All Lions

Everyone's Saying Same Thing about Al Michaels: Where's the Energy?

Al Michaels and Tony Dungy calling an NFL playoff game is getting panned online.
John Maakaron|
Everyone's Saying Same Thing about Al Michaels: Where's the Energy?
Everyone's Saying Same Thing about Al Michaels: Where's the Energy?

In this story:

Detroit Lions

The Detroit Lions have one of the best radio play-by-play voices in the entire National Football League. 

Dan Miller has been the official voice of the Lions since 2005. 

Many fans of the Lions enjoy consuming videos of Miller's enthusiastic and passionate calls of the team's best moments. 

It would be hard to imagine Miller being subdued calling a playoff game that involved Detroit coming back from a huge deficit. 

More: DeShon Elliott Reacts to NFL Officiating Issues

The majority of sports fans can easily recall one of the greatest calls ever made during a televised sporting event. 

Al Michaels has been the play-by-play voice of some of the most iconic events in the sporting landscape. 

"Do you believe in miracles? Yes!"

Michaels is best known for the above iconic call of the final moments of the 1980 U.S. Olympic hockey team's upset of the Soviet Union. 

Fast-forward to Super Wild Card Weekend. Michaels and former NFL head coach Tony Dungy were paired for the Jacksonville Jaguars' playoff contest against the Los Angeles Chargers. 

Something was missing all throughout the broadcast, especially in the second half as the Jaguars mounted a massive comeback to eventually defeat the Chargers, 31-30. The Jaguars overcame a 27-0 deficit. 

According to Sports Illustrated, "While Michaels can’t be blamed for trying to provide accurate information to the viewers, his tone during the most important moment of the evening fell completely flat and failed to capture the impact of Jacksonville’s historic comeback. Media members and fans took note of the underwhelming broadcast finish and took to social media to air their grievances with the crew."

Here is a sample of the reaction to Michaels' subdued call of the Jaguars' playoff game. 

Published
John Maakaron
JOHN MAAKARON

John Maakaron has covered Detroit Sports since 2013. Brings a vast array of experience covering the Detroit Tigers, Detroit Lions, Michigan Wolverines, Michigan State Spartans, Detroit Mercy Titans, and Oakland University Golden Grizzlies. John brings a wealth of sports broadcast experience. In 2013, John had the vision to establish the Detroit Sports Podcast Network. Has recorded over 3000 podcasts analyzing Detroit Sports. In 2019, Sports Illustrated Media Group, a historical sports media outlet, partnered with Detroit Sports Podcast to provide daily Lions content for their growing and expanding digital media outlet. Our Lions content can also be read in the newspaper at The Oakland  Passionate about Detroit Sports and it is reflected in his coverage of the local teams!

Home/News