Al Michaels defends approach to calling games amid online criticism: 'I don't scream the game at you'
Al Michaels first began broadcasting games in 1967 and has provided the soundtrack to some of the biggest moments in sports history.
The NFL and Amazon announced in March 2022 that Michaels would be the full-time play-by-play announcer for "Thursday Night Football" alongside Kirk Herbstreit.
The 79-year-old was asked about some of the criticism he has received online about not getting excited enough on some of his recent broadcasts during a recent appearance on "The Pat McAfee Show."
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"I don’t scream the game at you. I don’t holler the game at you," Michaels said.
"People go back, and they say, ‘Oh Pat Summerall was one of the greatest of all time,’ and he was, remember how Pat did the game? ‘Second and five. Gain of three.’ Right? He didn’t blow you out. You have to save it for the moments, and I think when you look at Joe Buck, you look at Jim Nantz and myself, we did 17 of the last 18 Super Bowls. We don’t scream the game at you. We don’t holler the game at you.
"But there’s a whole bunch of people around the country. Look, it’s a very diverse country with 330 million people, and there are some people who want you to go, ‘Oh! It’s 4-2 in the basketball game! Woah!’ If it’s 4-2, where do you go when it’s 102-101, where do you go? You got to leave some room. So, CeeDee Lamb scores a touchdown. What am I supposed to do? Scream my guts out?" Michaels added.
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Prior to joining Amazon, Michaels had been with NBC Sports since 2006 as its play-by-play announcer for "Sunday Night Football."
Before joining NBC Sports, Michaels had been with ABC Sports since 1977, calling MLB, college football, the NFL, hockey, college basketball, golf, the Kentucky Derby and other marquee events.
Michaels' most famous call was from the 1980 Winter Olympics at Lake Placid, when he called the Miracle on Ice, the United States' upset victory over the Soviet Union.
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Michaels has a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame and is a five-time Sports Emmy Award winner. And those are just a couple of his accomplishments along with countless other accolades for his work as a broadcaster.
Michaels will be back on the call with Herbstreit for the Atlanta Falcons-Tampa Bay Buccaneers game Thursday nigh.
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