Tony Romo tribute video showed before today’s Cowboys game
Tony Romo did not have the farewell tour many players of his caliber have, and the Cowboys made sure to honor their former quarterback in his CBS return to Dallas. In his return to Dallas as an announcer, the Cowboys officially honored Romo with a video narrated by Jason Witten.
Jason Witten voicing the tribute video for Tony Romo … ends with “Thank you, 9.” Tony waves at crowd, applauds toward crowd, mouths, “thank you.” Clearly touching for him.
The Cowboys also welcomed him back with this banner.
Cowboys have a “Welcome Home 9” banner behind one end zone to welcome Tony Romo back to AT&T Stadium today on the CBS broadcast:
Mavs owner Mark Cuban brought in Romo as an honorary member of the Mavs team to give the city an opportunity to honor Romo after his retirement (the publicity for the basketball team did not hurt either).
For the second straight season, Romo sustained an injury that forced him to miss extended time. Last season, Romo did return to play, but Prescott had already earned the starting quarterback position. Romo served as the backup for the remainder of the season.
Romo had been adamant that he wanted to continue to play, and was expected to be traded to a team in need of a quarterback during the off-season. Romo was linked to the Texans in trade rumors, but nothing came to fruition. Romo abruptly announced his retirement after taking the CBS job as their top analyst, a position previously occupied by Phil Simms.
We knew what Romo was capable of on the football field, but what we didn’t know is the cult following he would have as an announcer. Romo will be calling his first Cowboys game for CBS as Dallas hosts Kansas City.
Romo has become must-see TV for football fans with his propensity to call out plays before they happen. Here’s just one of several examples of Romo’s psychic abilities.
ICYMI: Tony Romo can predict plays before they happen t.co/GmB1GWWyZ9
There is already intrigue around Romo’s announcing skills, and the Week 9 Cowboys-Chiefs matchup brings even more interest as Romo returns to Dallas.
There is always a concern when a former player calls a game involving his former team. However, there have been plenty of players that have done so before, and it has not been an issue. Troy Aikman, John Lynch (prior to taking the 49ers front office job) and Ronde Barber are just a few of the players that have successfully been in the booth for a game involving their former team.
The man who took over for Romo has no problem with his former teammate calling the game, but he is hoping his predicting skills are a bit rusty. Dak Prescott spoke to The Dallas Morning News about what fans should expect from Romo in his first Cowboys game as an announcer.
I’m sure he’s busy and obviously I’m busy. It will be cool to see him and talk to him…Hopefully he doesn’t call out and guess too many of our plays. He’ll still be very familiar with them. Hopefully he can stay away from that this week.
Prescott does not expect Romo to go easy on players just because there is a star on their helmets.
“I kind of expect him to be [critical],” Prescott told the Dallas Morning News. “I hope he is.”