With football season underway, it's fun to look back on history of the Romeo High School (RHS) football team. One of the most interesting stories was when Detroit Lions player Lomas Brown came to town to speak to them.
In the September 26, 1990 issue of The Romeo Observer, staff writer Michelle Tanguay wrote an article about the event. Lomas came to RHS to speak to the football team on Tuesday, September 18, 1990. The photo of him speaking was taken on that day by Karen Hamilton. He joined the Lions as a first round draft pick choice in 1985 and played offensive tackle for the team until 1995.
By 1990, Lomas had played in over 40 consecutive games and started in every game. However, he didn't intend to play football when he entered high school. Lomas went to Miami Springs High School in Miami, Florida, where he earned All-City and All-State honors. He revealed that one day, when he was walking down the hall, the principal asked him if he had signed up for a varsity sport. He took the teenager aside and signed him up for football.
In addition, Lomas spoke about adversity. He knew all about that because at the time, the Lions weren't doing well for the last five years. He explained, "It was really hard to go out in public. It really taught me how to face adversity."
Lomas also talked about self-esteem and setting goals. For the former, he mentioned, "If you don't feel good about yourself, you can't expect other people to feel good about you."
With the latter, he encouraged Bulldog players to write their goals down on paper, pin them up, and look at them each day to keep them on track. His goals were to have a family, a home, and a BMW, and he eventually got them.
Additionally, Lomas warned the high schoolers about the dangers of drug use, especially steroids. He said that he had "known football players that he considered more talented than himself who used drugs and are now walking around in their neighborhoods depressed and without a job."
He proclaimed that you shouldn't let friends talk you into drugs and that drugs will eventually destroy you.
RHS football coach at the time Dennis Zbozen asked Lomas about mental preparation before a game. Lomas replied that because of their pre-season victories, the Lions were over confident until the Tampa Bay Buccaneers brought them back down to reality. He said, "A player should always go out on the field thinking that this is their last game and his team in the underdog."
This strategy certain worked for the Bulldogs and the Lions. The former defeated the Roseville Panthers at that week's football game, while the latter made it the playoffs during the 1991 season.
Lomas would continue his work as a motivational speaker in the years to come. He even established the Lomas Brown Jr. Foundation in 1991 to provide postsecondary scholarships and financial aid to college-bound high school students and to help them to become better athletes and well-rounded individuals.
To learn more about Lomas Brown and the Romeo High School football team, you can contact the Romeo Community Archives at rca@romemodistrictlibrary.org or call (586) 690-4890. If you want to search for articles on that topic, you can find the Romeo newspapers like The Romeo Observer on the Suburban Library Cooperative's Local History Digital Collection website.
Images and sources courtesy of the Romeo Community Archives; Melvin E. and Joan D. Bleich Collection, The Romeo Observer, September 26, 1990, p.2-B; Pro-Football-Reference.com; and Lomas Brown Jr. Foundation