Austin Vittles

Miami, New Florida, February 7, 2010… Super Bowl XLIV
It was 4th and 9, 12 seconds to go.
The Cowboys were all out of timeouts.
Tony Romo coolly got behind center and surveying the field called an audible, he didn’t like what he saw in the Indianapolis defense.
On the sidelines Head Coach Jerry Jones had his arms crossed in front of him. It had all come down to this. His steely gaze watched the play clock tick down, 5, 4, 3…. This was the culmination of his entire career. With a Super Bowl win all the critics who said it was impossible to coach and own a team would be silenced.

“Hike!” Romo yelled out.
Everything was happening in slow motion.
Up in the skybox Jessica Romo was cradling little 6 month old Austin Romo….if Daddy won the Superbowl she was going to tell him about the test results, how baby Austin was going to have a little brother, she just knew it was going to be a boy, it had to be a boy.
Romo rolled back and looked at the nickel defense, hoping for an opening, if only Whitten were still here he thought to himself. He’d be open right now, he’d be setting a block for me….But Whitten was gone, if there was any doubt than the black armbands on his teammates uniforms was a constant reminder of Whitten and all the other Cowboys who were gone since that terrible midsummer day in 2006…
But there was still T.O….

He could feel Dwight Freeney bearing down on him, and Romo instinctively rolled to his right, Freeney grabbed Romo by his Jersey and was about to throw him to the ground in a game ending sack but Romo somehow stayed on his feet and squirmed out of his grasp.
There was only 5 seconds left in regulation….
Looking down field he saw that Terrell had gained a step on Jacob Lacey down the sidelines.
Romo regaining his balance pulled his arm back and fired off the pass just as he was smashed between Defensive End Eric Foster and number 94 Ervin Baldwin. Linebacker Clint Session, grappling with Marion Barber at the line of scrimmage leaped, fully extending his arm… the ball grazed his glove as it flew onwards towards the end zone.

It had been a tough year for Terrell Owens. He had taken a big pay cut to stay on the Cowboys because he believed in the team. His friendship with Tony Romo, and the universal high regard he was held in by his teammates was well known by all. And than there was Coach Jerry Jones, Coach Jones had stood by T.O. when times were tough, when nobody else would and T.O. was going to be damned if he was going to let Coach Jones down now.
“Later sucker,” T.O. said as he flew by corner back Jacob Lacey, everything was happening in a vacuum.
It was Dallas’ turn…..Dallas had had it coming, Dallas had always had it coming…after what happened that August morning in 2006, after the suitcase bomb, this would show the world that Dallas was back.
Everything went silent to T.O. He didn’t hear the maddening roar of the crowd, the only thing he could actually hear was the swish swish of the ball as it cut through the humid Florida air….he saw the ball flying through the air, the seams of the ball turning slowly as the ball hurtled towards the end zone.
Leaping, Fully Extended, he felt a thud on his gloved hands, his cleats grabbed the turf as he sailed out of the back of the endzone, the ball cradled in his arms.
The Referee ran forward…his arms up….

The cameras flashed as gatorade was dumped on Coach/Owner Jerry Jones….
Back in the city of Dallas people poured out onto the streets. This was their super bowl to share with the players, organization and coach/owner Jones. With their post-suitcase bomb championship, a message loud and clear had been sent to the world: the Dallas Cowboys and the city of Dallas New Texas was back.