With NFL training camp started this week for the Dallas Cowboys, my season long journey of building up cautious optimism all the way up until the first game and seeing what the team actually looks like begins now.
I never want to be too enthusiastic because I have learned that only brings more pain. I am a guarded Cowboys fan at this point entering my 20th season identifying as one.
If you do the math you will realize I missed out on all of the 90s glory years. Forgive me, I was six when they last won and watching sports as a kid only resulted in seeing my dad, my hero to this day and usually relaxed, be at his most volatile.
I remember my first five years of watching the team trying to find the next quarterback after Troy Aikman retired the season before I became a fan.
The highlight was watching Emmitt Smith become the all-time leading rusher followed by a weird 2003 team that somehow made the playoffs on the back of a bunch of Bill Parcell veterans and one good season from quarterback Quincy Carter.
Only when the team stumbled onto quarterback Tony Romo in 2006 did I ever feel like Dallas had a legitimate shot at the Super Bowl.
As much crap the Romo era got at the time, the only two losing seasons in 10 years came when Romo was hurt in 2010 and 2015. Several 8-8 seasons and lack of playoff wins get the main criticism.
During most of those years I could naively buy into the team as a Super Bowl contender, so seeing the team barely miss the playoffs or get knocked out by an admittedly better team in the playoffs was always gutting.
Even more gutting though is the two best teams from that era, the 2007 team and the 2014 team. Both made it to the divisional round of the playoffs (the 2007 team had a first round bye) before losing tragically.
While these years hurt, it was a way better fan experience than a lot of franchises around the league. Several teams would be lucky to have one quarterback as good as Romo, a four-time pro bowler who in his best years could go toe-to-toe with future Hall-of-Famers at the position.
It is easy to look back on the Romo era with rose-tinted-goggles since he is now the most popular color commentator in the league announcing games at CBS and is still getting endorsements. I was there and the majority of the stupid fan base wanted almost any excuse to get rid of him.
Then, the Cowboys luck into his replacement in 2016. Like Romo, Dak Prescott equally came out of nowhere. Though he was actually drafted, unlike Romo, Dallas tried to draft several other quarterbacks in that draft before settling on him in the fifth round.

To read the full story, pick up a copy of the weekend edition of the Bowie News.