Dick Ebersol Claims Tony Romo "Has Lost His Passion For Broadcasting, And It Shows" - He Is 100% Correct. Get Romo Out Of The Booth And Onto The Golf Course

NY Post - Dick Ebersol wants to make Tony Romo great again.

Ebersol, the legendary longtime former boss of NBC Sports, joined Chris Wallace on HBO Max for the latest edition of “Who’s Talking to Chris Wallace?” Ebersol lamented that Romo does not seem “into” broadcasting at the present time.

“I’ve known Tony Romo, since he first got to the pros. He’s an unbelievably engaging guy, he should have been a terrific, great broadcaster,” Ebersol said. “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, [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.”

Ebersol does not see a high level of preparedness for the job out of Romo this season, but believes the situation to be salvageable.

“I’d love to be his producer for about six months,” Ebersol said. “I think I could cure this quickly.”

Asked what he’d say to get Romo to improve, Ebersol said he’d tell the broadcaster to “Get your head in the game. I mean, you’ve really got to work hard to be prepared. I’m sure I’ll get all kinds of phone calls and notes and stuff like that. But that is how I feel.”

Look, I love Tony Romo. The person. 

The announcer? He kinda sucks. And always has.

I’ve never really understood everybody’s infatuation with him since he came on the scene. (But I have a theory).

And I definitely couldn’t understand CBS breaking the bank on him, giving him more money, to show up and interject over the sweet sounds of Jim Nantz’ voice once a weekend, than Jerry Jones ever paid him to run the offense of the franchise formerly known as “America’s Team.” 

And lose in grand fashion annually of course.

But that’s neither here nor there.

I don’t think it’s a sense of Tony losing his “heart” for announcing games (if there is such a thing.) As much as I think he’s always just been a one trick pony, and he’s run out of material.

At first we were blown away and overly impressed by him because he was actually adding something to a CBS broadcast being held together by Jim Nantz and string.

There was arguably nothing worse than listening to a delusional and incoherent Phil Simms chime in on a close play millions of us all just watched, in high definition and with slow motion replay from 5 different angles, and telling us we didn’t see what we saw and have it wrong.

He would of course end up being wrong, (he always was), Nantz would have to cover for him, segue to the next play, and wait until Simms decided to pipe up again.

(Sidebar- people also forget Simms once farted on Nantz on national tv. There’s no coming back from that.)

So in hindsight you can see why we were all dazzled and mesmerized by Romo at first.

For one, he didn’t have rocks for brains.

He wasn’t pompous. Had no axes to grind. And had an awesome upbeat and positive attitude. He had the rare ability to criticize players and coaches without totally trashing them or tearing them to shreds.

Those were the things I actually enjoyed about him. Basically that he seemed like he was genuinely having fun and wasn’t a moron.

But the shit EVERYBODY, and by everybody I mean literally you reading this, your friends, and even you mom and grandma who don’t even watch football, LOVED about Tony was his knack for calling plays before they developed.

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Men and women alike were cumming in their pants over this stuff the first year we had Romo broadcasting games and not losing them on the field.

But over time, that novelty began to wear off. As everything does.

Factor in the introduction of the Manningcast, where we have two, not one, highly intelligent football IQ’s, with great personalities doing commentary, as well as everybody’s new flavor of the month Dan Orlovsky.

The thing these guys all have in common, aside from likability, is a penchant for knowing how a play is going to unfold.

But let me ask you this.

If you went to let’s say, your daughters dance recital, and you were sitting next to your friends wife, and she was a highly decorated dance choreographer. She’d been choreographing dance for more than half her life. And she was sitting there telling you what the dancers were all going to do before they did it, just based on how they were arranged, and her decades of knowledge on the subject, would you freak out and would your mind be blown?

Probably not.

Impressed yes. For sure.

But cumming your pants? Doubtful.

These guys should be predicting plays and telling us what’s going to happen before it does because it’s literally been their job forever, and they were so good at spotting details 99.9% of the rest of average QB’s never could, that they had great careers earning hundreds of millions of dollars.

