NFL fans were annoyed by the number of penalties called during the Seahawks-Cowboys game on Thursday night.
But they weren’t the only ones.
Longtime announcer and current Amazon Prime commentator Al Michaels had seen enough of the yellow flags—there were 25 called penalties and 257 total penalty yards—by the time the third quarter rolled around. Dripping with sarcasm, Michaels offered to let crew chief and NFL referee Clete Blakeman call the rest of the game.
Al Michaels is sick and tired of all the flags:
— Ari Meirov (@MySportsUpdate) December 1, 2023
“We’re gonna take the rest of the night off and let Clete Blakeman call the game.”
"we're gonna take the rest of the night off and let Clete Blakeman call the game" lol https://t.co/HydbjreBu3 pic.twitter.com/JehvOOCTDJ
— alex (@highlightheaven) December 1, 2023
It was a perfectly delivered line by Michaels, who also had a good zinger when he roasted Cowboys cornerback DaRon Bland after he gave up a long touchdown to Seahawks wide receiver DK Metcalf. But Michaels’s best line of the night was clearly his snarky comment about the officiating, as he spoke for the masses, who were tired of seeing arguably the best Thursday Night Football matchup of the year ruined by endless starts and stops in game play.
Michaels has come under fire for his perceived lack of enthusiasm while calling games this year, but moments like this one reinforce that he can be one of the most entertaining commentators in the sports world.
