BURLINGTON -- It's a relatively quiet afternoon at Gooseberries Fresh Food Market on State Street. The after-work rush won't start for about two hours and the customers, many of them taking advantage of the store's five-percent senior citizens' discount on Wednesday, seem to be enjoying the quiet.

Mary, a petite woman who appears to be in her 60s, has passed through the impressive produce section and the bakery and is beginning to work her way toward the checkout counter when she pauses near the snack aisle.

"While I'm here, I better get something for the game tomorrow," she says.

There was no need to ask which game she meant.

The Packers' game against the Cowboys, which begins at 7:30 tonight in Dallas, has created a tidal wave of anticipation throughout the state. Both teams have 10-1 records, a circumstance that has only occurred seven other times in National Football League history, and the winner will have the inside track for home-field advantage in the playoffs.

Though it is located in Racine County, about 150 miles south of Green Bay and 1,000 miles north of Texas Stadium, Burlington - a quaint town of 10,000 known as "Chocolate City" because of the Nestle factory -- has become the epicenter of pregame hype.

In case you haven't heard, Dallas quarterback Tony Romo grew up here.

Long before he took command of the Cowboys huddle, started dating bombshells like Carrie Underwood and Jessica Simpson and generally began living a dream-like existence that would have drawn chuckles from the Burlington Liars Club just a few years ago, Romo, 27, was a standout in football, basketball and golf at Burlington High School.

"He's a special kid. We're really proud of him here," said Eric Burling, the school's assistant principal and athletic director.

"What's unique about Tony is that in the day and age of video games and sports specialization, he was the one that tired his parents out by asking them to throw a ball and letting him throw to them. He was the kid that would be out in the yard shooting hoops in the winter with his gloves on or going to whatever gym he could sneak into to play basketball.

"He just kept working and working. It's good when good things happen to people like him and they're able to expand their talents."

Romo played soccer as a youngster and excelled in basketball, which many thought was his favorite sport, particularly when, as a senior, he beat out Racine Park junior Caron Butler - now a star with the NBA's Washington Wizards - for county player of the year honors.

"I was a basketball fan growing up," Romo told Wisconsin reporters during a conference call this week. "I mean, football was obviously big and it was a big thing to everyone, but I was a basketball guy growing up. Football was just something fun to do on Sundays and as the Packers got better, it was funner to watch."

 Page 1 of 2 

Next >>

1 comment about this article. Post a comment / write a review.

Recent Talkbacks ...