You hate Tony Romo.

While it's true that statement doesn't apply to each of you, it's actually a gross understatement for a large group of you. Easily the most polarizing sports figure this side of the creation of social media, there was seemingly nothing the former Dallas Cowboys' quarterback could do right during his stint with the team. Those who casually strip away every molecule of context with the goal of propping up a rather weird and scathingly inaccurate stance surrounding him being a choke artist have no qualms doing so in perpetuity, routinely and willfully walking onto quicksand and pretending it's dried concrete. Add to this the fact recency bias is also a real thing, and it's subconsciously wielded against Romo's resume like the spear of Leonidas in his battle against the Persian forces.

Always without fail though, facts find their way into the hidden goat path.

It's easy to forget all of the great times the veteran quarterback provided the Cowboys over the years now that the new sheriff, Dak Prescott, is in town -- but it's more apropos to the credibility of all to appreciate what once was, in addition to what now is. After taking the reins in 2006 from a production-failed Drew Bledsoe, it was a long road for Romo before he'd finally see any type of "process" materialize into a solid team, despite being routinely told to trust it. It wasn't until Jerry Jones and Co. finally conceded to providing him an actual offensive line that things began to rapidly change for the better.

That began with drafting left tackle Tyron Smith out of USC in the first round of the 2011 NFL Draft, half a decade after Romo became starter.

The team followed that with subsequent first-round picks on center Travis Frederick in 2013 and guard Zack Martin in 2014, a haul of three future perennial All-Pro's selected in a span of four seasons. The team had not only willfully struggled protecting Romo, being of the mindset he could escape any pressure that would befall him, but also in providing him a dynamic run game. Prior to former third-round pick (2011) DeMarco Murray finally being healthy enough to make an impact that would force teams to stop pinning their ears back to go after Romo, the Cowboys having not a single 1,000-yard rusher from 2007 through 2012.

Murray was able to remain mostly healthy in 2013 to the tune of 14 games, delivering 1,121 rushing yards and nine rushing touchdowns along the way. Now with a dominant halfback and one of the best offensive lines in the game, along with wide receiver Dez Bryant teeming for a shot at a large contract extension -- the 2014 season was literally one for the record books. Romo could finally enjoy both a pocket to throw in and a running back who ended up pummeling the NFL with a record-setting 1,845 yards rushing and 13 TDs, making it impossible for defenses to continually blitz.

So keyed in was he on getting the job done that year that he missed only one game after suffering fractured transverse processes in his back, returning to embarrass the Jacksonville Jaguars with a 246 passing yard, three TD, no interception performance en route to a London victory.

A backbreaking fumble by Murray and a gut-wrenchingly bad call on Bryant's catch in the waning moments of the NFC Divisional Round against the Green Bay Packers would prematurely end what could've been Romo's best shot at seeing a Super Bowl, in a season wherein he was also a frontrunner to land league MVP, and it turned out to be his last. After years of being battered behind a porous O-line and despite some very admirable running by Marion Barber prior to the drafting of Murray, Romo's body rapidly began to fail him in 2015. He'd go on to miss 12 games that season after suffering a fractured clavicle, of which he'd return too soon from, only to suffer the same injury in his second game back -- ending his season.

The Cowboys went 1-11 in his absence, by the by.

Still fully committed to getting the Cowboys their ever-elusive sixth ring and willing to again put his body on the line, he underwent surgery the following offseason to have his clavicle shaved, a procedure intended to reduce the G forces on it from impact via tackles. The Cowboys selected Ezekiel Elliott with the fourth-overall pick and a now-healthy Romo was ready to finish in 2016 what was derailed in 2014, and what the team failed to help him complete every year prior. It was not to be though, with a preseason hit by Seattle Seahawks' defensive end Cliff Avril fracturing his vertebrae heading into the season, and it's been the Prescott show ever since, something Romo made his peace with in an emotionally-charged concession speak that November.

Is he a Hall of Fame QB, though?

"That's tough," said former Cowboys' wideout Laurent Robinson when I posed the question to him. "....I don't know the numbers before I got there but looking at the resume and what he's done over the years, I think it's going to be close. I think he has a chance to get in, but I think they're going to base it on the fact he didn't win the Super Bowl or get past the first round [of the NFL playoffs].

"I don't know [but] I hope he gets in."

Those are smart football words from a player made very wealthy at the arm of the QB in question, but a matter of correction is in order for the sake of maintaining objectivity here: Romo wasn't always eliminated from the playoffs in the first round.

He has two NFC Wild Card victories on his resume, one from the rival Philadelphia Eagles in 2009 and by way of defeating the Detroit Lions in 2014.

Three different head coaches, six different starting RBs, inconsistent wide receiver play and several bottom-ranked defenses later (including the statistically-worst in NFL history in 2013), Romo did all he could to keep the Cowboys relevant and winning games. Jones himself has now repeatedly said the team failed him and one front office rep went as far as saying the Cowboys "would be the Cleveland Browns" if not for Romo. Those admissions now offered, there are no apologies to be offered for the mistakes he made, because they do exist. They also exist to a much higher degree for others who've played the position but walked away with Super Bowl rings because their front office simply understood what it took to get them one, something the Cowboys aren't afraid to admit they dropped the proverbial ball on in a big way.

You say he was a choker. You say he was a loser. I say you need therapy to discover your own underlying mental issues.

An NFL record of 78-49 with 34,183 passing yards to combine with 248 touchdowns to only 117 interceptions are numbers usually reserved for top draft picks from large collegiate programs, not an undrafted one from Eastern Illinois. Romo also amassed a massive 25 fourth-quarter comebacks and 30 game-winning drives over the course of his 14-year career, while not starting the entire time and having missed a double-digit game tally due to a variety of injuries -- not to forget the ones he heroically played through, refusing to come off of the field at the time.

See the game-winning drives in both San Francisco in 2011 (cracked rib + punctured lung) and Washington in 2014 (herniated disc) for reference. And he did it all while posting a career passer rating of 97.1, good enough for the fourth-best in NFL history.

Now that's a leader. And isn't that what the Pro Football Hall of Fame is all about? Leaders who changed the game at their respective position?

Dan Marino did it before him and the Miami Dolphins also failed to put enough talent around him to land the Lombardi, but he still received his gold jacket and -- rightfully -- no one batted an eye. Romo owns every Cowboys' passing record that matters and one NFL record in particular that further proves when the pressure was on, it wasn't him who typically faltered. From 2006 to 2013, he held the highest passer rating in professional football in the fourth quarter.

Fact is, when the Cowboys needed him, he rarely disappointed. The same can't be said in the inverse for the team's front office but, like Marino, the player shouldn't be made to pay for that when it comes time to cast a HOF vote. Marino was lucky enough to have not played during the social media era though, or for the Cowboys, otherwise the only "bust" he'd hear about is as it related to his draft value when/if he failed to reach the Promised Land as well.

In the end, Romo is a victim of both circumstance and Time itself, taking the reigns for the most vilified/praised/scrutinized team in sports at a time when everyone had a Facebook and/or Twitter account and/or a blog to voice their opinion -- no matter how faulty it may have been. Prior to 2006, when Romo got the starting nod, there was virtually no such thing as either of those three options, and now The Committee (at some point) will be forced into determining if he belongs based upon his own merits...or if he doesn't because a bunch of angry tweets say he doesn't deserve it.

Those with voting power often say the Hall of Fame process is not a popularity contest.

Well, prove it.