Tony Romo left NFL fans stunned with his rendition of the Lion King during the Detroit Lions’ Thanksgiving matchup against the Chicago Bears – for all the wrong reasons.
The former quarterback was joined by his usual partner in the booth, Jim Nantz, as the Lions continued their footballing tradition to open the NFL’s slate of Thanksgiving action Thursday.
During the second quarter Ford Field held its ‘Cub Cam’ – a fan activity where parents in the crowd hoist up their babies to recreate the iconic opening scene from the Disney classic.
After Nantz introduced the practice, Romo could be heard warbling an incredibly pitchy rendition of the ‘Circle of Life’ – the overture to the 1994 animated feature, composed by Elton John and famous composer Hans Zimmer.
Not only was the 44-year-old off tune, he also was nowhere near to singing the correct lyrics, which incorporate Zulu, a language indigenous to South Africa.
The tuneless rendition caught the attention of NFL fans, who mocked it as ‘the worst’ on social media.
Tony Romo left NFL fans stunned with his rendition of the Lion King on Thanksgiving
One fan took to X, formerly known as Twitter, to jokingly ask: ‘Does anyone know why sounds worse than a 50 year smoker?’
‘Jim Nantz saying that kids being held up like lions from The Lion King is a beautiful moment and sounding like he was tearing up only for Tony Romo to try and sing Circle of Life might be a top least favourite NFL moment of all time,’ another ripped. ‘Happy Thanksgiving, y’all.’
‘Tony Romo just tried to sing the Lion King song. It was not pretty,’ a third chimed in.
Meanwhile, another claimed that the musical interruption should be enough to have Romo removed from the airwaves.
‘Tony Romo gotta go after that s***,’ they posted, ‘ruining the Lion King for me on Thanksgiving man chill.’
Another baffled fan added: ‘Ayo!!! somebody tell Tony Romo to never do that again. Who said singin that Lion King song was okay??’
One account tweeted out: ‘Tony Romo singing “The Circle of Life” is going to haunt my dreams.’
It marked just the second time this month that Romo has been the target of fan criticism for his commentary.
The tuneless rendition caught the attention of NFL fans, who mocked it as ‘the worst’ on X
He parked a backlash from some NFL supporters after his gushing comments about former president George W. Bush live on air when he was behind the microphone for Dallas’ 34-6 loss to the Philadelphia Eagles on November 10.
Bush, who served two terms in the White House between 2001 and 2009, was among the crowd at AT&T Stadium.
When the former president was captured by TV cameras, Romo heaped praise on the 78-year-old.
‘He’s also very impressive,’ Romo said. ‘He loves sports, he loves America, one of the great human beings you’ll ever meet.’
His comments drew criticism from many fans, who reminded Romo that Bush was in charge when the US went to war in Iraq .