The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
Romo eager to call first Superbowl as analyst
NEWYORK— Tony Romono longer is a rookie in the TV game, nearing the fifinish line of a second season in a second career duringwhich he has received strongly positive reviews.
But the former Cowboys quarterbackandcurrentCBS analyst never has encountered anything like what he will face Feb. 3 in Atlanta: a domestic audience of more than100million viewers and many more worldwide. Nervous yet?
“I don’t knowreally know how I’m going to feel until that day, but I think there’s always a little bit of nervousness before every game, whether you’re a player or an announcer,” he said at an event inManhattanearly this month to promote CBS’ coverage of the game.
“I think that’s good. I think that’s healthy. In some ways it makes you feel the importance. But Idon’tknow. I’dbe guessing if I told you exactly what I’mgoing tofeel beforehand. But I’m excited.”
Romo said he recently watched the three most recent Super Bowls to get a feel for what he liked and didn’t in how the three networks who take turns showing the game handled it.
Romo was an immediate hit when he succeeded Phil Simms alongside Jim Nantz last season, andhe saidthere areanumber of“littlethings” on which he improved in Year Two.
One thing he has not done is regret his decision to retire after the 2016 season, even though last Sunday the 38-year-old called a playoffff gamefeaturing quarterbackswho are around his age: Tom Brady, 41, of the Patriots and Philip Rivers, 37, of the Chargers.
“I think I’mmore fulfifilled than ever,” he said. “As time goes on I think you appreciate what you did in life, but you also appreciate that you kind ofmove on. At the time when it’s over, it’s like, ‘This is a big decision,’ and, ‘It’s a big thing,’ and then all of a sudden you move on and say, ‘It’s great.’
“I feel very fortunate, let’s say that, with where I’m at in life, and I don’t really look back. I feel this is exactly where I should be, and I feel like I’m happy.”
Romo’s former tight end Jason Witten moved from the fifield to the ESPN booth this season and got mixed reviews at best. Romo said he and Witten have talked TV during the season.
“Jason has just continu- ally gotten better and better fromthe beginning of the year,” Romo said. “I think he’s excited about just the improvement and the direction he’s going. It’s all about just trying to get better at whateveryou’redoinginlife.”
Romosaid one of the best pieces of advice he gotwas to try new things. He said producer Jim Rikhoffff told him, “‘You don’t have to be difffffffffffferent or the same. We’re starting our own canvas.’ I think that was a real unique way of saying there’s no rules — other than our rules that we have, like no swearing.”
Nantz said of Romo, “He’s notscripted. Hedoesn’tcome out with an agenda to try to promote something. He just says what he feels.”