How exciting was that ending to Super Bowl LVIII?
You may have missed it, or at the very least became distracted, when CBS announcer Tony Romo absolutely railroaded the moment by blabbering about the play instead of letting the special Super Bowl moment have a moment.
The Kansas City Chiefs had a game winning drive in overtime to win 25 to 22 over the San Francisco 49ers, which was capped off by a touchdown pass from Patrick Mahomes to Mecole Hardman.
Initially, the call of the play was brilliantly executed by Jim Nantz, as he alluded to Las Vegas and the big moment by saying:
“It’s there! Hardman! Jackpot Kansas City.”
Nantz then “laid out” to let the atmosphere and sound of the game accompany the shots of pure joy as the Chiefs realize they’ve won the Super Bowl, but apparently Romo though that Nantz’s silence was an invitation for him to break down the play.
Just watch the clip below and you’ll see why everyone is upset:
Man, Romo just wouldn’t stop talking.
Since Tony Romo is a color commentator, one could argue that he was just doing his job. However, with a moment like that, the best announcers (like Jim Nantz) know that sometimes the best way to commentate a moment that will go down in history is to say nothing at all.
Romo apparently missed the memo on that, but luckily for him, social media was there to remind him of what he did wrong:
He constantly has to try and predict each play and he never just shuts up.
That was the worst commentary I’ve ever listened to during a superbowl
— dpat (@HalfBaked802) February 12, 2024
That’s why Jim stopped talking……..it wasn’t an open invitation for Tony to start his mundane commentary on the play. There would have been plenty of time for that
— DepSec999 (@Depsec999) February 12, 2024
I agree. It’s a moment for celebration, not x’s and o’s analysis. The game is over. There’s nothing to analyze. I want to hear 65,000 people screaming
— J (@picklestab) February 12, 2024
Horrible. Romo has to let Nantz’s call breathe. Romo made the moment worse.
— Drew McDowell (@dmcdowell727) February 12, 2024
As you can see, social media wasn’t shying away from calling out Tony Romo for screwing up the Super Bowl call. The only thing that was arguably more awkward after the game was when head coach Andy Reid weirdly tackled his defensive star Chris Jones:
Yeah, I don’t think Reid thought that all the way through…
Worst Performance Of The AFC Championship Came From… Tony Romo
Full disclosure: As I’m writing this, the AFC Championship Game is still going on.
But I’m comfortable calling it now. Tony Romo had the absolute worst performance of the game.
Of course Romo wasn’t on the field as the Kansas City Chiefs took on the Baltimore Ravens (who just threw an interception, by the way).
And that fumble by Ravens wide receiver Zay Flowers on a touchdown run obviously puts him in the conversation for worst performance. But Flowers had a big reception just a few plays earlier (and then promptly got penalized for taunting). So he at least had some highlights.
But Romo just put on an all-time bad performance as he called the game from the booth for CBS alongside Jim Nantz.
There was this gem from the second quarter after Ravens quarterback had the ball stripped during a pass attempt:
And then he called Jackson’s pass to himself the “greatest play he’s ever seen.”
And when Ravens tackle Travis Jones was accidentally (and clearly) poked in the eye during a tackle, Romo broke down the replay for us…and inexplicably thought it was his ankle that was twisted.
The best part about that was as soon as he said that, the camera cut to Jones walking off the field holding his eye closed.
And then in the second half, after Kansas City managed to stop the Ravens on first down, Romo somehow thought that was ballgame for the Ravens…but then in the next sentence, clarified that the game’s not over yet.
What are we doing here, Tony?
And this was just a sample of the things that have come out of Romo’s mouth today that left fans scratching their heads…
Of course fans on Twitter (or X, or whatever) were quick to jump onto the former Cowboys quarterback:
Tough performance for Romo today. And bad news for fans who were hoping that this would be the last we’d have to hear from him this year: Romo is set to call the Super Bowl for CBS in two weeks.
Hopefully he can put together a better game for that one.
CBS Drops Super Bowl LVIII Promo With Frank Sinatra’s “My Way”
The singing legend that is Frank Sinatra has a towering legacy that continues to endure. Ol’ Blue Eyes helped turn Las Vegas into a hot entertainment destination in the first place, and now, Sin City is hosting Super Bowl LVIII between the Kansas City Chiefs and San Francisco 49ers.
It’s only fitting, then, that Sinatra’s “My Way” served as the backing track — with an on-point orchestra, no less — for a pregame promotional feature in which star players from the Chiefs and Niners get on camera, talk about “their way” of doing things on the football field, and even get some moving, emotional testimony from their closest family.
With kickoff quickly approaching, this is the perfect montage/pump-up blend of tunes and human interest that’ll get you fully invested for the Big Game. Patrick Mahomes, Brock Purdy, Travis Kelce, Chris Jones, Deebo Samuel and many more of Super Bowl LVIII’s best players took some time to briefly touch on the journeys they’ve taken to get to the NFL’s grand finale. Given how much risk comes with playing football, how difficult it is just to make it to the NFL, and to endure a 17-game season, plus the playoffs, to get all the way here…it’s hard for me to wrap my head around it sometimes.
It’s such a staggering achievement of perseverance, team unity and greatness just to get to this game. The fact that the 49ers have played in the NFC Championship Game in four of the last five years, and the Chiefs have been in the damn Super Bowl just as many times in that span, is truly mind-blowing.
Whether you’re a fan of either of these teams or not, you can’t help but tip your hat to both franchises for building such sustainable winners. They’ve gotten it done in different ways over the past half-decade, and have made massive personnel moves — trading Tyreek Hill for KC, moving off Jimmy Garopplo for Brock Purdy and trading for Christian McCaffrey in San Francisco — to remain among the NFL’s elite.
That really is the tip of the iceberg. The best part of this “My Way” bit is definitely toward the end where you see players react to what their families said about them, along with some words of encouragement before Super Bowl Sunday. Many of them were on the verge of tears. You love to see it, especially with these guys who put their bodies on the line on the field. Cool to see them vulnerable, and it’s a good reminder that, yes, athletes are human beings, too.
Does it get any better than Frank Sinatra? Come on now. The man is timeless. Arguably even better live.
