results. If that were the case, Tony Romo would have probably been anywhere but Dallas in 2007, and the Cowboys would be stuck with a revolving door of signal callers like the Cleveland Browns have been for decades.
But maybe the biggest difference between the two hot-button debates America and America’s Team are facing is that in Dallas, both the candidates are, dare I say, likeable.
(Disclaimer: This isn’t an election endorsement, please don’t hunt me down.)
(Disclaimer II: Seriously, this is not an election endorsement.)
(Disclaimer III: November’s blog will probably be a public apology for somebody I offended.)
Take Dak Prescott for example. As a 23-year-old rookie who has been thrust into the brightest spotlight in professional sports, he decided to forego appearing on a late night talk show this week to instead go home to Mississippi to spend time with his grandmother. He also turned down an overseas endorsement opportunity. If only Romo had done that when he was young in 2007 and not gone to Cabo…
But even across the aisle, Romo at age 36 has turned into one of the team’s most mature team leaders. Always calm and preaching the coach’s message, he threw a team get-together (you thought I was going to say “threw out his back,” didn’t you? Or “threw a pick?”) to maintain the team’s camaraderie, even though the national narrative is dictating that it’s not his team anymore.
If you’re a Cowboys fan, relish in this. There are about 20 teams in the NFL who wish they had a quarterback half as good as the two that Cowboys fans are quibbling over.
But this is life, so a decision must be made at some point. In the end, in order to Make America(‘s team) Great Again, the choice to me is clear: ride the hot hand, and let the guy who has led you to a record last seen in 2014, when you were a Dez Bryant “drop” away from going to the NFC Championship game, continue to do his thing.
As Texans frequently say: “If it ain’t broke, don’t fix it.” But if they go with a completely healthy Romo, is that really a bad thing?
If only the actual debates were like this.