Amazon Prime play-by-play announcer Al Michaels received plenty of criticism on social media after fans slammed his ‘low-energy’ call on Thursday Night Football.
Michaels has long since been the voice of football in America, has been with NBC since 2006, and has fronted Amazon’s coverage since its inception in 2022.
In recent years, though, some fans have been of the opinion that Michaels is past his best, as he approaches his 80th birthday in November.
He was on the call for the Bills’ exciting early touchdown against the Dolphins on Thursday, but some were left underwhelmed by the call.
‘Why is Al Michaels not retired?,’ one fan wrote. ‘He sounds like a robot calling plays. No joy or emotion in his voice. It’s f***ing depressing,’ while another added: ‘Bruh get Al Michaels outta the booth. Bro has no passion left.’
Al Michaels (right) was on the call alongside Kirk Herbstreit for Thursday’s game in Miami
Fans quickly took to social media to slam Michaels’ call of the first Bills touchdown in the game
Elsewhere, one fan sarcastically wrote: ‘Al Michaels overflowing with energy tonight’, and another said: ‘Someone please take Al Michaels off the air. That guy needs the beach.’
Michaels is back for another season fronting Amazon’s coverage of the NFL, but it comes just months after a significant blow was dealt to him by NBC.
Last season, he didn’t call any of the broadcaster’s four NFL playoff games, ending a 17-season streak – much to Michaels’ surprise.
He had been a part of the network’s postseason football coverage every year since joining in 2006, but was left out of the lineup last season.
NBC’s top commentating pair of Mike Tirico and Cris Collinsworth, who handle the network’s ‘Sunday Night Football’ duties every week, called three, while Noah Eagle and Todd Blackledge handled the other.
Michaels is approaching his 80th birthday in November and is a stalwart for NBC and Amazon
Some claimed he should have ‘retired 10 years ago’ and others asked him to ‘wake up’
Michaels spoke ahead of the season about the games he has been given for Thursday nights this season, insisting he can provide a ‘great storyline for every one’.
Despite his age, Michaels insists he knows the importance of the digital age, telling NFL Network: ‘Streaming is more and more important.
‘The graph is pointing up for streaming, and I don’t want to say down for linear, because the NFL is so powerful right now and linear is still very, very important, but a lot of eggs are going in the streaming basket right now.’
