Al Michaels ready to call Super Bowl
Sunday marks something of a milestone for Al Michaels.
It was 30 years ago that the veteran of Olympics, Monday Night Football telecasts, NFL, NBA and MLB postseasons and many other high-profile sporting events took part in his first Super Bowl, doing studio duties for ABC for its coverage of Super Bowl XIX, won by Joe Montana and the San Francisco 49ers, who defeated Dan Marino’s Miami Dolphins, 38-16, at Stanford Stadium in Northern California.
Since, he’s gone on to call play-by-play on six more NFL title games with various booth partners at ABC, and been “traded’’ in 2006 for Oswald the Lucky Rabbit to NBC, where he’s done two more.
He’s also seen the game go from championship game to major TV event to cultural phenomenon. Or, as he puts it, “They might as well declare it an official national holiday.’’
On Sunday he joins analyst Cris Collinsworth to call his ninth NFL title game and third for NBC when the Seattle Seahawks seek to make it two championships in a row against the New England Patriots in Super Bowl XLIX at University of Phoenix Stadium in Glendale, Ariz.
As for past Super Bowl thrills, Michaels indicates his biggest came in 2009, when the Pittsburgh Steelers came from behind after blowing a big lead late in the game to defeat the Arizona Cardinals, 27-23, in Super Bowl XLIII at Raymond James Stadium in Tampa, Fla. It was the franchise’s record sixth Vince Lombardi Trophy.
“(It was) a back-and-forth game that featured two of the greatest plays in Super Bowl history,’’ he says. “James Harrison’s 100-yard interception return for a touchdown as the half expired, and Santonio Holmes’ phenomenal catch in the corner of the end zone to cap a 93-yard, game-winning drive in the final minute.’’
While many broadcasters fondly remember their first Super Bowl, Michaels was underwhelmed by his first as a main play-by-play man for ABC in 1988, when the Washington Redskins blew out the Denver Broncos, 42-10, in Super Bowl XXII at Jack Murphy Stadium in San Diego.
“The great thing was the nerves were gone once the game started,’’ he says. “It could have been much more fun, except Washington led Denver 35-10 at the half.’’
In addition to big games, the 70-year-old native of Brooklyn, N.Y., has worked with his share of larger-than-life personalities over the years, probably none more so than the man who was the face of ABC Sports in the 1970s and 1980s, Howard Cosell. He recounts many of his career memories in his new book, “You Can’t Make This Up: Miracles, Memories, and the Perfect Marriage of Sports and Television,’’ in which Cosell is a featured player.
“Let’s put it this way,’’ Michaels says, “it’s worth 15-18 pages in my new book. He ran the gamut from charming to cantankerous.’’
