Speaking at a recent reception in his honor, Tony Romo ended his speech by saying that his Dallas Cowboys would win the Super Bowl this year, according to The Dallas Morning News.

Romo, who has won two playoff games in his nine seasons in Dallas, made the comment during his acceptance speech for the Nancy Lieberman Lifetime Achievement Award, which honors the basketball star who resides in the area and still has deep ties to her sport. He concluded his speech by saying:

“This award is very meaningful to me, mostly because I get to be associated with this and to be associated with Nancy. It’s incredible and I really appreciate you, and we’re going to win a Super Bowl next year.”

https://youtu.be/rVuLt40n7Ok?t=8m52s

In typical Romo fashion, his proclamation isn’t made with much fanfare, just nine simple words that will in no way come back to haunt him hundreds of times in the coming months.

I mean, at their core, every player and coach needs to believe they’re winning the Super Bowl every year. Those who don’t won’t be in the league long unless they’re good enough to loaf about on sheer talent until enough teams get sick of them (looking at you, Albert Haynesworth). So it’s not Romo’s self-belief that’s interesting. It’s his choice to make it public that raises eyebrows.

Nothing good ever comes from saying something like this. Ever. Just ask Philly’s “Dream Team” for a few years ago. Then again, did Romo even mean what we think he means? Let’s parse his statement in full: “We’re going to win a Super Bowl next year.”

“We’re going to win …” Is he talking about the Cowboys or is this the royal “we,” as in: “We’ll all be champions in 2016. That’s what the Nancy Lieberman Lifetime Achievement Award is about and that’s why I’m getting it while I’m not even middle-aged. It doesn’t matter who actually raises the trophy. Aren’t we all winners for just making the journey?” Call this the “second-grade soccer coach” theory.

“a Super Bowl next year.” He didn’t say THE Super Bowl, just A Super Bowl. Maybe he’s been playing a lot of Madden and is confident in the 2015 Cowboys — probably because, as GM, he didn’t let DeMarco Murray leave for a division rival. Maybe he’s entering one of his lineman in a Super Bowl of wing-eating contest. Maybe he makes his own Super Bowl trophy out of tin foil and awards to the best Cowboys player at the end of every season. The possibilities are limitless. And what does he mean by “next year?” One on hand, it clearly seems to say that the Super Bowl will be won in 2016, next year, but maybe he’s talking about next season and has already counted this current season as beginning.

You see, there’s just too much semantics to deal with, so I’m going to go out on a limb too, but will say it as clearly as possible so there can’t be any possible confusion: The Dallas Cowboys, the NFL football team currently quarterbacked by Tony Romo, will not win Super Bowl 50, which is to be played in Santa Clara at Levi’s Stadium on Feb. 7, 2016.