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Is it time for Al Michaels to retire? (1 Viewer)

Michaels responds!

>>"Must have gotten a hundred texts from folks who were very happy to see me back on NBC,” Michaels said. “Read some comments that we didn’t sound excited enough. Internet compost! You know me as well as anyone—no screaming, no yelling, no hollering. It’s TELEVISION! Ellipses and captions are [sufficient] when pictures tell the story.” Michaels continued, admitting that he and broadcast partner Tony Dungy had a more difficult time getting excited about the game in the first half when L.A. led 27–0. As the game tightened, Michaels explained that he didn’t want to use an “over-the-top-yelling” style, citing some previous announcing greats who conducted more understated broadcasts.

"I thought the energy was much better once Jax made it a game,” Michaels said. “27–0 makes it difficult to make it sound like more than it is. One of the things that I think makes Tony good is that he doesn’t overtalk and load it up with unneeded blather. He’s measured, but almost everything he says has relevance and poignancy. “A lot of folks who understand this industry are annoyed with the over-the-top yelling that makes a game sound like an offshoot of talk radio. I’m in that corner, but there are others who obviously think otherwise. Don’t you find it ironic that the most understated announcer of all time was the iconic Pat Summerall. And before that— Ray Scott. And lots of folks still yearn for that style. One size doesn’t fit all.” Though Michaels’s defense of his broadcast style checks out, plenty of viewers still felt like the call for one of the most exciting games of the year left something to be desired.<<
 
Lots of people bitching about Tony Romo too
Romo is a mixed bag.

I have to be in the mood for Romo. He’s a little spazzy and I don’t always have the energy to listen to that.

He doesn’t leave much space in the broadcast, which is kind of a lost art.

Also, he can be hit & miss. When he’s on, he’s very entertaining. When he’s off his game, he’s horribly annoying.
 
I like Kevin Harlan the best. Love the timbre and cadence of his voice never understood why he doesn’t get the big games as far as I can see
Harlan's simulaneous call of the KC game and Miami beating NE on the FitzMagic throw to Gesicki putting KC at the #2 seed with a bye, is epic.
Almost every announcer has both supporters and detractors. I don't know anyone who doesn't love Harlan. He should do every TNF, SNF, MNF, and playoff game.
 
But broadcasters, and studio talking heads, as a group, are the most overpaid group of generic, replaceable parts in the sports industry. They're irrelevant and should get paid minimum wage.
C'mon man.
Hyperbole obvious, but not by much.

The stupid contracts for guys like Buck, Aikman, Michaels and the nonsense they're offering Brady is absurd. I'm all for guys cashing checks whenever they can and good for those guys but there is no way those contracts offer RoI.

No one watches for those guys, probably a few ladies will tune in for Brady but it's money foolishly spent. And yes, I do think the executives at those networks are making decisions that lose money.
On the one hand, I totally agree with you that the notion of tuning (or not) into a broadcast solely for the announcers is ridiculous. Most games I watch I hardly even notice who's calling it.

As for the contracts, you're right that it's ridiculous and in no way provides positive ROI, but I don't think that's the goal. When you're spending billions of dollars on broadcast rights, whether you pay your announcer $1M or $40M is still basically a rounding error. The reason they pay them is for the message it sends to the league. ESPN took years trying to get its broadcast team right, and they finally just went and poached Buck and Aikman so that they could make the case to the NFL that they should get better games, flex options and eventually a Super Bowl. You think Goodell was signing off on that with Booger as the color guy?

And assuming Brady ever actually works a day at Fox, his value will be far more about going to upfronts and chatting up advertisers than it will be breaking down tape. I mean, I'm sure they hope that he does a good job with the latter, but it doesn't really matter if he's a great announcer or merely a competent one
 
I like Kevin Harlan the best. Love the timbre and cadence of his voice never understood why he doesn’t get the big games as far as I can see
Harlan's simulaneous call of the KC game and Miami beating NE on the FitzMagic throw to Gesicki putting KC at the #2 seed with a bye, is epic.
Almost every announcer has both supporters and detractors. I don't know anyone who doesn't love Harlan. He should do every TNF, SNF, MNF, and playoff game.
What I love is all the people who are convinced an announcer is biased against their team
 
And assuming Brady ever actually works a day at Fox, his value will be far more about going to upfronts and chatting up advertisers than it will be breaking down tape. I mean, I'm sure they hope that he does a good job with the latter, but it doesn't really matter if he's a great announcer or merely a competent one
I think Brady would be excellent in a “manningcast” role, breaking down plays.

