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Tony Romo showed he was reasonably competent, making one big mistake, but recovering from it.

And while that was his day failing to qualify for the U.S. Open golf tournament yesterday, the former Cowboys quarterback said there were also some parallels to his new job broadcasting for CBS.

“It’s different. Competition in itself I enjoy and, for me, just improving and looking at something to get better at,” he said when asked about golf filling the competitive void in his life now that he’s retired, via Drew Davison of the Fort Worth Star-Telegram.

“That’s the same thing in broadcasting,” he continued. “I understand I’m coming in without any experience in that world. It’s exciting, it’s a little nerve-wracking, it’s all these things in one. That’s why you love to do things. You’re coming into the unknown and something I have to get better at and I like a challenge. I know I’ll probably stink for a while [in the broadcast booth]. Hopefully I’ll continue to improve at that and hopefully get better and be good.”

That kind of easy self-effacing humor is a big first step, as Romo walks into the world of television with a quality other recently retired quarterbacks may not necessarily share. But because he’s pleasant and likable, he’ll have chances to work through any early mistakes, even though he’s starting at the top of the profession.