Tony Romo is a good quarterback. He has a winning record, good statistics, a great arm and above-average wheels. In Week One, he threw for a personal best in yardage, plus three touchdowns.
But in Week Two, the Cowboys lost to the New York Giants in their stadium opener. Romo's stats were poor, and he threw three interceptions.
By Monday morning, the media was calling for the man to be ritually eviscerated. One after another, the talking heads on TV paraded by, talking about what a failure Romo was. How he couldn't lead. Blah, blah, blah.
Welcome to what's worst about America.
What's worst about America are retired prima dona wide receivers who ought to know better, reducing the ultimate team game down to one man. Posturing and preening former stars talking about how "it all boils down to winning."
Why do they do that?
Because we encourage it. Because we love this in-your-face, reality TV psycho drama.
Because the truth is boring. The truth is that after two games, the supremely talented Dallas defense still hasn't picked up a fumble or an interception, much less a sack. The truth is that, when it counted, Romo led the Cowboys from behind to take the lead with less than four minutes left. The truth is that the Dallas defense let the Giants drive 56 yards in 11 plays, milking every last second off the clock before kicking the winning field goal.
The headline on Yahoo Sports the next morning? "Romo costs his team the win."
This is destruction of human beings and their reputations as entertainment. And we're all of us implicit in this farce, because we encourage it. We allow it.
Here we go again. If Romo has a decent game, will we then anoint him the second coming of Christ?
Don't you think the super speed of what used to be getting the story but today is getting the first word in has accelerated this "personality as journalist" and thereby "journalist as personality" phenomenon? I don't mind hearing game-callers commenting on in-game performance but a measured, thoughtful analysis should be more than who can be more dramatic the moment after a game ends. It should be the the literary equivalent of unsportsmanlike conduct, and you're right, Dan, we should throw a flag.
Posted by: Andy | Tuesday, September 29, 2009 at 08:04
Dan - It was very weird, and noticeable. There was a point in the 3rd quarter when the announcers' attitudes shifted from complete Romo-bashing to total Romo-adulation.
Andy - Andy, I think that's exactly right. And for some reason the "personality" opinion has more value than an informed opinion.
Posted by: dave | Tuesday, September 29, 2009 at 19:58