I don’t think he’d be a good PBP guy or “announcer” in a traditional sense.

He’s a sharp dude but he’s not particularly charismatic.
 
I got no issues with Al Michaels. I'm nostalgic and enjoy the old voices, they seem to enrich the history of the game to me. If need be get a third in the booth to do some more lifting but a familiar voice like Al Michaels sill lends and air of credibility and importance to anything he announces.

As for announcing on the whole it's just not great. Not enough critical analysis. They seem to prepare who they are going to hype up before the game ever kicks off. To much stuff gets missed that is just not explained or mentioned while they beat pre-planned narratives to death.
 
As for the contracts, you're right that it's ridiculous and in no way provides positive ROI, but I don't think that's the goal. When you're spending billions of dollars on broadcast rights, whether you pay your announcer $1M or $40M is still basically a rounding error. The reason they pay them is for the message it sends to the league. ESPN took years trying to get its broadcast team right, and they finally just went and poached Buck and Aikman so that they could make the case to the NFL that they should get better games, flex options and eventually a Super Bowl. You think Goodell was signing off on that with Booger as the color guy?

And assuming Brady ever actually works a day at Fox, his value will be far more about going to upfronts and chatting up advertisers than it will be breaking down tape. I mean, I'm sure they hope that he does a good job with the latter, but it doesn't really matter if he's a great announcer or merely a competent one
I think Goodell's considerations begin and end with "Which broadcaster can provide the best balance of biggest check + biggest audience?" I don't think Buck & Aikman ever enter his thought process.

Great point about Brady though. Maybe guys like Buck, Aikman, Michaels are also a draw in that capacity but, IMO, those advertisers are also not thinking it through. There could be two chimpanzees and a stick of celery in the booth and the audience metrics wouldn't move an inch.
 
As for the contracts, you're right that it's ridiculous and in no way provides positive ROI, but I don't think that's the goal. When you're spending billions of dollars on broadcast rights, whether you pay your announcer $1M or $40M is still basically a rounding error. The reason they pay them is for the message it sends to the league. ESPN took years trying to get its broadcast team right, and they finally just went and poached Buck and Aikman so that they could make the case to the NFL that they should get better games, flex options and eventually a Super Bowl. You think Goodell was signing off on that with Booger as the color guy?

And assuming Brady ever actually works a day at Fox, his value will be far more about going to upfronts and chatting up advertisers than it will be breaking down tape. I mean, I'm sure they hope that he does a good job with the latter, but it doesn't really matter if he's a great announcer or merely a competent one
I think Goodell's considerations begin and end with "Which broadcaster can provide the best balance of biggest check + biggest audience?" I don't think Buck & Aikman ever enter his thought process.

Great point about Brady though. Maybe guys like Buck, Aikman, Michaels are also a draw in that capacity but, IMO, those advertisers are also not thinking it through. There could be two chimpanzees and a stick of celery in the booth and the audience metrics wouldn't move an inch.
If I have to hear Joe Buck say one more time, "I'm Joe Buck and this is the Hall of Famer Troy Aikman", I'm going to puke.
 
As for the contracts, you're right that it's ridiculous and in no way provides positive ROI, but I don't think that's the goal. When you're spending billions of dollars on broadcast rights, whether you pay your announcer $1M or $40M is still basically a rounding error. The reason they pay them is for the message it sends to the league. ESPN took years trying to get its broadcast team right, and they finally just went and poached Buck and Aikman so that they could make the case to the NFL that they should get better games, flex options and eventually a Super Bowl. You think Goodell was signing off on that with Booger as the color guy?

And assuming Brady ever actually works a day at Fox, his value will be far more about going to upfronts and chatting up advertisers than it will be breaking down tape. I mean, I'm sure they hope that he does a good job with the latter, but it doesn't really matter if he's a great announcer or merely a competent one
I think Goodell's considerations begin and end with "Which broadcaster can provide the best balance of biggest check + biggest audience?" I don't think Buck & Aikman ever enter his thought process.

