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Al Michaels Defends Himself From Critics of His Lower-Energy Touchdown Calls

The legendary broadcaster addressed the criticism he's faced for his "Thursday Night Football" calls.

Tom Dierberger

Michaels has been calling "Thursday Night Football" games for Amazon Prime Video since 2022.
Michaels has been calling "Thursday Night Football" games for Amazon Prime Video since 2022. / Prime Video

Now in his third season calling Thursday Night Football games for Amazon Prime Video, legendary play-by-play broadcaster Al Michaels has faced some criticism for a lack of energy at times on the microphone.

During an appearance on Thursday's episode of The Pat McAfee Show, Michaels directly addressed his critics.

"I don't scream the game at you. I don't holler the game at you," Michaels said. "Never have." ... You have to save it for the [big] moments."

Michaels then did an impression of the late Pat Summerall, who is known as one of the greatest broadcasters of all time despite his tendency to call the game rather monotone.

"If it's 4–2 [and you're yelling], where do you go for 102–101? Where do you go?" Michael said. "You've got to leave some room. CeeDee Lamb scores a touchdown. What am I supposed to do—scream my guts out?"

In Week 2, many fans on social media were unhappy with Michaels's call of James Cook's first-quarter touchdown in the Buffalo Bills' 31–10 victory over the Miami Dolphins on Sept. 12. But it is worth noting that those critiques have quieted down in recent weeks.

"You've got to leave some room, like I say," Michaels said. "It's a 60-minute game. If you scream your guts out in the first three minutes, where are you going for the next 57?"

Michaels called two touchdowns in the first quarter of the Tampa Bay Buccaneers' clash against the Atlanta Falcons at Mercedes-Benz Stadium on Thursday night.

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Tom Dierberger
TOM DIERBERGER

Tom Dierberger is a staff writer and editor on the Breaking and Trending News team at Sports Illustrated. He joined SI in November 2023 after stints at FOX Sports, Bally Sports and NBC Sports. Dierberger has a bachelor's in communication from St. John's University. In his spare time, he can be seen throwing out his arm while playing fetch with his dog, Walter B. Boy.

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