Al Michaels having fun again on ‘Thursday Night Football’

After years of being criticized for lacking enthusiasm on Thursday Night Football, who knew a little snow was all it would take for Al Michaels to have some fun.

At 80-years-old and in his third season with calling games for Amazon Prime Video, Michaels never sounded happier than he did Thursday night. It wasn’t necessarily a good game between the Pittsburgh Steelers and Cleveland Browns. It was at least a close game, with the Browns winning 24-19. But more importantly, snow is magical. So magical that Michaels wasn’t packing his bags in the final minutes of Thursday night’s broadcast, he was begging for more.

“I’m not sure I want this to end,” Michaels said shortly after the Browns scored what was ultimately a game-winning touchdown with under a minute to go. “This one’s too much fun!”

Too much fun? Doesn’t want it to end? A Thursday Night Football game? If the audience didn’t know any better, they may have thought Michaels was back calling games for ABC or NBC. And it wasn’t just Michaels telling us he was having fun, it sounded like he was having fun. His call of the Russell Wilson’s late touchdown to Calvin Austin III was peak Al Michaels. Here he was on Amazon Prime Video, having fun, showing energy, laughing, enjoying the game and the broadcast. Because…snow. It was majestic, it was magical, it hopefully causes the Browns to rethink their dome plans, but it definitely rejuvenated Al Michaels.

Amazon’s NFL voice has spent much of the last three years defending himself from critics who claim he’s too mundane on Thursday Night Football. The legendary play-by-play voice has blamed the schedule and also argued that he tries to save his voice for the biggest moments. But the criticisms of Michaels in recent years have been valid, with his call of the Steelers-Titans game last season seeming like a low point.

Thursday night, however, Michaels sounded rejuvenated by the snow, proving he’s still more than capable of meeting the moment. His contract with Amazon Prime expires after this season. But Thursday night, Michaels showed he can still bring more value to a broadcast than name recognition.

[Amazon Prime Video]