Great point about Brady though. Maybe guys like Buck, Aikman, Michaels are also a draw in that capacity but, IMO, those advertisers are also not thinking it through. There could be two chimpanzees and a stick of celery in the booth and the audience metrics wouldn't move an inch.
If I have to hear Joe Buck say one more time, "I'm Joe Buck and this is the Hall of Famer Troy Aikman", I'm going to puke.
I think Joe Buck is doing it to piss Troy off. Joe used to do it to give props, now its schtick.
 
how much money would the networks save if they stopped paying announcers? i mean, are you watching the chargers v jags because Michaels is doing play by play?

I would turn it off if there were two Tony Dungy's.
Would you? Would you, really?

Really???

I think people do it subconsciously all the time.

I think there's a base level of competence required to be a good announcer that not that many people have. It's hard to talk for 3 hours and not trip over yourself and annoy people. And I think when it happens, people don't really even notice that's the reason, but it affects their enjoyment of the product.

For the most part, everyone in the NFL is competent enough for it not to make much of a difference which out of that group you pick. And that's by design. But if you just suddenly stopped paying people and let the guy that does the 11pm games on the Pac-12 network start calling the games, fewer people would watch.

I think you see that a lot in college sports. People will watch UNC play Virginia Tech in basketball when it's on ESPN and Jay Bilas is calling the game. And they'll stay hooked to it. But when watching the same game on the ACC network it often just feels drab, and uninteresting, and you can't really pinpoint why as you flip away. I do think a big part of that is the commentating.

Obviously if the game is interesting enough like a playoff game or your favorite team then you're going to watch anyway, but all throughout the year I do think people subconsciously are less likely to watch when the commentators are lousy. And by that I mean actually lousy. Not "Troy Aikman always thinks Cowboys QBs are good that's not fair!" lousy.
 
Jim Nantz is horrible imo

Reminds me of hearing the announcer on an old video game. Like the timing is off and the fake excitement….weird
 
As for the contracts, you're right that it's ridiculous and in no way provides positive ROI, but I don't think that's the goal. When you're spending billions of dollars on broadcast rights, whether you pay your announcer $1M or $40M is still basically a rounding error. The reason they pay them is for the message it sends to the league. ESPN took years trying to get its broadcast team right, and they finally just went and poached Buck and Aikman so that they could make the case to the NFL that they should get better games, flex options and eventually a Super Bowl. You think Goodell was signing off on that with Booger as the color guy?

And assuming Brady ever actually works a day at Fox, his value will be far more about going to upfronts and chatting up advertisers than it will be breaking down tape. I mean, I'm sure they hope that he does a good job with the latter, but it doesn't really matter if he's a great announcer or merely a competent one
I think Goodell's considerations begin and end with "Which broadcaster can provide the best balance of biggest check + biggest audience?" I don't think Buck & Aikman ever enter his thought process.
I'm pretty sure the league has to sign off on all broadcast teams. Maybe not formally, but if there were someone who they really didn't like (not even sure who that would be: Kaepernick? Bill Simmons?) the league would find a way of expressing its displeasure.

Also, I wouldn't be so sure that Goodell himself doesn't pay any attention to broadcast details. In Peter King's column last week, he wrote about longtime SNF producer Fred Gaudelli's retirement, and the person he quoted extensively about Gaudelli's career was ... Roger Goodell.

And really, why wouldn't he pay attention to that stuff? The TV broadcasts are the thing that makes the NFL a multi-billion dollar business. It's like the old joke about how the brand manager for Marlboro cigarettes was the CEO of Phillip Morris. When your global business is heavily dependent on one product, you're going to immerse yourself in all of its minutia
 
I think Joe Buck is doing it to piss Troy off. Joe used to do it to give props, now it’s schtick.
Q: would Joe Buck be employed anywhere if it weren’t for his last name?
C'mon! That's like asking if Kyle Shanahan would still have a HC job if he weren't Mike's son.

Nepotism is a huge problem, mostly because it gives certain people opportunities that aren't available to others. Buck Josephs probably never gets the job on Fox in the first place, nor does he get to grow up soaking up lessons (and contacts) from his dad. But Joe Buck has been the lead announcer for multiple sports, across multiple networks, for three decades. You can't get that far coasting on your dad's name.

Frank Sinatra Jr. got a lot of bookings when he first started out. He didn't get a lot of repeats
 
"Do You Believe In Miracles!?"

