Fans embraced Al Michaels as the season-long vilification he received continued into the NFL wild card weekend.
On Saturday night, the 80-year-old called the Baltimore Ravens game against the Pittsburgh Steelers on Amazon Prime with Kirk Herbstreit.
Fans routinely flooded social media with comments about her comment. Much of the reaction was due to the lack of enthusiasm and energy in their calls.
As negativity flowed into the comments sections, other fans complemented Michaels' work throughout his legendary career. However, they still alluded to his retirement and pointed out other factors that work against his favor.
'Al Michaels is a legend. Great voice,' noted one user. 'But it's over. Keeping it on any given football night is looking more and more like elder abuse.
“I think Al Michaels is still a pretty good announcer and I like Herbstreit too, but they don't get along very well together,” another added. “Kirk is too low-key and even willing to complement an older Al Michaels who may occasionally phone in. Collinsworth is excitable, so they were a better duo.”
Fans rallied behind Al Michaels as the backlash he faced all season continued on Saturday.
Michaels called the Steelers-Ravens Wild Card game alongside Kirk Hebrstreit on Amazon
“I love Al Michaels but it might be time to hang them up,” a third suggested.
'Al Michaels is hilarious. “I can't be bothered to show enthusiasm on this call,” a fourth user chimed in.
“I see people shitting on Al Michaels as a host, saying he's too old, son of a bitch, he does it great and also brings us meme-worthy shit,” wrote a fifth.
Throughout his tenure at Amazon Prime Video, fans had accused Michaels of appearing bored and disinterested on the call.
After 15 years at NBC, the 80-year-old signed a deal with Amazon Prime to cover its Thursday Night Football games with Herbsreit.
In December, The Athletic reported that Amazon Prime hopes to keep Michaels on board until his contract expires at the end of the season.
Andrew Marchand also noted that Michael is taking his new deal “year by year” going forward.
Michaels has called 11 Super Bowls, countless NFL primetime games and iconic MLB and NHL moments throughout his legendary career.
He is also best known for his “Do You Believe in Miracles?” called during the final moments of Team USA's miraculous triumph over the Soviet Union at the 1980 Olympic Games in Lake Placid, New York.