He came on the scene like a bolt from the blue. He provided a breath of fresh air with his charm and his infectious personality, his affable aw-shucks attitude and his obvious passion for the game that he wore loudly and proudly on his sleeve, no matter the score.
And then the act wore thin for many, who took delight in ripping apart his performances and claiming he was never that good to begin with.
That’s the story of Tony Romo’s pro football career.
More recently, though, it’s also the story of his TV broadcast career.
And Romo has now summarily shrugged off the media critics the same way he ignored the haters for all those years when he was wearing the Cowboys star.
“That stuff doesn’t affect me,” Romo said Thursday per Calvin Watkins of the Dallas Morning News. “Really, once you play quarterback for the Cowboys, you can deal with anything.”
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The lead NFL color commentator for CBS Sports came under considerable fire after the postseason from fans and industry types alike who complained about Romo’s on-air ramblings, suggested a lack of pre-game preparation, and suggested his chemistry with play-by-play partner Jim Nantz had taken a dive.
There were even reports that CBS Sports had staged “an intervention” with Romo in an attempt to steer him back to being the voice in the booth that had made him a hit with fans when he first took the job in 2017.
Nantz spoke out recently in defense of Romo, calling the criticisms “cheap shots” that were “very disappointing.” He gave kudos to Romo’s excitable style, calling it “fun” and adding that “when somebody starts questioning our chemistry, there’s an agenda there.”
For the 42-year-old Romo, the backlash he’s gotten is no real surprise.
“I think that’s normal,” he said Thursday from the second annual Invited Celebrity Classic held at the Las Colinas Country Club. “I think that happens to anybody. Anytime you’re doing something well, I think there’s always going to be that. It’s just the arc type of someone’s career. It’s happened to me a few times before and that’s a good thing.”
CBS called reports of an intervention with Romo “a complete mischaracterization,” and Nantz claimed, “I love the guy… I have never had better chemistry with anybody in my career than Tony.”
If Romo is going to change how he goes about his business, he’s not saying so.
“You’ve got to remember there’s always someone’s opinion there,” he said, “but a hundred other people that come up to you and tell you they love you. You’re not going to please everyone. I do think at the end of the day, there’s a lot more people that really appreciate what we do, and I think CBS does a great job with their broadcast team.”
At least outwardly, Romo appears content to simply keep being himself when he’s on the job… just as he did as quarterback of America’s Team.
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