Could it be time for Al Michaels to consider retirement?
Fans are still adjusting to the duo of Al Michaels and Kirk Herbstreit on Amazon’s Thursday Night Football, and their partnership has garnered mixed reviews during their initial games together in the broadcast booth.
Michaels, a veteran NFL commentator for decades, is paired with Herbstreit, who is better known for his college football commentary. While the two broadcasters have generally delivered serviceable performances, fans were less than thrilled with Michaels during the recent Thursday night game between the Buccaneers and Bills.
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As the game reached its climax with the Buccaneers having a chance to secure victory via a Hail Mary play, Michaels provided a rather matter-of-fact call in the moment. This may have been due to the fact that the Buccaneers faced a low probability of success on the play.
However, despite the odds, fans criticized Michaels for delivering a less-than-enthusiastic call.
Some fans suggested that this might be influenced by Amazon, citing a noticeable change in how Michaels calls games since moving to Prime, with Thursday Night Football games sounding quieter, possibly due to the way crowd noise is handled.
“Al has had difficulty noticing some fairly obvious things this year, to be honest. The Miracle on Ice call was 43 years ago, and there’s been a lot of water under the bridge since then,” remarked another fan.
Others expressed their support for longtime sports broadcaster Rich Eisen, implying that they prefer his style.
However, there were fans who defended Michaels, appreciating his approach. They emphasized that they don’t require excessive hype from the play-by-play commentator but value high-quality broadcasting and regarded Al and Kirk as a great team.
Next week’s Thursday night game will feature the Tennessee Titans against the Pittsburgh Steelers, and it remains to be seen if Michaels will bring more enthusiasm to his commentary.
Perhaps Amazon has received feedback regarding Michaels’ lack of energy, and adjustments might be made accordingly.
