Watching Tony Romo can be painful at times. Myself, and many others are on record as saying the Cowboys can never win a Super Bowl ring with him at quarterback. However, they Cowboys do not have a lot of options behind him, and can not make a move in another direction. Winning a Super Bowl may not even change the feelings that people have for Romo. However, that is something that he needs to do, and maybe it will buy him a pass to make mistakes. Just ask Brett Favre.
Favre and the Green Bay Packers won a Super Bowl on January 26, 1997. From that day on, every mistake, throw forced into coverage, and off-field issue was forever forgiven. He would throw the ball off the wrong foot, with four guys from the other team around his receiver, get it intercepted, and the commentators would say "That's just Brett being Brett". Any other questionable pass he threw would be attributed to him being "The Gunslinger". They would comment on his excitement after a good play as "child-like enthusiasm". It was really annoying, and cheesy for people who were not fans of Favre.
In the years after he won his Super Bowl, Favre was still the media darling regardless of his actions. He waited until he was good and ready to decide if he was going to play, thus holding the Vikings hostage regarding their quarterback position. He was involved in a scandal while playing with the New York Jets, that was swept under the rug. He broke the record for the most interceptions in the history of the NFL, but that fact is glossed over because he also has thrown the most touchdowns. For every game winning drive he orchestrated, he threw a game-changing interception(including in his final game against the Saints in 2008). Yet, all you hear about is how great he was. This is due to his Super Bowl ring, media pass.
Some of the same people that are on TV, and social media destroying Tony Romo, have never said a cross word about Favre. While Favre may be a better quarterback than Romo, a lot of the same traits that Favre is lauded for, are the same ones they destroy Romo for. Throws that were "fearless" by Favre, are considered poor by Romo. Interceptions that were attributed to "Brett being Brett" with a chuckle are considered another reason that Romo is not really a good quarterback. Brett Favre sending naked pics, choosing when he comes to training camp, and alcohol/prescription pill addictions were moved to the back page. Meanwhile Romo's dating choices, and bye week vacations are considered a distraction, and another reason he can not improve. That Super Bowl ring, and media pass is a mean deterrent for criticism isn't it?
This is a blog that will probably be considered "hate" against Brett Favre. Along with his media pass, he has firmly been entrenched in the club of athletes that you can not say anything bad about without being a "hater". However, the goal of this blog is to show my opinion that while Tony Romo is a flawed, mistake-filled quarterback, he is not too much different from Favre. It is also to show, that we as fans need to not fall for the media pump-fake, and accept all the passes that they give. A Super Bowl ring buys players(quarterbacks especially) a pass for the rest of their career, and it is ridiculous. Yet, Favre has lived off of his forever, and probably will.
So, next time you sit down to watch a Cowboys game, and get upset about plays Romo is making, remember, your hero Favre used to make those same throws. It is cheesy to act like we have not seen this before from a top quarterback just because you are a fan of his. I am not a fan of Romo or the Cowboys, but part of me hopes he one day wins big just to see how the media, and fans will treat him after. That probably will not happen, but I definitely would be fun to see if people would agree that Tony Romo plus a Super Bowl ring and media pass equals Brett Favre.
I'm Jimmy L. Wilson, Jr. and I approve this message.
No comments:
Post a Comment