Tony Romo’s Time to Shine

The pro golf circuit is in full swing and there was nothing last weekend to whet your appetite better than the annual AT&T Pebble Beach Pro-Am. 

Besides watching the pros go at it, there was the usual array of actors, sports stars, and corporate heads, all better than decent amateurs, compete in less than ideal conditions, amid the background of picturesque northern California scenery.

The one amateur who caught my eye was Tony Romo, the former Dallas quarterback, who has established himself as the top NFL TV expert-analyst. It wasn’t so much that Romo was setting Pebble Beach on fire, but that I was watching a guy who is about to more than triple his salary in my business, broadcasting.

Tony Romo at Pebble Beach

 

I was thinking how important that role is, considering how many millions watch sporting events, particularly the big games.

The NFL is a billion dollar business. The NFL on TV is also a billion dollar business. So when two networks are apparently willing to pay in the neighborhood of $10 million for an ex-player to talk football, it is totally reasonable.

Think about it, when you sit down and watch a three-hour game and two people are talking, they better be great at what they do. 

Three hours is a long time.

If you’re not comfortable, or not hearing what you want to hear, or not being entertained, you may still watch the game, but you’re not happy. 

If things really sound bad, you might even use the dreaded mute button on your remote.

In my business, there is nothing worse.

The play-by-play man works with the expert. That’s what I have done throughout my career. The play-by-play man is important, don’t get me wrong. He tells you what’s going on. Who’s doing what. Sets the tone of the broadcast.

But the star of the telecast has to be the expert who has either played or coached. 

He tells you the why. And the how.

He’s been there. His job is to bring you closer to the action, gets you involved. Anticipates what could happen.

That’s if he’s one of the good ones. There are many good expert-analysts in broadcasting. I helped start the career of Troy Aikman on Fox who has been outstanding for a long time. So is Cris Collinsworth of NBC.

The best ever, to this point, was John Madden, first on CBS, later at Fox, then NBC.

Madden had the knack of explaining and entertaining with equal measure. 

One of a kind.

Times change in everything. Players get better, announcers do too. Styles differ, and the key is to be yourself.

Do what you do best, do it well, and the viewers will respond.

At the same time Madden was the top gun, Merlin Olsen was the lead analyst for NBC. 

You might remember Olsen as an actor in Little House on the Prairie. Or the spokesman for FTD flowers.

 

Merlin Olsen

 

Olsen was 180 degrees apart from Madden. Merlin was your uncle who focused on the personalities and stories of the players who competed. 

Breaking down a play was not his specialty. 

It didn’t matter. 

Merlin Olsen was likable and those who watched him, loved him.

That brings us back to Tony Romo. 

When he was hired by CBS only two short years ago, he was immediately thrust into the number one slot next to play-by-play icon Jim Nantz.

A rare move indeed.

Tony Romo and Jim Nantz

 

The normal practice for every other former player I can recall who entered broadcasting was to work on a team lower in the pecking order and develop. 

Aikman, Collinsworth, and even Madden followed the same route.

No one was ready to step right into the biggest spotlight. It would take time to work at the new craft and get better.

One of my roles over the years has been to do just that. Work with the newcomers, give them broadcasting advice, let them get comfortable, and give them the space to do their thing.

It has been an honor for me to work with many of them when they started. 

Madden was my partner for a few games when he started. I was the first to team with Dan Fouts, currently the number two man at CBS. 

I shared the microphone with every one of the experts on Fox, and shared the booth with John Lynch, who rose to the second slot until he left to become the General Manager of the San Francisco 49ers. 

But Tony Romo is different. 

He not only began his career as the top voice, but has delivered beyond anyone’s expectations. 

Here’s why. 

Romo brings you inside the huddle. I realize he made a name for himself in actually predicting what play would be called on many occasions his first year. But that’s not his principal strength.

Romo gets the viewer involved. 

Offers possibilities in anticipation of a play. Better than that, he sees the big picture of the game, and delivers it with an urgency and drama that hits home. 

I can see the smile on Tony Romo’s face when he talks in that gravelly delivery that comes across sincere and with feeling.

Maybe he talks a bit too much. I have heard that from friends. I have always preferred less talk from play-by-play announcers. 

Pat Summerall was the best. 

But if the other guy is interesting, has something to say, and is entertaining, I can live with it.

Pat Summerall and John Madden

 

The word is Romo will see his salary jump from $3 million to $10 million. 

ESPN needs him badly. 

CBS, which is broadcasting the Super Bowl, can’t afford to let him get away. 

They can match any offer.

What a great position to find yourself. 

But Tony Romo has earned it. 

This is his time.