As a sports play-by-play announcer, Al Michaels has been one of my professional idols for a long time, so it hit me pretty hard when the primary voice of Sunday Night Football was arrested on Friday night near Santa Monica, Calif. for allegedly driving drunk. According to ESPN, Michaels was pulled over at approximately 9:30 p.m. on Friday night and then registered a blood-alcohol level that was over the legal limit of .08 percent. Michaels was released on his own recognizance and has reportedly been in contact with NBC since then.
The 68-year-old Michaels is an Emmy Award winner and manned the Monday Night Football play-by-play position with ABC before joining NBC in 2007. He’s become the voice of primetime football at the professional level and his silky-smooth delivery is one of a kind. He applies a baseball delivery to football that has worked like a charm in making him the most recognizable voice in the NFL since his partner, color commentator and Hall of Fame coach John Madden, retired in 2009.
That incredible delivery that no one has been able to imitate (believe me, I’ve tried) made Michaels an idol to younger broadcasters like me. Obviously, no one mistake makes someone a bad person, but it’s tough to see your professional role model in a state like this. There’s been no statement by Michaels or NBC as of Sunday night.
