Romo Will Not Receive The Silent Treatment

There are certain standards in golf, and certain standards at Congressional Country Club. You don't wear your baseball hat backward. You don't wear cargo shorts. You don't yell at golfers mid-swing, and you sure as heck don't boo.

This morning will put those standards to a severe test. Tiger Woods -- the most popular athlete in the world -- will tee off in a group with Tony Romo -- who might not be the most hated athlete in D.C. but isn't likely to get many fist bumps in greater Bethesda. Think less "Get in the hole!," and more "Fall in that ditch!"

"Oh, I'm gonna definitely boo him," said one extremely well-respected member of Congressional, who, being a Washingtonian, asked her name not be used. "This is Redskins territory. It's like the Yankees; you hate the Yankees and you hate the Cowboys. I might have to wear a Redskins shirt."

"It's a matter of principle," added another Congressional member, who also requested anonymity. "He's basically asking for it, showing his face here."

"Do I think they should interfere with the round of golf? No," said Paul Goydos, himself a Rams fan. "Do I think they should give him some [stuff] if they get the opportunity? That's part of life. He gets paid very well. A Cowboy coming into Redskin or Eagle or Giant territory has to expect that a little bit."

Word of this non-silent protest had evidently filtered back to the tournament host, who was asked to address his pro-am partner during a pre-tournament meeting with the media. What Tiger should have said was, "Hey, at least I'm not playing with [Sidney] Crosby or LeBron [James]!" but what he actually said was this:

"We're very lucky to have him here; to have him come out and have Jessica [Simpson] come out and sing the National Anthem is gonna be pretty special for all of us," Woods said, nearly causing at least one media member to boo right then and there. "Certainly I didn't realize it was gonna be this big a deal. . . . It's gonna be a fun round, but also an interesting one. He's used to being booed. It is what it is."

So at least Tiger has the football terminology down. And Jessica's was hardly the only bold name rattled off at the mic. Just to keep us all grounded, here are several takes on those names, from Tiger and the field.

Woods on Roger Federer: "Am I in contact with Fed? Yeah, we probably text about every day."

Goydos on Federer: " I know Michael Chang. I golfed with him once."

Kevin Stadler on Federer: "I watch him play almost every time he plays. That guy's awesome."

Woods on Michael Jordan: "He doesn't sleep, like me, so he may give me a call or text, I may give him a call or text at odd hours, and we're both up, and we'll talk for a while. . . . You know, the countless hours in the gym, shooting and shooting. I said 'Mike, it's 1 in the morning.' He's saying, 'I'm not ready yet,' kept shooting and shooting and shooting."

Goydos on Jordan: "I don't have a relationship with anybody at 1 in the morning. At 1 in the morning I'm sleeping."

Kevin Stadler on Jordan: "He played on my golf course once. I've seen him in person."