"My Wish" Romo Edition
Tony Romo suited up for the Dallas Mavericks on Tuesday night where was honored as a "member" of the team for a day. Mark Cuban brought the idea to coach Rick Carlisle and the Dallas Cowboy organization. Romo went through pregame and halftime warm-up drills with the team. Even though Romo was not allowed to play in the actual game, was this a good or a bad look for Romo and the Mavericks?
Brandon: When I first read that Romo was going to go through warm-up drills with the Mavericks I thought it was a pretty cool idea. Watching how it all unfolded, my thoughts on this quickly changed. Seeing this reminded me of a "make a wish" kid getting to be apart of his favorite team for a day. Please note I love the "My Wish" segments on ESPN, so I am not knocking them, but this literally looked like the adult version of "My Wish". Seeing the 36 year old Romo, looking out of shape with a jersey that was too big, made me feel sad for him.
Drew: Sad? Did you see the smile on his face while he was warming up and doing drills with the team? The saddest part about this is that NBA Commissioner Adam Silver wouldn't allow the Mavericks to sign Romo to a short term contract to give him an opportunity to see the floor in an NBA game. It was also "Fan Appreciation Night" in Dallas and in the opening video montage they played before the Mavericks starters were announced, there were a few clips of Romo added in. Bravo to the Dallas Mavericks organization for giving Tony Romo, the players, and most importantly the fans, a pretty cool experience.
Brandon: Yeah it looked like the smile of the kid who got to meet his idol for the first time. The players were half guarding him during pre-game and were allowing him to look good. I get the part of Silver not allowing Romo to actually play in the game was lame. This was the quarterback of the Dallas Cowboys and now he is in the stage of his life where he is the honorary "sixth starter" for an NBA team that isn't even in the playoffs. This is a fall from grace in my eyes. First this guy loses his job to a rookie quarterback, retires to go to broadcasting, and now he sits on the bench for an NBA team dressed in a uniform for a night.
Drew: This was a celebration of accomplishment and a "Thank You" from the City of Dallas whose career was derailed by injury. The idolization was on both sides, the Maverick's players idolize Romo as much as he does the same to them. Who wouldn't? He was on the court with Dirk Nowitzki who is arguably one of the best European players in NBA history, former NBA MVP, and an NBA Champion. Was this a publicity stunt? Sure it was, but it was a nice gesture and great for the fans.
Brandon: Another loser in this publicity stunt was the Mavericks organization. Yes, you have one of the greats in the NBA in Nowitzki and it was a cute speech he gave about Romo and all. But in the bigger scheme of things this really means that your team sucks this year and have nothing else to play for, so let's bring in Romo for a day. If this team was actually playing for something this "Romo Day" never happens. It sucks for the players on the roster to have to endure this stunt as it basically means you aren't selling the seats yourself so lets bring in a football player to dress out for us.