Packer - Cowboys week: the local angle

And what did you do on your weekend vacation, Bobby? You know, the one without Packers football? Yes, we had our treat early, true, with that Thanksgiving day victory over the Lions. But still...didn't it seem...empty on Sunday? Of course, the talking heads at ESPN and elsewhere did give some mentions of the Pack over the Lions and the upcoming game against the 'boys in Big D. But still...well, you're a Packer fan...I don't have to explain, do I?

One of the main story lines for this week, at least in Wisconsin, is that of the homegrown QB for Dallas, Tony Romo, from little Burlington in the southeastern part of the state. Nothing to really distinguish Burlington except for its annual Chocolate Fest and perhaps the distinction of being the only "Chocolate City USA" in the country...which comes by way of having a Nestle's plant in the city. Then there's the world famous Burlington Liars Club which, as it so happens, is still taking entries through Dec. 17 in search of the 2007 World Champion Liar (see this article for more on that). Oh, and it also has Fred's, Home of the World's Best Burger. OK, there are a few things which make Burlington a nice little city. But Burlington has probably never gotten as much attention as it has since Tony Romo began his rise to NFL star status. He grew up watching and rooting for Brett Favre. Now, he gets to play him for the first time. Some pundits are even starting to say Romo is the next Favre because of the way he plays. Let's wait about 15 years before we see how that works out, shall we?

But by all accounts, Romo was a good kid from a nice family, who -- according to the Burlington High School Athletic Director in a radio interview -- worked for everything he got. So, as you might imagine, hearts and minds are a bit divided this week in Burlington. The consensus might be that locals hope Tony has a good game individually but that the Packers win the game. I think that would be a good compromise, too.

If you'd like to read a story about Burlington's split personality this week, check out this story.