Romo’s Achilles’ heel? Beautiful singers
Posted: Tuesday, December 18, 2007 12:48 PM
Memo to Tony Romo: Tell your girlfriends not to come to the game.
On Sunday, Tony Romo had one of the two worst passing games of his career against Philadelphia. Last year, also against Philly, was his other horrible day.
Some would see that and surmise that the Eagles have his number. But savvy observers note that the common thread in both losses wasn’t the opponent but the presence in the stadium of a Romo girlfriend.
Last year, it was Carrie Underwood before whose sultry gaze Romo melted like a country bumpkin. On Sunday, the unlucky lady was Jessica Simpson. It cannot be a coincidence that both are singers, who occasionally sing about heartache and misadventure.
Consider it a bad idea to date anyone in that vein. We’re talking high-maintenance here, and if that’s an overly broad generalization, so be it. And Simpson and Underwood could be the finest people in the world. Just the same, they’re performers and they’re stars who need the spotlight and the applause.
Romo’s young, handsome and a budding NFL superstar. I’m not going to say he can have any woman he wants. But he’s certainly got his choice of a wide range of beautiful women, any of whom could help him to stand up straight in the pocket.
But there’s a rule about being a star and dating: Don’t date somebody who’s got to be a bigger star than you. It’s not going to work.
Romo needs to watch some of sports’ other leading bachelors and take some notes. Sure, Derek Jeter dates superstars – Mariah Carey, Jessica Alba, Jessica Biel, Scarlett Johansson – but you don’t see him bringing them to the game and giving them seats in an executive suite. You also don’t see them wearing his jersey with his number done up in pink on it, as Simpson did for her sweetie on Sunday.
In other words, Jeter doesn’t take his toys to the office. Also, no matter how big a star they are, he thinks he’s bigger; they’re the ones who have to impress him, not the other way around.
Then there’s Tom Brady, the guy Romo would like to be. Brady’s current girlfriend is said to be Gisele Bundchen, the supermodel. Yes, she’s a star, but she’s not one who needs to be on stage with people applauding her. She’s got a job that requires her to say nothing and look gorgeous, and for that she gets paid large gobs of money. She also doesn’t show up in luxury suites, getting more camera time on the game broadcast than her boyfriend. And she doesn’t care if anyone recognizes her; in fact, she probably prefers they don’t.
I’m not trying to mess with Romo’s love life, but he’s clearly got a problem with girlfriends and performance anxiety on the field. If he has to go out with singers, there’s not much anyone can do about it. But the next time he hits up Jerry Jones for a ticket for his honey, the Cowboys’ owner would be advised to tell his quarterback he’s sorry, but the game’s sold out.
