Tony Romo has become one of the best known sports broadcasters in the country and he was on the call for the Kansas City Chiefs-Buffalo Bills game over the weekend. There, he made a reference to Franco Harris that got Chris ‘Mad Dog’ Russo riled up.
Essentially, Romo confused the Immaculate Reception for the Holy Roller, which led to Russo absolutely eviscerating Romo during a segment on the ESPN show First Take.
“Now listen, I know he’s making $17 million and everybody gets a kick out of him,” Russo said. “I’ve had enough. On Sunday during this game, 56 million people watched it, Tony, our little pal Romo, on this particular play early in the game when [Stefon] Diggs again fumbled it and the ball is knocked out of bounds by [Dalton] Kincaid, he got a 10-yard penalty. First play of the game. Tony said, ‘That’s like the play with Franco Harris.'”
“The play with Franco Harris is the Immaculate Reception, for crying out loud. This is the play in ’72 against the Raiders in which they won the game 13-7 and [Terry] Bradshaw made this wonderful play with the late Franco off [John] Fuqua‘s helmet and Bradshaw with the win. Pittsburgh went on, they lost to Miami the next week. That’s, of course, Jack Tatum, and there’s Franco. That is the play that Romo referenced.”
The play in question involving Franco Harris came when a tipped pass fell into Harris’ arms and before he ran to a score. The Holy Roller, on the other hand, was in a game between the Chargers and Raiders where a fumbled ball got kicked forward before being recovered for a touchdown.
“What he should have meant, he needs a history lesson, call me, this is the play he was referring to,” Russo shouted. “This is called the Holy Roller. This is ’78. That’s the Snake, throws the ball. They kick into the end zone. Early in the year against the Chargers and who catches the ball in the end zone? Hall of Famer Dave Casper. They changed the rules after that. Anybody who knows anything about football knows that that play with the Snake, that is the Holy Roller.”
The Holy Roller led to a Raiders win and rule changes. One of those rules was violated by the Bills in the play that Tony Romo was commentating on. You’re not allowed to purposefully kick or push a fumble.
These are clearly different plays and someone like Tony Romo on an NFL broadcast should be able to tell the difference. However, Chargers fans do often refer to the Holy Roller as the “Immaculate Deception,’ so it’s possible with those in mind, Romo had a slight stumble on his words.
“Romo sat there and talked about Franco when the ball is knocked out of bounds by Kincaid,” Russo shouted. “That is awful, awful, awful, awful!”
More must-reads: