| Randolph Charlotin. 21st November, 2008 - 5:32 pm
 The NFL better hurry up. I suggested last week the league should produce a dance show of their own to keep former players from appearing on Dancing With the Stars. I recently found out Bill Romanowski wants to be the next former NFL player to be on DWTS. I spoke with the 16-year linebacker about his desire to be on the show, as well as a few other subjects.
Randolph Charlotin: In the initial email I received from your assistant, you said you can dance better than Warren Sapp. Do you stand by that statement?
Bill Romanowski: Absolutely I can dance better than Warren Sapp! He’s a defensive lineman. I’m a linebacker. I had to be able to cover running backs coming out of the backfield. You gotta have quick feet to be able to do that.
RC: Well Sapp is doing pretty good. He reached the semifinals.
BR: He’s doing real well. He’s a good dancer.
RC: But you’re going to be better than him.
BR: Absolutely.
RC: I recall you were a very intense player. Do you think this intensity will help you as you go through all the training, the classes, and exercises to get you prepared for the competition?
BR: Well my intensity was about being the best. And because of that intensity and because of my drive, I think I would do very well.
RC: How long have you been watching Dancing With the Stars?
BR: Since Jerry Rice was a contestant is when I started watching it.
RC: Keep in mind that Rice and Emmitt Smith were offensive skill players. Besides Sapp, Jason Taylor was on DWTS and he didn’t get as far. Do you understand expectations would be lower for you?
BR: That is true, but defensive players, at least linebackers, we have to be able to react to whatever the offense gives us, so on some level, we have to be quicker on our feet because of that. Offensive guys know where they are going. Defensive guys have to be really quick at what is put in front of them and they got to be able to react to that. And I think I do a pretty good job at reacting.
RC: You do understand being who you are, viewers wouldn’t expect you to be into something like this. Do you have anything to say to those that doubt your interest in being on DWTS?
BR: You know what, I think if anybody that has a better understanding of who and what I’m about, I think they would say, ‘You know what, I think he would do very well in this.’ I had a lot of people when Jerry Rice was on there, they said, ‘How come they didn’t pick you to be on there?’ I know a lot of people told me that. So now, maybe in time they’ll choose me.
RC: Have you tried contacting them before?
BR: We have tried to contact them, but I really don’t know who to contact and how that process works. It’s been a while, I do know that.
RC: So what do you do with yourself now that you’re retired?
BR: I launched a nutrition company and I’ve done some acting.
RC: Tell me about the nutrition company.
BR: It’s Nutrition 53. And a big part of my success in the NFL was about what I put in my body and what I ate, how I supplemented and it was a big edge for me. And I worked with the top doctors, scientists, and nutritionists in the world and I learned so much because I worked with them, but I researched myself and I challenged them who in turn not only got better themselves, but they helped me get better. So I decided to take that, the passion I have in nutrition and making people better, and being healthy around it. And that is what inspired me to start Nutrition 53.
RC: How has the business been going?
BR: It’s been going very, very well. Sometimes I pinch myself with how well it’s going. I’m in a position to really affect thousands and thousands of people and it moves me. Every day I wake up and I have a purpose. And that’s truly what I want my legacy to be, that I’m making people’s lives better.
RC: Tell me a little about the movie “Bedtime Story.”
BR: It’s a movie about Adam Sandler, and he reads stories to his kids at night, and the stories become real. They happen. And it just blows him away. It’s a really, really fun movie. I’m in a part of the movie where I play a biker. Adam is trying to ditch me and get away from me. It’s a really cool movie; it’s going to bring a lot of laughs; and it has a really good message. It’s a Walt Disney movie so I’m really excited to be a part of that.
RC: When does it come out?
BR: Christmas Day.
RC: What do you think of the quality of play in the NFL?
BR: I love good football. I think the quality of play is outstanding. I think the NFL has the greatest game on earth and to watch players go out week in and week out and put their bodies on the line the way they do, it’s remarkable. Every time I watch a game I have to think to myself, ‘Did I really do that for 16 years and 243 straight games never missing a game?’ I’m like, ‘How did I do that?’ And sometimes to this day I really don’t know how.
RC: You played on some very good teams with some very good quarterbacks. Considering what the New England Patriots have gone through, how impressed are you by their performance playing without Tom Brady?
BR: Well I think Matt Cassel has done a very good job. Are they the same team? No, but I’ll tell you what. Matt Cassel probably earned himself a starting job somewhere else in the league next year. Or, depending on how the rest of the season plays out, does New England take the young guy, dish off Brady for multiple draft picks, and really solidifies/secures the future of their organization and their game? You heard it from me first.
RC: A rookie linebacker for the Patriots, Jerod Mayo, had a 20-tackle performance against the New York Jets. He was compared to a former teammate of yours, Al Wilson.
BR: Al was a great football player. When a linebacker gets 20 tackles, that means he’s on the field an awful lot. That’s a little scary for me. That might mean the defense is not playing that well. But 20 tackles is a lot of tackles. I think 24 tackles is the most I’ve had in a football NFL game. So great performance [by Mayo]. But to do that as a rookie? I clearly did not do that as a rookie, so the future is very bright [for him].
RC: Do you keep up with Boston College?
BR: I just watch Boston College from time to time. To see how well the school is doing and the team is doing, it’s amazing how much the school has changed since I was there. But to see Matt Ryan and the success he had at Boston College and how well he’s doing down in Atlanta. Hats off to him, I’m really proud of him, I think he’s doing an outstanding job. He’s pretty much turned that organization around. It’s amazing to see a rookie do that.
Click here to read Randolph's full interview with Romo.
For more by Randolph Charlotin, check out his blog at http://www.newenglandpatriotsnews.com/randolphc/weblog/. He can be contacted at lordrc@verizon.net. |
