Nantz, Romo ready to call big game
NEW YORK – Years before Jim Nantz was paired with Tony Romo in CBS’ lead NFL broadcast booth, the legendary playby-play announcer knew the quarterback would be an incredible analyst if he chose to exchange his pads and cleats for a microphone.
During the network’s Super Bowl LIII news conference in early January, Nantz recounted a round of golf he played with NBC counterpart Al Michaels around 2014 that proved how prescient they were about the then-Dallas Cowboys quarterback’s on-air potential.
“He pauses on the eighth hole,” Nantz recalled, “and says, ‘Right now, which player in the league do you feel like, one day, will be the greatest analyst of his generation? Because I’ve got a guy.”
Nantz, too, had “a guy” whom he had seen in pregame production meetings when CBS prepared to show Romo’s Cowboys in action, but he didn’t think Michaels could guess it. After a back and forth over who should reveal their choice first, Nantz volunteered, “It’s Tony Romo.”
“That’s my guy!” Michaels retorted.
Those two broadcasters weren’t the only ones who saw the potential in Romo, who’s preparing to call his first Super Bowl with Nantz and sideline reporters Tracy Wolfson and Evan Washburn. In 2017, CBS Sports chairman Sean McManus hired Romo, who had just finished his NFL career and had no experience in a broadcast booth, and immediately paired him with Nantz.
The risk paid off and then some. From diagnosing plays right before the snap to providing side-splitting sound effects during replays, Romo was a hit to critics and fans, particularly on social media.
“The one thing I see — and I’ve worked with a lot of quarterbacks at his position — he’s got a unique ability to see the field and be able to translate it to the regular viewer to understand what they’re seeing,” said his producer, Jim Rikhoff. “That’s a great combination.”
McManus also knew Romo had potential. But for the former quarterback to rise to elite status this quickly? Even McManus didn’t know it would happen as fast as it has.
“I thought he was going to be really good,” McManus said. “We had a feeling, and Jim referenced it from production meetings he had with Tony, there’s something about him, when you sit down and talk to him, that he’s got this infectious enthusiasm and a thoughtfulness. Plus, he loves the game of football and loves talking about it.”
Romo isn’t daunted by the assignment of covering a game that the world will be watching. in which Jack Nicklaus opened with an early run.
That showed Nantz that Romo had reverence for sports broadcasting in a way that, perhaps, other athletes-turnedanalysts might not have.
“He understood the prestige of the job long before he got it,” Nantz said.
Romo and Nantz bring a tireless work ethic and a friendship that developed long before they were broadcast partners.
“From Day 1, there was a natural chemistry,” said Rikhoff. “They have great trust with each other, they have a natural friendship that, as a producer, you can’t create . ... They enjoy being around each other, and that definitely comes across on the air.”
Nantz said the two look at each other a lot while broadcasting, which contributes to had MORRY GASH/AP their casual feel on the air.
“I’ve never worked with a partner I face as much as I’ve faced Tony,” he said. “I realized that early, I think he wants more eye contact.”
That comfort level undoubtedly will come through on Feb. 3. Rikhoff’s advice is simple: “Keep doing what you’re doing. Once it starts, it’s a football game.”
That’s no stretch for this pair. “When we show up at the booth,” Nantz said, “we’re ready. We’ve been preparing together; we’ve had two or three or four meals together. We’ve laughed a lot. We’ve told a lot of stories unrelated to the game. It sounds cliché, but we’re two buddies watching an event together, we’re happy we’re sitting alongside one another, to share that experience with someone that’s a friend.”