Earlier this NFL season, Dick Ebersol trashed Tony Romo during an interview with Chris Wallace. In retrospect, maybe the legendary TV executive was right.
It wasn’t long ago that Romo was on the verge of establishing himself as the best NFL analyst on television. His enthusiasm was infectious and his ability to be a football prophet was groundbreaking. But this season especially, Romo has faced mounting criticism each week, as the lead NFL analyst for CBS appears to have lost his luster.
“He’s an unbelievably engaging guy, he should have been a terrific, great broadcaster,” Ebersol said of Romo last October. “Something’s happened since he got into that chair. And it doesn’t seem like he’s into it. Like he was on his way up. He does not seem to be the storyteller that he should be. The thing that makes [Al] Michaels great and [Joe] Buck great, and all these guys are they’re really, they’re really storytellers. And Tony has gotten further and further away from that I think.”
“This is somebody who should be an announcer for the ages, but clearly has lost his passion for it,” Ebersol continued. “And I would have him in my office often not to kick his ass, but just to keep reminding him of what put him there in the first place.”
After Ebersol’s seemingly harsh assessment of Romo garnered national attention, the former NBC Sports executive awkwardly attempted to walk it back by claiming he said things that he didn’t believe. But while Ebersol’s initial take may have seemed a little harsh at the time, three months later, NFL fans are now echoing his sentiment on a weekly basis.
Once nicknamed “Romostradamus,” Romo doesn’t see plays before they happen anymore. And his analysis sounds much more like Captain Obvious than a prophet, which has caused some critics to question his preparation.
Maybe it’s not preparation, maybe it’s just a byproduct of Romo being further removed from the field. He’s no longer watching the same coaches, players and defenses that he prepared to play against every week. Whatever the reason, Romo no longer boasts the trait that lured audiences to him six years ago.
Romo’s noises are bizarre, his stories are often untimely, he talks too much and his passion reeks of hysteria more than it brings entertainment to a broadcast. Maybe Ebersol is right, Romo has lost some of his passion to be a great broadcaster.
No one is going to ask the often overzealous, over-excited Tony Romo to bring more passion into the broadcast booth. But the passion he exudes every week throughout the NFL season is starting to sound more like an act than genuine. There is no question that Romo still has a passion for football. But as he completes his sixth season as the lead NFL analyst for CBS, it’s fair to question if he still has a passion for broadcasting.
