Former Dallas Cowboys quarterback Tony Romo was not sure what Halo was based on a comment he made during a broadcast during the Cincinnati Bengals and Kansas City Chiefs NFL AFC Championship game on Sunday.
Romo went on the NFL broadcast and said “That’s a video game, right?” in response to a question regarding Halo. Considering the game’s popularity and rise in relevancy in the last few months, it is hard to believe anyone could not be certain as to what Halo is.
The franchise was brought up on broadcast to promote the trailer of the new Halo TV Series which ran during halftime. The show is slated to premiere on March 24 on Paramount+.
Halo’s initial release date was Nov. 15, 2001, when it was released on the original Xbox. This was when Romo was 21 years old and just two years before he would sign as an undrafted free agent in 2003. While Romo may have been focused on his football career, there is little evidence that said he would have been completely oblivious to the game’s franchise.
After releasing in 2001 Halo became a huge hit among fans and would develop into several titles throughout the years. Halo 2 was released in 2004 shortly after Romo’s NFL signing and broke entertainment retail records in its first 24 hours on store shelves. Microsoft Game Studios, who owns the Halo franchise, announced that the highly anticipated game sold 2.4 million units in the US and Canada on release day, reaching upwards of $125 million in profit.
Halo Infinite reaches new highs
On top of the explosion of popularity that Halo had in the early days of Romo’s career, what is more, surprising is the relevancy of Halo in today’s culture. Halo Infinite’s release has brought new life to the franchise after being shrouded in a cloud of darkness for the last few years. The esports scene within Infinite is larger than ever with hundreds of teams flocking to tournaments to show their worth in the new title.
All of this information on top of the deals that Halo has made in the past with various food brands such as Pepsi makes it hard to comprehend that Romo would simply be oblivious to the title. Especially when Pepsi, which owns Mountain Dew and has strong ties with the gaming industry, sponsors the Superbowl Halftime Show which would be in the eyes of a quarterback like Romo. Hopefully, the retired NFL player learn more about the franchise that got many into gaming.
