Al Michaels likens selling a car to being called “Thursday Night Football” after the first season of Amazon Prime.
Al Michaels, the broadcasting legend has concluded his first season calling NFL “Thursday Night Football”, for Amazon. It was a mixed bag.
Michaels was as good as usual, which is to be praised. Kirk Herbstreit, color commentator, was solid for a broadcaster whose background is almost exclusively in college football. The production quality was excellent, with only a few sound engineering glitches. It is no surprise considering the investment Amazon made.
Unfortunately, the entire crew had to still cover Thursday Night Football, the primetime program known for its ineptness and inability to deliver quality shows between tired or underprepared teams. Michaels was also there for the ride, but that did not change the stigma of 2022.
Michaels addressed the issue of TNF games’ quality. an interview with The Athletic’s Richard Deitsch published ThursdayHe didn’t sugarcoat it, especially when he came to the duddest of all duds between them Denver Broncos Indianapolis Colts:
“I think I’m to the point in my life and career, having watched sports since I was 6 years old, I feel what the crowd feels. It was an awful game. There is no other way to put it. No touchdowns. In fact, at one point during the game, I said to (analyst) Kirk (Herbstreit), ‘Is it possible this game could be so bad that it’s actually good?’ He’d never heard that from a partner and went, ‘No!'”
Michaels isn’t wrong in that statement, nor is he the only one. It is a great game. a touchdown-less slog with four turnoversThe, was so difficult to watch that a local Denver television station was forced to air it apologized for airing it TNF games can still be seen in local markets, with one commentator stating that “it burns the retinas.”
However, there were many more bad games. Michaels called these games with three first-half points, lopsided blowouts performances so brutal they basically erased any optimism about a certain No. 2 overall pick. While some games were enjoyable, many were not.
Michaels claims that Amazon handled the matter in stride. This is something you would hope for, considering how big they are. paying $1 billion a year until 2033 for the privilege of streaming the games:
Are you getting any information from Amazon management?
“From the Amazon people, nothing more than support. They understood this, I believe. We’re making the most of it. I mean, you just can’t oversell something. Are you asking me to sell a Mazda Mazda 20-year-old? That’s what you’re asking me to do. I can’t sell you a used car. … I’ve kind of gone down that road a little bit in games that have been bad in the past. This game was horrible. What was the best thing you could do? “And I was off.”
Perhaps next year’s “Thursday Night Football” will be better. Amazon isn’t the only rightsholder to wish so.
Michaels will still be able to play in a playoff match. NBC announced Wednesday he would return to call the Los Angeles Chargers-Jacksonville Jaguars wild-card game on Saturday.