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Romo: My Life on the Edge--Living Dreams and Slaying Dragons
Bill Romanowski
Romo is a jolting, candid, and inspiring rocket ride into the heart of the NFL and a look at what it costs to be an elite athlete today in a world of impossible expectations. Read it -- and try not to wince.
William Morrow
October 2005
Featuring: Bill Romanowsi
320 pages ISBN: 0060758635 Hardcover
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Non-Fiction Memoir
Off the field, Bill Romanowski was a caring father and
devoted husband. On the field, Romo was unstoppable, terrorizing the NFL for
sixteen brutal years. Some players called him a throwback, some called him mean,
some called him dirty. But they all respected him and would
much rather have played with him than against him. Coaches
loved Romo for the heart and soul he gave to the game. He
was rewarded with two Pro Bowl appearances and four Super
Bowl rings, but it all came at a heavy price: dozens of
concussions that have led to dizzy spells, memory
lapses . . . and questionable choices that undermined his
integrity. Would he do it all over again? Romo the
intimidating linebacker would in a heartbeat. Bill
Romanowski, however, would do things differently today. Whether it was in high school, at Boston College, or with
the NFL, Romo vowed to himself that he would outwork and
outhustle everyone else. Practice? Loved it; he'd play like
it was a game and attack his teammates as if they were
opponents. Game day? He'd work himself into a state of
invincibility. If you were a tight end, running back, or
quarterback with the wrong uniform, you were marked for
elimination. Nutrition? He would consult top nutritionists,
looking for the best foods, an extraordinary range of
supplements, and alternative remedies, anything that would
help give him an edge. It would lead to a controversial
relationship with BALCO. Treatment? He would try almost anything that would help
with his performance, keep his body healthy, and help it
recover from the beatings he took and gave on Sundays.
Phentermine, THG, hyperbaric chambers, IVs. He would
experiment with substances and methods that the NFL had
never heard of, and he'd become an expert who teammates and
friends would turn to. Endurance? He never missed a game to
injury, and once played an entire season with a partially
torn knee ligament. Intimidation? From trash talk to mind
games to nasty hits and breaking fingers, Romo would roam
the field seeking confrontation -- and usually find it. Through it all -- through his years with the San Francisco
49ers, the Philadelphia Eagles, the Denver Broncos, and the
Oakland Raiders -- Romo was driven by something else: the
fear of failure, the fear of losing it all. Who knew what a
head coach or an owner would be thinking or what young
player was in the wings ready to take his hard-won
position. He didn't dare allow someone else to decide his
fate, so he did whatever it took to live his dreams and
ward off the dragons of self-doubt that pushed him . . .
until his body betrayed him and his morality was
compromised.
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