TRENDING: Super Bowl 58 – Tony Romo Struggles on Big Stage
Tony Romo has had the spotlight on him for many years. Some as the playoff-collapsing Cowboy quarterback, then straight into a widely regarded color commentator for CBS. On the biggest stage of the sport of football, some may say he fumbled a moment too large to comprehend.
Final Call of Super Bowl 58
“For 30 seconds, as CBS showed reaction, Tony Romo talked about the play when the best analysis would’ve been silence, which would have allowed the crowd and pictures to tell the story. It should have been (Jim) Nantz’s broadcast moment, if anyone’s.” Andrew Marchand of The Athletic
The title may want to read “Struggles Again” as the harsh critique on Tony Romo has been relevant for what seems like 3 out of the last 4 years. Romo is 4 years into his 10-year deal, and some rumblings have started to surface as if he will be finishing his contract as the “lead Crew” for CBS, or possibly even finding work for another network.
“When Tony Romo became the biggest sensation in NFL broadcasting, it was because he was a gunslinger as an analyst, predicting plays with an unconventional style that eventually led to a 10-year, $180 million contract, then the richest known deal in sports media history.” Andrew Marchand of The Athletic
Criticism of Tony Romo
Multiple media entities have attacked Tony Romo throughout his 4-year career. It recently came to life that CBS even had to tell Tony Romo to calm down.
“But even his big boss, CBS Sports president Sean McManus, acknowledges that there have been growing pains in Romo’s evolution in this big TV chair, revealing that he has been urged to “calm down” in his excitable “fan-like” presentation.
‘I think if people listen to Tony, and he’s not your meat-and-potatoes analyst,” McManus said. “He’s more of a fan. He gets excited. We sometimes say to him, ‘Hey, calm down a little bit because you do get too into the game,’ which I think is a plus.’”
McManus backs up that the criticism of Romo is unwarranted, but once social media catches hold of something it will tend to take off. He stated it as “undeserved” in an interview with Mad Dog Radio.
Tony Taking Chances
Some may say undeserved criticism, but the once credited “savant” of the broadcasting game has been noted to take chances and not know certain rules.
“Tony Romo doesn’t know that the Chiefs would get the ball even if [San Francisco] scored a TD there,” noted Sports Illustrated columnist and podcast host Jimmy Traina. “That’s not good.”
Tony Romo broke onto the scene by taking his knowledge of the game and making educated guesses of what might happen on the field. Initially, he had great success, but lately, he has been… off.
“He’s devolved from a crucially prepared announcer to “loud guy at the bar” levels of insight. Sunday night’s Buffalo Bills vs. Philadelphia Eagles featured his typical combination of useful defensive pre-snap reads (incoming blitzes, safety coverages, etc) and shrugging declarations to Jim Nantz that he, despite decades of experience in the game, doesn’t know what’s going on.” This is according to a USA Today article on November 26th, 2023.
Questions on Tony’s Future
One of the biggest questions for Tony Romo doesn’t have to do with him, but another former NFL player. Greg Olsen is being replaced by Tom Brady for the 2024 NFL Football Season. With the impending replacement, Greg Olsen has said he is keeping his options open. Olsen, who became a full-time broadcaster in 2021, said he will now explore “the entire spectrum of opportunities” with his current network and elsewhere but expressed gratitude that Fox gave him his start. “It’s hard to predict how all that plays out,” Olsen told The Athletic.
Some speculate that Olsen may replace Romo. Some think Romo will move networks himself. Romo is still under contract for 6 more years, so no move has to be made. Interesting to speculate, but many moving pieces still need to be decided.
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