There is always one move in fantasy football that sticks with you, and you end up talking about it for years. Typically, it's something awful. Like this year when I started Marcus Mariota and he ended up breaking his leg. It's not that I blame him, but I'm always going to be bummed out about it. I mean, not as bummed as Mariota, who had a broken leg and all. But pretty bummed.
However, there is one moment that sticks with me for the right reasons. And it's about Tony Romo. It was in 2006. And yes, I can't remember where I was living in 2006, or the kind of car I was driving but I will always remember this transaction. My man Doug had Romo and he dropped him after a particularly poor week. I think he even called him a fluke (remember, Romo wasn't really a thing yet). I needed a quarterback, and since I was playing Doug, I thought it would be hilarious to add him and start him. Which I did, and Romo went out and threw five touchdowns against the Buccaneers. I'm telling you, things like this never go in my favor, but it did this time.
So I'll always have a fondness for Romo as he helped me to a championship (don't let the haters tell you that he's never won a title). But overall, Romo wasn't the greatest fantasy option. Like he would never be viewed as the greatest at his position. He was good, but not spectacular. Like a Toyota Corolla. Oh shoot, that's the car I was driving in 2006! All right, I do remember. But I'm not going to go change that sentence above, though.
Romo's fantasy career was similar to his playing career. He was the No. 4 quarterback in 2009, and then he also had a number of top 10 finishes mixed in. He made some of passing targets around him better. Dez Bryant was much better when Romo was on the field. Jason Witten, too. And really, that's probably the biggest reason why I wanted him to play this year. DeAndre Hopkins really needed him. (By extension, all of us fantasy enthusiasts needed Romo to play.)
So I would like to wish Tony Romo well in his future endeavors. I'm sure he's going to crush it in the broadcast booth. I always felt Romo was a neat story of a guy who went from an undrafted free agent to an NFL star. I wouldn't say he was a Hall of Famer-caliber quarterback. But he was good. And there is no shame in that. Plus, no matter what happens, we will always have that day in 2006.
Follow Adam Rank on Twitter @adamrank.
