Romo grew up in Burlington, Wisconsin, excelling in several sports at Burlington High School. He attended Eastern Illinois University where he was a member of the Sigma Pi fraternity. His college football career was marked by the breaking of numerous school and conference records as a passer, earning him the Walter Payton Award, which is awarded to the top offensive player in Division I-AA football. He was brought in by the Cowboys in the 2003 training camp as an undrafted rookie free agent, and has been the team's starting quarterback since November 2006.

Romo was signed by the Cowboys under the advice of Sean Payton, at the time Cowboys quarterbacks coach and now with the New Orleans Saints. Romo stuck around as quarterback after Quincy Carter was released following allegations of substance abuse and after quarterback Chad Hutchinson was released following the 2002 season. After Vinny Testaverde's tenure in Dallas, the Cowboys signed veteran quarterback Drew Bledsoe, the 8th starting quarterback of the Cowboys since 2000.

Romo had a strong showing in the 2005 pre-season, especially when compared to Drew Henson's performance. Romo would eventually take over the starting quarterback role, hearing a roaring crowd as he took the field after half time of the New York Giants vs. Dallas Cowboys game during Monday Night Football on October 23rd.

In the 2006 pre-season, Romo had one of the best games in his career against the Seattle Seahawks. Romo's performance had many experts wondering if Romo's time to replace Bledsoe at quarterback would be sooner rather than later.

Romo's first NFL pass resulted in a 34 yard completion to Sam Hurd vs. the Houston Texans on October 15, 2006. During the same game, Romo threw his first NFL touchdown pass to Terrell Owens. The following week, Romo replaced Drew Bledsoe for the start of the second half on October 23, 2006 on Monday Night Football. His first pass was a tipped pass intercepted by the New York Giants. He would later throw a touchdown to Terrell Owens and score a two point conversion by running the ball in the endzone. In the final minutes of the fourth quarter Romo would throw a goal line interception that was returned for a touchdown by Kevin Dockery. His game stats in only his second NFL appearance were: 14 completions on 25 attempts for 227 yards, 2 touchdowns, and 3 interceptions. Two days later, on October 25, Cowboys head coach Bill Parcells announced that Romo would be the starting quarterback for their October 29 game against the Carolina Panthers on Sunday Night Football. Romo led the Cowboys to victory in his first game as a starter, 35-14. In that game, Romo was the Sunday Night Football's "Rock Star Of The Game". Romo appeared at the post game press conference wearing an extremely faded sleeveless "Burlington" tee shirt, an obvious holdover from his high-school days.

On November 19, 2006 Tony Romo led the Cowboys past the Indianapolis Colts, the NFL's last unbeaten team. Romo completed 19 of 23 passes as the Cowboys topped the Colts 21-14, becoming the highest rated quarterback in the league. Four days later, Romo helped the Cowboys win in a Thanksgiving Day NFL game against the Tampa Bay Buccaneers by the score of 38-10. Romo went 22-29 with 306 yards and five touchdown passes without an interception. He tied a franchise record for touchdown passes in a game set by several others, most recently Troy Aikman. For his performance, he was awarded the Galloping Gobbler award as the Thanksgiving Day MVP.

--Wikipedia