I’ve always enjoyed connecting dots.
I loved coloring books as a kid, but what I really loved were those pictures that could only be seen by that beautiful connecting of the dots.
If you follow me on Twitter, or have read my work here at Inside The Star, then you know I like to look at the great game of football through a dot-connecting scope.
When the Cleveland Cavaliers hoisted the Larry O’Brien on Father’s Day Evening in celebration of the first Championship the city of Cleveland has seen since the 1964 Cleveland Browns, my brain went into dot-connecting mode. LeBron James, the Finals MVP and Cleveland-crowned King, is a Cowboys fan… how long until the team he roots for shares the same jubilation that he brought to his hometown?
The honest answer is, who knows.
We’re all rooting for the Cowboys to deliver the franchise its sixth World Championship, and perhaps that will indeed come in 2016. What about those dots, though? What do they say?
I’m going to be frank with you and say that everything from this point out is:
- 100% factual
- In no way an analysis of any kind
- Nothing more than a connecting of dots
There are three dots that I found relative to LeBron James bringing a championship to Cleveland, and the surrounding elements from a few tangents, that I believe bode well for the 2016 Dallas Cowboys.
Get your popcorn pencils ready.
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Tony Romo And LeBron James: A Road Begun In 2003
The 2003 NFL Draft was held April 26th and 27th. The first overall pick was Carson Palmer, but the top signal caller from the class would not hear his name called at all. No, Tony Romo would have to watch 262 players get drafted and then answer his Undrafted Free Agent phone call from the Dallas Cowboys.
We know the story from that point forward, right?
Tony Romo rises above, becomes a sensation, and is now one of the more famous figures in the world of sports. Some would argue that he’s the pre-Father’s Day 2016 version of LeBron James. His talent is acknowledged worldwide, but he hasn’t won the games that mattered most, or delivered a championship to his team.
The latter portion of that statement is forever invalid when referring to the player drafted first overall 62 days after Tony’s phone never rang. LeBron James, then a young and upcoming superstar, began his professional career in the same year as Tony Romo.
So Tony Romo and LeBron James both set out on missions to bring their respective cities glory at the same time. LeBron may have gone astray for a few seasons, but his bringing a championship to Cleveland is that journey coming around full circle. Tony Romo and the Cowboys? There’s dot one.
Houston, We Have a… Super Bowl
We already discussed how 2003 is an important year and common denominator for these two athletes. It’s the point at which their quests began.
In a year where both LeBron James and Tony Romo were rookies, the New England Patriots and Carolina Panthers were busy asserting their dominance across the NFL. They took that level of prestige to the highest possible level – Super Bowl XXXVIII (fun fact: that’s the Super Bowl with the most Roman Numerals in NFL History), played on February 1st, 2004.
Super Bowl XXXVIII is not only long in length, it’s long in pomp and circumstance, too. I’ve said many a time that I believe its National Anthem is the greatest that sports has ever seen, a beautiful rendition courtesy of Beyonce. After Queen Bey did her thang, the New England Patriots followed suit with a victory, leaving the Panthers clawing at the jaws of defeat.
Come back to the future with me to 2016. LeBron James’ journey has come full circle from the beginning in 2003. You know what already happened in 2016? Beyonce performed at the Super Bowl (Super Bowl 50 took place February 7th, 2016). Weird, isn’t it? Oh and who lost that game? Anyone? Bueller? The Carolina Panthers (Steph Curry’s team, talk about salt in wounds). Hmm.
Here’s what we’re working with now:
- The 2003 Super Bowl was in Houston, as is the Super Bowl the season that LeBron won his title with Cleveland (2016)
- Beyonce performed at the 2003 Super Bowl and in the Super Bowl the same year that LeBron won his title with Cleveland (2016)
- The Carolina Panthers lost the 2003 Super Bowl and the Super Bowl the same year LeBron won his title with Cleveland (2016)
If it lined up that perfectly for King James, why can’t it for Tony Romo? There’s two dots. Let’s do what Steph Curry couldn’t and hit the game-winning three.
“The Most Democratic Golf Tournament In The World” -Roy McAvoy
Shortly before tip off of Cleveland’s triumphant Game 7, Dustin Johnson won the 2016 U.S. Open in the face of some serious drama. If you paid attention to the final round on Sunday then you know that Dustin’s victory came at a steep price – some serious mental focus.
The USGA decided when DJ was on the 12th at Oakmont (one of the most difficult golf courses in the world) that they were going to consider assessing him a penalty stroke for a possible infraction that occurred way back at the 5th. The fiasco cast a gigantic wave of doubt and confusion over the field, and the USGA has since apologized for its misstep.
That apology didn’t come without one last jab, though. The USGA did in fact hit the champion with a one-stroke-penalty, bringing his championship-earning score to -4 for the tournament.
This came in the same year, on the same day, that LeBron tied a bow on his Cleveland journey that began in 2003. And remember that the 2003 Super Bowl took place in Houston during 2004, similarly to how the 2016 Super Bowl will actually be played in 2017. Since Super Bowl XXXVIII in Houston technically took place in 2004, we’ll use that year as our reference point. Who won that U.S. Open? The South African wonder, Retief Goosen. What was his championship-earning score? Oh, just -4.
These are facts.
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There’s no quantifying the impact of the title that LeBron James just delivered to the city of Cleveland. It cannot be measured. It will transcend sports, history, and the culture of that community. James put the exclamation point on a Cleveland career mired in doubt and ridicule.
Sounds a lot like the man under center for America’s Team, doesn’t it?
Tony Romo can’t close. Tony Romo can’t win. Tony Romo can’t stay healthy… We’ve heard them all.
Just like LeBron, if/when Tony Romo delivers a World Championship to his Dallas Cowboys, the impact will reach levels we’ve never seen in sports. Unlike LeBron though, Tony was never supposed to do it. He wasn’t the chosen one. He didn’t anoint himself, in the words of Sara Bareilles, King of anything. He was undrafted and still ascended to the same status and level of expectation.
Now that the King has been crowned in Cleveland, it’s time for Tony to get his own hardware. These two heroes started their journey at the same time, so it seems fitting that they should experience glory at the same time as well. Vamonos, amigos.
What are your thoughts? Does LeBron James winning a championship in Cleveland bode well for Tony Romo and the Cowboys? Let us know! Comment below, Email me at RJ@RJOchoaShow.com, or Tweet to me at @rjochoa!
