IRVING, Texas - When it comes to training camp in California, Tony Romo doesn't always end up where he begins.
In two of the three times the Cowboys have camped in Oxnard over the last five years, Romo has finished in a different place on the depth chart then where he started.
In 2004, he was a long-shot to make the squad as the fourth quarterback, but with a little luck and good fortune, he not only broke camp second on the depth chart, but finished the season as the first backup as well.
Then in 2006, he remained the No. 2 quarterback behind Drew Bledsoe for the start of camp but by the sixth game of the season, Romo was the starter.
And he hasn't looked back.
The Cowboys are now returning to Oxnard, Calif. for the start of yet another training camp, and this time Romo hopes he finishes the year exactly where it begins.
And that place is not just with Romo as the starting quarterback for this Cowboys team, but as one of the budding young superstars of the NFL, with his name sitting just behind the likes of Peyton Manning and Tom Brady as the league's best quarterbacks.
But whether he's just trying to make the team, secure his role as the backup or be the leader on a team that has all the pieces to win the Super Bowl, Romo said his mindset has, and will not change.
But just don't ask him if he's ready.
"Football? Are you kidding me?" Romo said at Valley Ranch while attending Camp Cowboys youth football camp for kids ages 7-14. "This is what we've been doing all off-season. This is what you wake up every morning and do.
"The mindset doesn't change. It's always the same. You wake up, you do football in the mornings. It's the same now, except for when (camp) starts, everyone is watching. That's the only difference. You do all the things on your own so that way when people are watching, you can still perform at a high level."
Despite starting just 28 games in his still-young career, Romo has certainly played at a high level so far, earning two straight Pro Bowl appearances.
But of course, he's nowhere close to reaching his goals.
As the quarterback of America's Team, Romo understands his role, not to mention the expectations that come with it.
He knows the history. He's fully aware of Don Meredith's greatness in the 1960's and how Roger Staubach electrified the Cowboys fans with his scrambling ability and his pocket awareness - not to mention the two Super Bowls he won.
Romo knows all about Aikman, who was in his prime when Romo just started playing football as a kid.
Tony Romo understands what it's like to be the quarterback of the Dallas Cowboys.
And he's loving it.
"This is where you want to be, of course," Romo said. "It's a place that every kid dreams about it. I know I did. But at the same time, you can't just be content with that. You have to work hard to get better every day. If you don't, then somewhere else is out there working harder and trying to get better. You can't really rest."
And it's that "never-good-enough" attitude that only makes him laugh when he hears criticism about his off-the-field life.
Romo has definitely enjoyed the perks that have come along with being the quarterback of the Cowboys. In the last two years, he's been linked to celebrities Carrie Underwood and now currently Jessica Simpson. He's starred in many TV commercials, judged a Miss America contest and seems to play in just about every celebrity golf tournament there is.
"I hung out with Michael Jordan the other day," Romo says almost matter-of-factly as he played a round of golf with the NBA legend at a tournament in Lake Tahoe. "He's pretty cool."
Taking it in stride. That's Romo approach to the non-football matters. But he just laughs off the notion that he's not 100 percent focused on football.
"Wasn't this the same stuff last season?" Romo said on the so-called distractions of his life. "I guess it's just something everyone talks about every offseason. I guess we'll talk about it next offseason, too."
One thing Romo hopes he doesn't have to discuss next offseason is a disappointing ending to the previous year.
For the second straight season, the Cowboys lost in the playoffs, and both times, Romo admittedly wasn't his best.
In 2006, we all remember his fumbled snap on a potential game-winning field goal attempt in the final minutes of a playoff loss in Seattle.
But Romo dusted that off and went on to have arguably the best statistical season of any Cowboys quarterback, setting club records in completions (335), passing yards (4,211) and touchdown passes (36), not to mention leading the Cowboys to a 13-3 regular-season for only the second time in franchise history.
Still, Romo knows last year will be remembered more for his team's stunning playoff loss to the Giants, where he threw an interception in the end zone on the minute of a 21-17 loss to the eventual-Super Bowl champs.
So how does this bad taste compare to the one he experienced last year?
"Same. It's the same," Romo said. "It hurts every season. If you're lucky enough to feel good at the end of the season, two times or so in your whole career, you've had a good career. You're probably not going to feel good 90 percent of the time after the season is over. That's why you just get out there and keep working and do the things that you hope will separate you from the rest."
Hard work kept Romo around in 2004, when it looked like he had no chance of making the team with Quincy Carter returning as the starter and following a playoff season, Vinny Testaverde joining the mix and the Cowboys had just signed rookie Drew Henson, giving him a $3 million bonus.
Romo was clearly the odd man out. But when Carter was unexpectedly released, all of a sudden, there was a place for Romo, who then beat out Henson for the No. 2 job.
His supplanting of Bledsoe in 2006 wasn't as shocking as the events from two years earlier, but still a huge ordeal, especially considering Romo was inserted for Bledsoe at halftime of a home loss to the Giants.
Two trips to the Pro Bowls, a handful of club records and 19 regular-season wins later, it's safe to assume things have worked out for Romo.
So as he heads to California, he's not focused on any of the prior trips to Oxnard. And he's not worried about the weather.
"Nah, when you're practicing, it's hot wherever you're at," Romo said. "But I'm excited about it.
"It'll be great. The people in California have been great."
Fitting description for Romo, considering greatness is what is expected this year, not only out of his team, but himself as well.
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