Usually when an athlete is compared to one of the best players in another sport the comparison is a compliment that both players wear as a badge of honor. However, in the case of LeBron James and the quarterback of his favorite football team the "compliment" is anything but, and both stars likely shrink from the comparison much in the same way as they seemingly do in the clutch.
Dallas Cowboys quarterback Tony Romo, much like James, has built a career filled with individual accolades, gaudy statistics and regular season success. And, once again just like James, all that success has amounted to a pile of nada in the playoffs, which has gotten both players a reputation as artists in need of the Heimlich maneuver.
This isn't a new comparison, as almost a year ago The Dallas Morning News Tim Cowlishaw reported that after asking fans on Twitter which athlete Romo most aptly compared to the overwhelming response was none other than the man behind "The Decision".
[James] was the hands-down winner (if you can call it a winner). Obviously, he’s still on the minds of Dallas fans, and his fourth-quarter meltdowns in the NBA Finals are reminiscent of some of Romo’s late failings or playoff blunders.
These comparisons came on the heels of a September meltdown against the New York Jets, in which the Cowboys blew a 14-point lead thanks in part to two Romo turnovers, and the Toronto Sun's Ryan Wolstat shared the assessment of many Cowboys' fans at the time.
"Romo, like James, has ridiculous career numbers and once wasn’t bad in the clutch, but has emerged in recent years as a disaster waiting to happen in the fourth quarter."
There's no denying that Romo is a talented quarterback who has enjoyed a great deal of statistical success in the regular season, throwing for nearly 21,000 yards and 150 touchdowns over his career while posting a passer rating of over 95 and being named to three pro bowls.
However, there's also no denying that Romo is better known for fourth quarter implosions and playoff futility than he is for those statistical accolades, although part of that unfailing scrutiny comes from being the starting quarterback for one of the National Football League's marquee franchises.
Supporters of Romo will undoubtedly point out that football is a team sport, and claim that Romo is no more solely responsible for his 1-3 playoff record than the defensive back who gave up a touchdown catch in one of those games or the running back whose fumble killed a scoring drive in another.
That said, it certainly seems that over the past few seasons, especially, Romo is prone to pushing when the pressure mounts in games. That leads to bad decisions and stupid turnovers, such as in the Cowboys' second half collapse in a game against the Lions last year, a game that brought a smile to the face of Washington Redskins tight end Chris Cooley according to Pro Football Talk.
“It’s so good,†Chris Cooley said of seeing Romo and the Cowboys give up a 27-3 lead to the Lions, via Dan Steinberg of the Washington Post. “I was watching the scoreboard in St. Louis, and I didn’t see that they’d lost really until they end, I thought they blew them out so I kind of stopped paying attention. It’s amazing, amazing to watch him choke like that. I’m just saying, I’m up 24 points in the third quarter, if I’m the head coach, I feel like I could probably just take a knee for the rest of the game, punt it away and there’s no way that Detroit’s gonna drive on you that many times. The only way you’re gonna give up that many points is turnovers, right? It’s hilarious to watch him throw pick sixes, too, back-to-back. I loved it.â€
Does Tony Romo Get a Bad Rap as a "Choke Artist"?
Does Tony Romo Get a Bad Rap as a "Choke Artist"?
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Yes
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No
Romo, like James, is a gifted athlete, and Romo would seem to be surrounded by enough talent to lead the Cowboys deep into the playoffs and potentially bring home the Lombardi trophy that team owner Jerry Jones so desperately covets.
What's not known, however, is whether Romo possesses the "killer instinct" that elevates the game of truly great players when it matters most, and until Romo and the Cowboys enjoy success in the postseason Romo will be saddled with the label of "choke artist" and lumped into a group with James that neither player wants to be a member of.
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