Jim Nantz pushes back on criticism of Tony Romo

sports.yahoo.com ^ | Thu, Apr 13, 2023, 9:48 AM CDT | MIKE FLORIO

[Red Badger]

Once the 2022 playoffs arrived, the Tony Romo critics reached a fever pitch. His on-air partner, Jim Nantz, recently pushed back.

“I think there was a little bit of a misinformation attempt there to portray him in a not-so-favorable light,” Nantz said on the SI Media with Jimmy Traina podcast. “It was very disappointing. It really got, to me, more steam after the AFC Championship game, which was our last game. And for the life of me, I didn’t understand it. . . . Where was all this outcry during the season? It’s not like we were invisible.”

He’s right. Every week, they worked a regular-season game that drew a large audience. But there’s something different about those truly standalone games, where everyone watching has no other NFL content to absorb. In the playoffs, that one game that is being played at any given time becomes the focal point of all chatter, on social media and elsewhere.

Nantz made a good point in response to that reality.

“We did a Thanksgiving Day game which was the most-watched game of the year I think in the regular season,” Nantz told Traina. “One or two, anyway. We had the Christmas afternoon game, 100-percent national, gigantic audience. We didn’t do any of these games in January any different than we did during the regular season. So why all of a sudden are people taking cheap shots? I don’t get it.”

Through it all, Nantz strongly disagrees with those who have soured on Romo.

“Tony is the best,” Nantz said. “He’s the absolute best. And he’s also one of my best friends. I love the guy. And when somebody starts questioning our chemistry, there’s an agenda there. There is nothing wrong with our chemistry. I have never had better chemistry with anybody ....

[Red Badger]

Nearly 30 years........................

[subterfuge]

Dang!!