Commentator Tony Romo slammed for ‘ruining’ Super Bowl ending

Tony Romo almost made it.

The CBS announcer — often criticised for being too excitable – seemed to fall victim to that temptation on Sunday during the final play of Super Bowl 2024.

After Patrick Mahomes hit Mecole Hardman with the game-winning overtime touchdown for the Chiefs, CBS’ play-by-play man Jim Nantz perfectly punctuated the Las Vegas drama with a “Jackpot, Kansas City.”

Traditionally, this is when an announce team will let the moment breathe and allow fans to take in the atmosphere of a historic moment with the Chiefs winning 25-22 in overtime to claim back-to-back championships.

Romo went in a different direction.

“This was the Andy Reid special, we talked about he was saving all day. He is going to fake a motion to go across. That moment he turns and goes back — Hardman, who they didn’t have, right? And they go get Hardman and bring him back. The game-winning drive of Mahomes’ career, he has been waiting for. He’s won Super Bowls, but he’s never had it in overtime. He is the best, he is the standard, Michael Jordan. Wins it again.”

First off, this is all solid analysis and information. There was a lot to unpack from that final play — it just didn’t have to be all done in a 30-second burst of energy as the Chiefs’ euphoric celebration was just beginning.

In that overwhelming half a minute, Romo covered Reid’s brilliance as a game-caller, Hardman’s redemption story after a failed Jets tenure led him back to Kansas City this season and Mahomes’ legacy.

The NFL media had some thoughts.

“Amid a season filled with criticism, Tony Romo had one last chance − on the biggest stage of all − to go out on top. But like a snap on a crucial field-goal attempt, Romo fumbled with the game on the line,” wrote USA Today’s Steve Gardner.

“Less than three seconds after Nantz gave one of his signature closing lines − “Jackpot, Kansas City!” − Romo failed to give the historic moment time to breathe, immediately jumping into an analysis of the playcall.”

Andrew Marchand wrote in a column for The Athletic that Romo and Nantz’s “lack of teammwork showed up at the worst time”.

“For 30 seconds, as CBS showed reaction, Romo talked about the play when the best analysis would’ve been silence, which would have allowed the crowd and pictures to tell the story,” Marchand wrote.

“None of what Romo said was wrong — it just felt misplaced during the most-important moment of the game,” added Rob Tornoe of The Philadelphia Inquirer.

Romo has faced increased scrutiny in recent years since his meteoric broadcasting rise and record-breaking 10-year, $180 million contract with CBS.

“Never had one conversation with Tony about it,” Nantz told SI.com before the Super Bowl about the backlash Romo faces. “Not one … I’m gonna use my own judgment of how the broadcasts are going and I couldn’t be happier. I love working with Tony. For anybody to ever even think that … well, again, I’m not even sure this is what they’re saying. Our chemistry is great.

“Our time together is just like it is on the air. We have a lot of laughter, a lot of fun. We see silliness. Sometimes we bring that silliness to the air. Sometimes it works. Sometimes it doesn’t. That’s humour. But, no, I don’t wanna say any more about it because you’re asking me something that I’m not familiar with.”