Veteran NFL announcer Al Michaels returned to the broadcast booth for ‘Thursday Night Football’ this week, drawing all sorts of comments from football fans.
With two weeks left before September’s regular season opener, Michaels and Kirk Herbstreit took control of Thursday’s preseason matchup between the Indianapolis Colts and Cincinnati Bengals, marking their third year working together.
Michaels has been in the booth for close to 40 years and is considered a broadcast icon. At 79, he’s no longer working for the likes of NBC or ABC but does the job all the same for Amazon Prime.
You can check out a clip of him discussing the Colts and Bengals’ prospects for 2024 with Herbstreit right below.
Al Michaels and Kirk Herbstreit are back for Thursday Night Football on Prime Video.
"Back to school. Get your crayons out. Let's go." – Al 🏈🎙️📺🖍️ pic.twitter.com/TvDgyuu66s
— Awful Announcing (@awfulannouncing) August 23, 2024
Fans Sounded Off On Al Michaels’ Return, And It Was Mostly Good
The return drew mixed reactions from fans on social media, most of whom were glad to have him back.
“Al Michaels on my screen for a preseason game, pumpkin spice is back Close enough — welcome back football season,” one fan wrote.
“Not sure I’ll feel this way again in 2024, but man it’s nice to hear Al Michaels’ voice again,” another said.
“Thought Michaels was off of football. Glad the goat is back,” one comment read.
“Just hearing Al Michaels on my tv again has me so happy right now football is back,” another read.
“Feels good to be watching #Colts football and hearing Michaels voice. We are so back,” the Colts Coverage X/Twitter account chimed in.
“His last season in a broadcast booth please,” someone commented.
Al Michaels is so washed man ✌🏾💔pic.twitter.com/c4mv4JN3Lg
— 𝙏𝙝𝙤𝙢𝙖𝙨 🎓 (@ThomasWrrld) August 23, 2024
“Hearing the voice of Al Michaels means football season is officially back,” someone else declared.
“Al’s low energy. Someone please feed him his vegetables,” another joked.
Michaels’ voice clearly holds meaning around the country, with many fans attaching it to the return of the game they love every year.
Michaels and Herbstreit will call their first regular season game together when the Buffalo Bills play the Miami Dolphins at the latter’s Hard Rock Stadium on September 12.