All that said, I don’t want to see Tony Romo leave the broadcast booth. Because as played out as I think his act is, he’s still better than 90% of his counterparts. And again, his upbeat attitude and delivery is always a plus, 

But like C’s dad always told him in “A Bronx Tale”, “the saddest thing in life is wasted talent.” And I think Tony’s true calling is smoking people on the golf course.

“Tony Romo is like a son to me,” Ebersol said. “I am truly his biggest fan on and off the field. As a fan, and a producer, I have always been known to offer up unsolicited notes. But this time, after a long day of interviews, I went too far and frankly said things that I do not believe and are simply not true.

“No announcer is more passionate about the NFL than Tony Romo, and I personally cannot wait to hear his call this and every Sunday. He is as good as it gets.”

Ebersol felt bad and tried to walk his statement back, but you can’t put the toothpaste back in the tube. What’s said is said and I think it has merit.

You know where Romo looks most relaxed, at ease, and loving life?

Playing 18.

It’s a waste of his talent settling for playing in the pro-am’s with squeezers half as good as he is.

And it’s fucking preposterous that a guy who played 14 seasons in the NFL was able to perfect his golf game on the side, to a level where he could almost legitimately compete with the best in the world.

He’s also pretty damn good at studying the tape on the PGAers too.

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Hell, just this past Monday the guy qualified for a USGA amateur 4 ball event in dramatic fashion.

Golf.com- On Monday afternoon, the former NFL QB and current CBS Sports analyst qualified for the U.S. Amateur Four-Ball alongside his playing partner, 17-year-old Texas commit Tommy Morrison at Winter Creek Golf Course in Blanchard, Okla. The pair combined to shoot a 9-under 63 in the 18-hole qualifier, tying for the event’s low score as they notched 10 birdies to only a single bogey.

Romo, a semi-professional golfer since retiring from the Dallas Cowboys in 2016, shot an outright 66 with eight birdies on Monday. The Four-Ball marks Romo’s lastest golf expedition in his post-playing career, an effort that has seen him compete in celebrity pro-ams, USGA qualifiers, and even for a spot on the Korn Ferry Tour.

No doubt the gate keepers of golf and county club hardo’s will kill me for even thinking Romo could hang on the tour with guys who’ve dedicated their entire life to the sport and play at the highest level. But to the casual fan such as myself, if Tony Romo makes a cut and is out there this weekend you bet your ass I’m watching. And I’m pulling for him.

At the end of the day, I think Romo’s probably over watching football from the press box and not from under center. He’s probably bored with how shitty the level of play has been so far this season, and he’s probably itching to make some cuts on the pro tour.

So Tony, if you’re reading this, my advice to you is follow your heart. Dance like you’ve never been hurt. Love like nobody’s watching. Make act 2 where you dominate your second sport. We’d all be rooting for you.

P.s. - I get asked a lot who I actually like as announcers because I’m pretty vocal I’m not a fan of Joe Buck and Troy Aikman.

I was introduced to football listening to Pat Summerall call games and call me bias but I think he was the best I ever heard do it. Even in very old age.

Jerry absolutely nailed his piece on Al Michaels and how he is currently the best in the game right now. It’s really not even close.

I really miss Keith Jackson doing college football and don’t think there’s been anybody even close to as good since he retired.

Brent Musberger was arguably the best Swiss Army knife announcer theres ever been. No matter what sporting event he was calling, he was superb.

I used to love Bob Costas doing football for NBC back in the day, but he spoke out against the NFL’s mishandling of player health and concussions and was blackballed by the league ever since.

I grew up hearing how incredible Gil Santos, Curt Jowdy, and Jack Buck all were from my dad. I’m not sure who I could really say that about today.

I think Kevin Burkhardt is awesome at what he does. His voice, cadence, demeanor, and euphemisms are pretty unmatched.

I think for as good as Greg Olson was on the field, he’s even better doing color. Every week I try to find the game he’s on so I can listen to him. I can’t say I’ve done that with a commentator in a long time. He’s awesome and gets better and better.

Let me know who I missed or how little I know about golf in the comments.