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

[Rubi]

"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.

I saw an interview with Michaels on an anniversary of that game. He said as the game wound down he was wondering to himself what he might say if The US won. He decided to just see what happened and whatever came to him when and if it happened to go with it.

 

[Neil Beaufort Zod]

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 kind of put that on him, though. Nobody told him to go out and be a singer, in the same genre as his dad.

A friend of mine saw him and said he told the audience that he can't compare to his dad, but if you close your eyes he can do him justice. Then he said the guy sounded note-for-note like senior. I guess he made peace with it and got a cameo on The Sopranos to boot.

 

[ignatiusjreilly]

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.

You're entitled to your own opinion on Buck. But the executives at Fox and ESPN who are responsible for managing their networks' most important properties have put their trust in him for the past three decades. That doesn't automatically mean they're right, but do you really think they're just doing it because of his last name?

 

[ignatiusjreilly]

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 kind of put that on him, though. Nobody told him to go out and be a singer, in the same genre as his dad.

A friend of mine saw him and said he told the audience that he can't compare to his dad, but if you close your eyes he can do him justice. Then he said the guy sounded note-for-note like senior. I guess he made peace with it and got a cameo on The Sopranos to boot.

I'm certainly not saying that we should feel sorry for people who grew up with that level of wealth and privilege. But I can imagine it doing a number on your head. I bet FSJ and people like him make lots of misguided decisions, like trying to pursue the same career as his mega-famous dad.

Side note: I always thought it was weird that celebrities like Sinatra, LT and Eric Mangini would do cameos on the Sopranos where they played themselves consorting with mobsters (Mangini in particular, since he was an active coach at the time)

 

[Judge Smails]

Love the Scully comments. Best of all time. Especially on radio. Nobody painted a picture like him. And he knew the difference between TV and radio. If you have a picture - let the picture speak for itself. Give listeners time to soak it in.

Michael’s is obviously past his prime. Maybe 60% of what he once was. Still better than most. I think he’s earned staying around as long as he wants. Great career.

I think Tirico is underrated. He has no smug factor like Buck and others. I respect the versatility Nantz has been he’s too corporate for me. Like he belongs in Butler Cabin. I’d kill for his house at Pebble Beach though. Back to Tirico. Man the guy is so versatile. Can call anything. Doesn’t dominate conversation. Lets commentators talk and the action speak for itself. Gets excited at the appropriate times. Ultra prepared. Rarely hear a mistake out of him. Just so professional. And I’ll always have on video him going to commercial with “and fans are getting ready for the 2022 running of the Kentucky Derby” while the cameras zoomed in on Mr and Mrs Smails getting pictures taken at Churchill Downs

 

[Hot Sauce Guy]

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.

You're entitled to your own opinion on Buck. But the executives at Fox and ESPN who are responsible for managing their networks' most important properties have put their trust in him for the past three decades. That doesn't automatically mean they're right, but do you really think they're just doing it because of his last name?

No, but I think Buck got his start, and his significant warts as a broadcaster were glossed over for years because of his last name.

He’s still way too minimalist for my take, though to be fair, he has improved a bit in that dept.

As a baseball fan, I remember his calling games like, [anecdote “ball 2” continues anecdote]

99.99999% of announcers say what the count is. Like “2-2”, or “1-2” - no one cares that it’s ball 2 out of context of the full count.

The other thing that used to drive me nuts was a player foul-tipping a ball 5” outside on a 3-2 count and Buck would say, “spoiled it”.

Spoiled what, ball 4 BB?

A hitter “spoils”’ a strike when they foul it off. A hitter makes a bad swing at a ball out of the zone to prevent themselves from standing on 1B.

It was just a shocking lack of insight of the game he was paid to provide expert observation for.

 

[wlwiles]

Agree with everyone on Tirico, he's probably the best right now and I'm glad he's got the SNF chair. My favorite way to view is the Manningcast. Michaels is classic, I'll enjoy him calling a game for as long as he wants to do it. Really like Romo and hope he continues to get better. Not an Aikman fan because I feel like he goes out of his way to hate on players/teams. I don't mind Buck but I prefer him calling baseball than football. Nantz is fine, Collinsworth is fine, Harlan is good. Couldn't care less about any of the studio guys - who wants to listen to Bradshaw and Jimmie Johnson hyuck hyuck hyuck for an hour pre-game and at halftime? Mostly ignore all the studio shows across all networks. But I'll listen to anybody call a game.

 

[Neil Beaufort Zod]

Agree with everyone on Tirico, he's probably the best right now and I'm glad he's got the SNF chair. My favorite way to view is the Manningcast. Michaels is classic, I'll enjoy him calling a game for as long as he wants to do it. Really like Romo and hope he continues to get better. Not an Aikman fan because I feel like he goes out of his way to hate on players/teams. I don't mind Buck but I prefer him calling baseball than football. Nantz is fine, Collinsworth is fine, Harlan is good. Couldn't care less about any of the studio guys - who wants to listen to Bradshaw and Jimmie Johnson hyuck hyuck hyuck for an hour pre-game and at halftime? Mostly ignore all the studio shows across all networks. But I'll listen to anybody call a game.

Completely agree. I can't remember the last time I watched a single minute of Super Bowl pre game. I don't want a feel-good story about a backup OT's mom who repairs Playstations for the homeless. It's Puppy Bowl or nothing for me.