Brent Musburger is not a fan of Tony Romo in the booth like everyone else
By David Rouben
It seems like everyone’s a fan of Tony Romo these days … that is, except for former announcer Brent Musburger.
Tony Romo has received more praise during three weeks as a broadcaster than he did throughout his entire playing career. Paired with Jim Nantz in the booth, he’s been universally lauded for being able to predict plays before they happen as well as his explanation of offensive and defensive schemes for novice NFL viewers. And in his last game, he reacted to Aaron Rodgers’ heroics like a kid in a candy store.
It’s hard to find any fault in what he’s done so far. But leave it up to former play-by-play announcer Brent Musburger to do so. Musburger, who’s worked in sports for over 40 years before retiring in the middle of the college basketball season, voiced his opinion regarding Romo in the booth.
Perhaps in an effort to promote his network Vegas Stats and Information, he sounded off against him after finally getting a chance to watch one of his games:
.@brentmusburger finally got a chance to watch a game with Tony Romo in the broadcast booth. What did you think, Brent? (Hint: Not a fan.) pic.twitter.com/N4UlWjLxbB
— VSiN (@VSiNLive) September 26, 2017
His biggest complaint is that he’s “intruding on his play-by-play man.” Seeing as how Musburger’s a former play-by-play guy, it’s understandable that he wants to stick up for Jim Nantz. He then goes on to say that Romo’s act of predicting plays will wear thin because the league is constantly changing.
Musburger doubled down on his stance later on Twitter:
Just calling 'em like I see 'em, folks.https://t.co/EZGsEJ83rU
— Brent Musburger (@brentmusburger) September 26, 2017
It’s not hard to see where Musburger’s coming from, and he does make some valid points. But you also get the sense that, even though he’s retired, he’s threatened by Romo’s success and that more and more players will seek out a role as a color commentator when they hang up the cleats.
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Not every player can be successful at commentating. But Romo’s been around the NFL for 13 years and has witnessed firsthand how the league has changed. He’s proven already that he’s more than capable of doing the job. And while he’s not perfect, most will agree that he’s a significant upgrade over Phil Simms.