In a year where NFL announcing news was supposed to be dominated by the shuffle of top play-by-play voices, Al Michaels dominated the news for all the wrong reasons.
In what seemed like a near weekly occurrence, comments about the quality of the game Michaels was announcing would go viral…for all the wrong reasons.
At first, it was funny. “He’s saying what we’re all thinking!” Then, it turned into “Oh boy, Al Michaels sure isn’t happy with this Amazon Prime Video schedule”, before it eventually completely devolved into “At this point, Al Michaels is bitching just to bitch”.
It’s a sad reality for one of the greatest voices in NFL history. Michaels is an undisputed legend. No one can make a case otherwise. However, his disdain for the work he’s doing can’t be glossed over.
Look at his handling of NBC’s coverage of the Jaguars unexpected come from behind victory over the Chargers. In one of the more improbable outcomes in NFL playoff history, Michaels seemed like he’d rather be damn near anywhere other than TIAA Bank Field as the Jaguars capped off the third largest playoff comeback.
“Ok. Here we go. For the win. He got it but there’s a flag down. There’s a flag down…and they call it on the defense.”
That’s your call after a 27-point comeback victory? In the playoffs? It’s hard to argue that he was interested in calling the game when that’s the call. I didn’t expect a Gus-gasm, or anywhere close to it, but I don’t think it is unreasonable to expect one of the game’s greatest to use his voice as an instrument in during a playoff contest’s biggest moment.
It’s difficult to give Michaels the benefit of the doubt here. Sure, he was working a game on a different network than he did the rest of the season, but yet, the producer in his ear — Fred Gaudelli, who retired after the game — was the same one he’s been used to for decades. NBC was and is a familiar place for him, so pretending as if that was the reason for his lackadaisical approach doesn’t hold up.
I simply think Michaels is in a position he doesn’t want to be. He wants to be the top play-by-play voice for the NFL’s top games, and no longer is. But when given the opportunity to call the NFL’s top game on Saturday, he fumbled the assignment with an unenthusiastic, half-hearted job that made the case for why he no longer holds the top job in the league.
Make no bones about it, I want to see Michaels continue to call primetime games, and he deserves the opportunity. But I don’t want to watch a game that he has no interesting attending.
Being the top game-caller for an NFL broadcast network is a privilege, not a birthright, and certainly not a job to be taken lightly. If the only thing Michaels can display while calling games is disdain or disinterest, maybe it’s time to step aside.
Garrett Searight is Barrett Media’s News Editor, which includes writing bi-weekly industry features and a weekly column. He has previously served as Program Director and Afternoon Co-Host on 93.1 The Fan in Lima, OH, and is the radio play-by-play voice of Northern Michigan University hockey. Reach out to him at Garrett@BarrettMedia.com.
