ROMO PUMPS UP FOR GOV SEAT

Denver (WPI) - Former Denver Broncos star Bill Romanowski declared his candidacy for Colorado governor yesterday, saying he is confident he will win the state GOP committee's endorsement.

“Romo” as he is known, announced his candidacy in the city where he made his name in professional football. His announcement came as no surprise: the Romanowski family has been raising money for both his legal fees and political ambitions for several years.

Romanowski, a sure Hall of Fame linebacker and longtime TV spokesman for nutritional supplements, faces two other candidates for the Republican nomination for governor — his first run for political office. Most notably is Peter Coors inherited billionaire of the Coors brewing company. Less wealthy opponents are likely to be Rep. Bob Beauprez and former University of Denver President Marc Holtzman. Gov. Bill Owens, a Republican, is barred from running for re-election because of term limits. Solidly red-state Colorado has no interest in Democratic candidates.

Wikipedia, the on-line encyclopedia, offers the following biography:

Bill Romanowski (nicknamed "Romo", full name William Thomas Romanowski, born April 2, 1966 in Vernon, Connecticut) is a former American football player. A linebacker, he graduated from Rockville High School in 1984, Boston College in 1988, and then went on to a 16-year career in the NFL, playing for the San Francisco 49ers, Philadelphia Eagles, Denver Broncos, and Oakland Raiders. He played 243 consecutive games, an NFL record among Linebackers, won 4 Super Bowl Championships, and is the only linebacker to start 5 Super Bowl Games. He recently admitted to taking steroids.

Known as a highly intense, aggressive player, Romanowski has been involved in numerous altercations with both teammates and opponents. In 1989, while with the 49ers, he brawled with offensive tackle Harris Barton after Barton had taken exception to a hit Romanowski had made on wide receiver Jerry Rice during a practice session. In 1995, while with the Eagles, he was ejected from a game — and subsequently fined $4,500 — for kicking Arizona Cardinals running back Larry Centers in the head.

Three more incidents occurred during the 1997 season while he played for the Broncos: In the first, he was fined $20,000 after his hit on then-Carolina Panthers quarterback Kerry Collins in a preseason game resulted in Collins sustaining a broken jaw that kept him out of action that entire season; in the second, Romanowski spat in the face of 49ers wide receiver J.J. Stokes in a regular-season game played in December on a Monday night; and in the third — in the AFC Championship game — Romanowski almost precipitated a full-scale brawl after he taunted Pittsburgh Steelers quarterback Kordell Stewart following an interception Stewart had thrown in the third quarter of the game, won by Denver. Two years later, while still with the Broncos, he was fined a total of $42,500 for three illegal hits plus a punch thrown at Kansas City Chiefs tight end Tony Gonzalez, and was also fined an undisclosed amount for throwing a football at Bryan Cox of the New York Jets, the ball hitting him in the nut sack.

In August of 2000, Romanowski was indicted by a grand jury in Denver for allegedly obtaining phentermine, a diet drug with stimulant properties, under false pretenses; he was later acquitted of this charge, but during the trial he made statements to the media many regarded as being racially insensitive. Another on-the-field incident, resulting in a $7,500 fine, followed in 2001.

On August 24, 2003, as a member of the Raiders, Romanowski punched backup tight end Marcus Williams in the face during a preseason scrimmage; Williams sustained a broken eye socket and was ultimately forced to retire, leading to Williams filing a civil lawsuit against Romanowski, seeking $3.8 million in damages. Following a three-week trial, a jury awarded Williams $340,000 in compensatory damages on March 22, 2005.

Bill Romanowski was featured in the 2005 remake The Longest Yard starring Adam Sandler.

Romanowski has also been linked to the BALCO steroid scandal, and in an interview with Scott Pelley that aired on CBS-TV's 60 Minutes on October 16, 2005, he openly admitted to using steroids during the last three years of his NFL career.

If successful in his first bid for political office, Romanowski would become Colorado’s first steroid addled governor. California and Minnesota were the first states to break through the infamous “Steroid Ceiling.”

In making his announcement Romanowski told a cheering crowd that Democrats and non-supporters were, “Pansies, pussies and pukes,” and promised to personally, “beat the snot out of any damn liberal that tries to run against ME!”