Legendary broadcaster Al Michaels concluded his 2023 NFL season two days ago, with the final Thursday night game of the year. Jets at Browns, which as he noted during the broadcast was the first ever Monday Night Football matchup, won’t be the last-ever game for Al Michaels.
“I feel good,” Michaels told Mike Freeman of USA Today. “I feel healthy. I feel fine. I told Amazon that I’d do three years and next year will be three, and I’m definitely doing it. We’ll see after that.”
It could be that he keeps on going.
“I still love this job,” Michaels said. “I still get a charge out of going into a stadium and watching the best in the world do what they do. I’m still really happy so that’s the big thing.”
Michaels turns 80 in November. Although some on social media have criticized some of his recent performances (then again, some on social media would criticize God for making the sky too damn blue), Al is the best to ever do it. His voice brings familiarity and comfort to millions.
He has the right attitude about the random noise on X or elsewhere who can grab a megaphone and shout their opinions whenever and however they want.
“He hears the noise,” Michaels’s on-air partner, Kirk Herbstreit, told Freeman. “I don’t think he’s like, ‘I’ll show them. I’m going to really bring it this week.’ He’s definitely not doing that. He has more of an ‘F you’ attitude about it than ‘I’m going to show them.’ He thinks it’s a bunch of bullshit. I think it’s a bunch of bullshit. And I think it’s just a narrative that social media’s kind of running with.”
Calling it a “narrative” is giving it more credence than it merits. It’s not a massive groundswell. It’s a very loud minority of voices that, frankly, don’t matter. And while BillyJoe467464794797959 in his mother’s basement in Des Moines has every right to express his opinion, the rest of us have the right to disagree with it or, even better, ignore it.
All that matters in this case is Amazon. If Amazon wants to keep Al Michaels beyond 2024 and if he wants to keep doing it, so be it. For Amazon or anyone else to want him out in whole or in part because he’s 79 is no different than wanting someone out because of race, gender, national origin, disability, religion, or any other characteristic protected by law.
There’s a huge difference between age and all other protected factors. Everyone who is ever born will eventually grow old. If they’re lucky.
Al is lucky to be healthy enough to keep doing what he loves. He’s skilled enough to have earned and to have kept his spot. If he wants to keep doing it and if Amazon wants him to keep doing it, he should keep doing it.
As someone who has been listening to him for more than 40 years, I hope he does.