Should have retired then and there.
I was in a pool hall playing nine-ball for money at that moment, watching it on one of those ancient TVs hanging from above.
If it was like I remembered there was a haze of cigarette smoke hanging in the air.
I miss that second hand smoke........jk.......I quit smoking in September. I did that once before for 5 years 2009 - 2014, but started back. I discovered breathing is a prerequisite to living.
 
I still like Michaels, but Dungy is pretty rough in the booth. Seems like a great guy, and is probably as knowledgeable about football as anybody, but it just doesn't translate in this format.
 
I still like Michaels, but Dungy is pretty rough in the booth. Seems like a great guy, and is probably as knowledgeable about football as anybody, but it just doesn't translate in this format.
I wish my dad was like Dungy. Instead, he cussed like a sailor the first time he met my girlfriend and we played spades.
 
I still like Michaels, but Dungy is pretty rough in the booth. Seems like a great guy, and is probably as knowledgeable about football as anybody, but it just doesn't translate in this format.
I wish my dad was like Dungy. Instead, he cussed like a sailor the first time he met my girlfriend and we played spades.
I'm sure Dungy wouldn't curse if you introduced him to your girlfriend. But I'm not sure I'd recommend introducing him to your boyfriend ...
 
I still like Michaels, but Dungy is pretty rough in the booth. Seems like a great guy, and is probably as knowledgeable about football as anybody, but it just doesn't translate in this format.
I wish my dad was like Dungy. Instead, he cussed like a sailor the first time he met my girlfriend and we played spades.
I'm sure Dungy wouldn't curse if you introduced him to your girlfriend. But I'm not sure I'd recommend introducing him to your boyfriend ...
Thankfully that wouldn't ever have been an issue. However, I am intrigued by your comment.
 
I still like Michaels, but Dungy is pretty rough in the booth. Seems like a great guy, and is probably as knowledgeable about football as anybody, but it just doesn't translate in this format.
I wish my dad was like Dungy. Instead, he cussed like a sailor the first time he met my girlfriend and we played spades.
I'm sure Dungy wouldn't curse if you introduced him to your girlfriend. But I'm not sure I'd recommend introducing him to your boyfriend ...
Thankfully that wouldn't ever have been an issue. However, I am intrigued by your comment.
Eh, just a joke. Dungy has been outspoken in his opposition to homosexuality
 
I still like Michaels, but Dungy is pretty rough in the booth. Seems like a great guy, and is probably as knowledgeable about football as anybody, but it just doesn't translate in this format.
I wish my dad was like Dungy. Instead, he cussed like a sailor the first time he met my girlfriend and we played spades.
I'm sure Dungy wouldn't curse if you introduced him to your girlfriend. But I'm not sure I'd recommend introducing him to your boyfriend ...
Thankfully that wouldn't ever have been an issue. However, I am intrigued by your comment.
Eh, just a joke. Dungy has been outspoken in his opposition to homosexuality
I respect Tony Dungy no matter what.
 
how much money would the networks save if they stopped paying announcers? i mean, are you watching the chargers v jags because Michaels is doing play by play?

I would turn it off if there were two Tony Dungy's.
Would you? Would you, really?

Really???

I think people do it subconsciously all the time.
Tune them out? Of course.

Turn down the volume? Sure.

Turn off the game? Never.
 
I love listening to Al Michaels. So what if maybe he wasn't as hyped as some would have liked, he's not Gus Johnson.

Maybe its because I'm 38, so he's always been calling football games for me, Al Michaels tends to be equated to big game, and I just like hearing the guy's voice. I like Collinsworth a lot more than other people seem to as well, and I always liked Berman at the draft. Maybe its a nostalgia thing, I know when I watch AEW, I like hearing Jim Ross voice even if he gets names mixed up too. I don't know, its weird to me how bothered people get by this. I don't care if an announcer screws up, or maybe isn't as energetic as they could/should be.

On the other hand, I'm probably not the target audience for announcers in general.
I think this is what most casual fans want. You have to remember that the majority of people watching don’t notice a lot of the screwups. They want someone they know and that makes it feel like a big deal. I don’t think the networks would necessarily pay that much for broadcasters, but the NFL likes the big names because it helps build the general brand.
 
