Al Michaels is widely regarded as the greatest play-by-play announcer in the history of sports television.
However, he is not immune to criticism, although he claims it doesn’t bother him.
Last season, many NFL fans felt that Michaels lacked energy in his calls.
This could be attributed to him calling less exciting games on Amazon’s “Thursday Night Football” package, compared to the high-profile matchups on NBC’s “Sunday Night Football.”
Michaels and his co-analyst Tony Dungy were also criticized for not showing enough enthusiasm during a thrilling playoff comeback by the Jacksonville Jaguars.
Michaels addressed these criticisms in an interview with Sports Business Journal and stated that he doesn’t pay attention to negativity on social media.
He believes that the opinions of a few individuals do not define his success as a broadcaster.
“Look, sometimes I’ll take some s—. People say, ‘He didn’t get excited enough.’ What do you want me to do? Scream, holler, yell the game? That ain’t me,” Michaels said. “That ain’t (Joe) Buck, that ain’t (Jim) Nantz. I can’t pay attention to anti–social media. We live in a country with 330 million people. And if eight people rip you on social media, I’m going, ‘Huh?’ Now anybody sitting in a basement has a platform. You can’t let things like that distress you. I’ve been doing this for so long. And I wouldn’t be here at this point still doing a major package if I was doing it the wrong way.”
Michaels has been in the industry for a long time and wouldn’t have had a successful career if he was doing it the wrong way.
It is common for broadcasters, including Michaels, to let the moment speak for itself rather than trying to compete with the excitement of the game.
Although Michaels may have been less vibrant without his long-time partner Cris Collinsworth, he is still considered one of the best in his field.
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