When Tony Romo wasn’t praising Mason Rudolph and misusing literary terms, he was literally cheering in the broadcast booth for his beloved Buffalo Bills. Yes, the CBS Sports analyst was right about the Bills running the table, winning the division, and hosting a home playoff game against the Pittsburgh Steelers, but that didn’t make his antics in the booth any less bizarre.
During the first quarter of Monday afternoon’s game, Pittsburgh was already trailing 14-0 when Rudolph threw an incomplete pass, which was intended for wide receiver Diontae Johnson. The ball bounced off the ground into the arms of Bills safety Micah Hyde as Romo could barely contain his excitement about a possible pick-six.
"This may be a pick!" – Jim Nantz
"I THINK IT'S INTERCEPTED, JIM!" – Tony Romo
"They're saying it hit the ground." – Nantz
"It did. BUT IT LOOKED LIKE IT WAS INTERCEPTED, JIM!" – Romo
"I saw you jumping up and down. You thought it was a pick…" – Nantz ššļø pic.twitter.com/jeDyWPxzJf
— Awful Announcing (@awfulannouncing) January 15, 2024
While Romo jumped up and down in the booth, it was ruled an incomplete pass. And to the surprise of, well, absolutely nobody, Romo’s boastful praise of the Bills nearly coming away with an interception was met with criticism.
This is bad from an analyst to have a rooting interest! https://t.co/kdkHptj977
— Mark Ortega (@MarkEOrtega) January 15, 2024
Romo is the guy that gets called up from Triple A and rakes for the first few weeks and then they start throwing off-speed stuff. Goodness gracious. https://t.co/9VpuVfIc6E
— Wes Reynolds (@WesReynolds1) January 15, 2024
Horrible, sick of Romo rooting for teams https://t.co/bYKRxEO0FR
— Domenic Clary (@DomenicClary) January 15, 2024
This was not good. https://t.co/5cRGKW7pzZ
— Andrew Marchand (@AndrewMarchand) January 15, 2024
Romo announcing the Bills manā¦ https://t.co/4cv7c18kiN pic.twitter.com/rEvBMa9c2h
— Will Parkinson (@Willpa11) January 15, 2024
https://twitter.com/BrianPerry93/status/1747024089653363165?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw%7Ctwcamp%5Etweetembed%7Ctwterm%5E1747024089653363165%7Ctwgr%5E4ba5fb70c8172655ad4a3e762c6e764bf1761877%7Ctwcon%5Es1_c10&ref_url=https%3A%2F%2Fpublish.twitter.com%2F%3Furl%3Dhttps%3A%2F%2Ftwitter.com%2FBrianPerry93%2Fstatus%2F1747024089653363165
Hard to believe this is a #1 network booth. https://t.co/QjHrlkjVwr
— Evan Wilner (@WilnerRadio) January 15, 2024
Although Romo’s enthusiasm adds energy to the broadcast, it also creates a potential conflict of interest. What many have perceived as strong allegiance to Josh Allen and the Bills has already subtly influenced his analysis, as we saw him overemphasizing their successes.
This raises questions about fairness and impartiality, especially when calling crucial plays like the near-interception, for which Romo was jumping up and down in the booth like a fan.
Romo’s passion for the game is undeniable, but striking a balance between enthusiasm and professionalism is crucial. He can maintain his excitement while ensuring his commentary remains fair and objective. The issue here is not being able to check his preexisting biases about Josh Allen and the Buffalo Bills at the door, even if he was right about them to begin with.