I like Kevin Harlan the best. Love the timbre and cadence of his voice never understood why he doesn’t get the big games as far as I can see
Harlan's simulaneous call of the KC game and Miami beating NE on the FitzMagic throw to Gesicki putting KC at the #2 seed with a bye, is epic.
Almost every announcer has both supporters and detractors. I don't know anyone who doesn't love Harlan. He should do every TNF, SNF, MNF, and playoff game.
What I love is all the people who are convinced an announcer is biased against their team

dierdorfd hates the eagles.
 
"Do You Believe In Miracles!?"

Should have retired then and there.
I was in a pool hall playing nine-ball for money at that moment, watching it on one of those ancient TVs hanging from above.
Crazy story, Michaels was basically a rookie at the time. I believe ABC had the 1980 Olympics and the Hockey announcer that did the previous US games was sick or unavailable. They choose Al because he was the only one left that had actually called a hockey game, just one and it was a Minnesota U. game. The rest is history
 
Another vote for Kevin Harlan. He's great. Michaels' voice is still iconic but he's gettin' up to the point where he should probably hang 'em up.
 
I think Joe Buck is doing it to piss Troy off. Joe used to do it to give props, now it’s schtick.
Q: would Joe Buck be employed anywhere if it weren’t for his last name?
C'mon! That's like asking if Kyle Shanahan would still have a HC job if he weren't Mike's son.

Nepotism is a huge problem, mostly because it gives certain people opportunities that aren't available to others. Buck Josephs probably never gets the job on Fox in the first place, nor does he get to grow up soaking up lessons (and contacts) from his dad. But Joe Buck has been the lead announcer for multiple sports, across multiple networks, for three decades. You can't get that far coasting on your dad's name.

Frank Sinatra Jr. got a lot of bookings when he first started out. He didn't get a lot of repeats
To be fair, Junior sounded a LOT like his dad and worked as much as he wanted when he became a tribute act.
 
I think Joe Buck is doing it to piss Troy off. Joe used to do it to give props, now it’s schtick.
Q: would Joe Buck be employed anywhere if it weren’t for his last name?
C'mon! That's like asking if Kyle Shanahan would still have a HC job if he weren't Mike's son.

Nepotism is a huge problem, mostly because it gives certain people opportunities that aren't available to others. Buck Josephs probably never gets the job on Fox in the first place, nor does he get to grow up soaking up lessons (and contacts) from his dad. But Joe Buck has been the lead announcer for multiple sports, across multiple networks, for three decades. You can't get that far coasting on your dad's name.

Frank Sinatra Jr. got a lot of bookings when he first started out. He didn't get a lot of repeats
To be fair, Junior sounded a LOT like his dad and worked as much as he wanted when he became a tribute act.
Way before my time. But I’ve always gotten the impression that he’s the poster child for a kid who was burdened with his famous dad’s legacy
 
I think Joe Buck is doing it to piss Troy off. Joe used to do it to give props, now it’s schtick.
Q: would Joe Buck be employed anywhere if it weren’t for his last name?
C'mon! That's like asking if Kyle Shanahan would still have a HC job if he weren't Mike's son.

Nepotism is a huge problem, mostly because it gives certain people opportunities that aren't available to others. Buck Josephs probably never gets the job on Fox in the first place, nor does he get to grow up soaking up lessons (and contacts) from his dad. But Joe Buck has been the lead announcer for multiple sports, across multiple networks, for three decades. You can't get that far coasting on your dad's name.

Frank Sinatra Jr. got a lot of bookings when he first started out. He didn't get a lot of repeats
I don’t think that’s a great analogy. Kyle Shanahan is an absolute student of the game, and has become something of a master strategist.

By comparison, Joe Buck is not on my top five list of broadcasters. He has done plenty to sully his name, including saying he didn’t care for the game of baseball, while being paid by baseball to announce baseball games.

I feel like being an offensive coordinator in the NFL or a head coach in the NFL is an order of magnitude more difficult than being a broadcaster talking about what’s going on during the game.

If we are grading nepotism on a scale of 1 to 10, I would put Joe Buck closer to a nine and Shanahan closer to a 2.
 
"Do You Believe In Miracles!?"

Should have retired then and there.
I know I'm in the minority, but I was never that impressed with the line. It felt canned to me, like "if they win I'm gonna say this at the end." The sports moment was amazing, and I feel like they let the announcing along for the ride. Personally, I prefer something like Scully's call of the Gibson at bat. Plenty of silence. The moment spoke for itself but the excitement was in his voice.
 

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