During the Super Bowl, the commentators received a lot of flak for their biased comments towards the Kansas City Chiefs, but why did these comments gather such commotion?
Super Bowl LVIII- the biggest night on sports television. Not only is the actual game life changing for the players and viewers alike, but the commercials between the plays are the comedy that pulls together fans and non-fans alike for one night of enjoyment. In the game, two of the most important people are the people who cover every play, the Analyst and the Play-By-Play commentators. In the Super Bowl of 2024, the Play-By-Play commentator was sports anchor Jim Nantz, and the Analyst was former Cowboys Quarterback Tony Romo.
During the show, these two commentators made many comments that were seen or taken as biased, incorrect or even slightly offensive. Although both were under fire for these comments, Romo received most criticism for his comments and bias towards the Chiefs.
Many times throughout the game, Romo would bring up Chiefs quarterback, Patrick Mahomes, in a godly type of light multiple times throughout the game, both in regulation and overtime.
“He is the best, he is the standard, the Michael Jordan,” Romo stated about Mahomes, comparing him to one of the greatest sports icons in the United States, and even the world. “You can’t just be safe and beat Patrick Mahomes,” said Romo during the game while the 49ers were defending their field. This was seen as biased because little to nothing was brought up about San Fransisco’s quarterback, Brock Purdy.
In fact, other writers also saw these weaknesses in Romo’s performance that Sunday night. Steve Gardner, a reporter from USA Today, said that “like a snap on a crucial field goal attempt, Romo fumbled with the game on the line.”
“The best analysis would have been silence,” Andrew Marchand from The Athletics, wrote.
Not only were Romo’s comments taken poorly, but also his actions. During the second quarter, right before a commercial break, the song “Rolling in the Deep” by Adele played. Romo sang along with the song, angering fans and created controversy as some fans began to find him untrustworthy and “delusional”. Also, at the end of the game, during Travis Kelce’s rendition of “Viva Las Vegas”, the victorious song became a sing-along for Romo, once again stirring the pot at his lack of seriousness throughout the night.
Although most of the criticism of the night went to Romo, some did go to Jim Nantz, but mostly it was based around their lack of teamwork.
A big issue was the constant disagreement on plays that Nantz and Romo had, one including the Chiefs last play in regulation time. There were six seconds left on the clock and the two commentators were arguing over whether Kansas City had enough time to make a play. Romo claimed that if it were seven seconds, he would have gone for it, but Nantz strongly disagreed. In the end, the Chiefs went for the field goal as opposed to the touchdown, but this argument felt childish and excessive.
Another time their lack of teamwork was shown was at the end of the game. One of Nantz’s signature lines consists of him announcing “Jackpot!” at the end of the game, which was the case this year as well. However, as the team flooded the field, a touching moment, Romo once again picked up on his analyzations. Although this is his job, the length of time that he went on about it was not. He and Nantz seemed to be fighting for the last word; something that petty should not be argued about during football’s most important night.
Although the comments throughout the game were questionable this year at best, Super Bowl LVIII was a success by every standard and was nothing but a fun night for viewers all around the world.
