Even if Shannon Sharpe watched NFL games with the sound on, it doesn’t seem like he would enjoy Tony Romo the announcer.
During a recent episode of Nightcap, Sharpe and co-host Chad Johnson discussed Brady bumping Greg Olsen from the lead NFL analyst chair at Fox. While praising Olsen’s ability as a broadcaster, Johnson also noted how much he loves listening to Romo on CBS for his ability to see plays on the field before they happen. Sharpe, however, isn’t impressed, believing Romo’s tendency to predict plays might actually be a detriment to the viewer.
“I think a lot of guys can do that,” Sharpe said, downplaying the impressiveness of Romo predicting plays. “But it’s kind of like the draft, although Adam Schefter and the insiders have the information on what teams are gonna do, what did the commissioner do? ‘Y’all stop that because you’re taking the fun out of it, you’re robbing the guys of that opportunity.’
“You’re robbing the fans listening at home of that opportunity. Now some fans, they love that. They love, ‘Oh, Tony says it’s gonna be a run, Tony says it’s gonna be a pass.’ Well hell, it can’t be but one of the two. You can either run the ball or you can throw the ball. You ever come to the line and hear the defense, ‘Watch the run! Watch the pass!’ Well damn, you got a 50/50 chance!”
In Romo’s defense, he does more than just guess whether an offense is about to pass or run the ball. And the number of fans who feel they’re being robbed of entertainment when Romo aptly predicts the play call are probably far and few between.
It does, however, still seem like there are a growing number of fans who follow Sharpe’s lead in listening to the broadcast on mute when Romo’s on the call. Romo gained instant popularity when CBS made him their lead NFL analyst in 2017 for his enthusiasm and keen ability to predict plays. But the lure of Romo has worn off in recent seasons, with fans more frequently complaining about his tendency to be overzealous and keen ability to state the obvious.
“A lot of fans say they like that…to each his own,” Sharpe added of Romo. “I don’t listen to the sounds because I already know what I’m looking for and I don’t want somebody to contaminate what I’m gonna say on-air. What you hear me say, those are my original thoughts.”
[Nightcap]
