Veteran broadcaster Al Michaels has drawn fierce criticism from football fans after committing what viewers branded a 'cardinal sin' during the Thursday Night Football broadcast.
Calling the Atlanta Falcons' clash against the Green Bay Packers at Lambeau Field on Amazon Prime Video, the 81-year-old commentator endured a nightmare start to the action.
Amazon Prime Video acquired the exclusive broadcast rights to Thursday Night Football beginning with the 2022 season, marking a significant shift in how the National Football League distributes its games. The streaming platform brought in Michaels to give the broadcast a traditional television feel, leaning on his decades of experience as the play-by-play announcer for both Monday Night Football and Sunday Night Football.
During the opening drive of Thursday's game, Michaels attempted to recap the college journey of Falcons quarterback Michael Penix Jr, only to get his facts completely wrong on national television.
In an attempt to set the scene, Michaels told viewers that Penix Jr had started his career at Indiana before having 'two great years at Oregon.'
Penix Jr was selected eighth overall by the Falcons in the 2024 NFL Draft. He is currently serving as a backup in Atlanta, but his collegiate success made him a prominent figure in the sport. He led his team to the College Football Playoff National Championship game in 2023, finishing as the runner-up for the Heisman Trophy.
College football fans quickly seized on the glaring error by Michaels, pointing out that Penix starred for the Washington Huskies, who are fierce rivals of the Oregon Ducks.
The rivalry between Washington and Oregon, often referred to as the Border War, is one of the most intense in collegiate athletics. The two Pacific Northwest programs have competed against each other for over a century. Confusing a star player's allegiance between these two bitter rivals is considered a massive faux pas among college football enthusiasts, and Penix had notably defeated Oregon on multiple occasions during his time at Washington.
While Michaels later corrected himself and tried to move past the slip-up, the damage across social media was already done.
Social media backlash
Taking to X, the social media platform formerly known as Twitter, one disgruntled fan wrote: 'Al Michaels just committed the cardinal sin of football, saying Michael Penix had "two great years at Oregon." He corrected himself after my blood pressure had already spiked.'
'Al Michaels is already drunk. He said Michael Penix went to Oregon when he actually went to Washington,' another user added on the platform.
The criticism continued to roll in as fans expressed their disbelief at the veteran broadcaster's opening remarks. Another viewer wrote: 'Al Michaels just said Penix played at Oregon after Indiana. Flying out of the gate.'
'Al Michaels really just said 'started his career at Indiana, then two great years at Oregon' bruh Someone got in his ear to correct him right away, but confusing Washington for their rival won't make fans happy,' said another user.
Previous broadcast controversy
It marked the second time in two weeks that Michaels has faced backlash from NFL fans. The latest embarrassing moment came just one week after Michaels took a brutal on-air shot at Donald Trump over his failed $1 billion attempt to buy the Buffalo Bills.
During last week's Thursday Night Football clash, Michaels detailed the sale of the franchise. 'There were basically three bidders. Pegula, who won it at [$1.4 billion]; a Toronto group, [rock star Jon] Bon Jovi was in it…'
Michaels continued: 'And the other bidder, Donald J Trump, who said publicly, "I'm gonna write a cashier's check for a billion dollars." The league said, "nah, we're good. We'll take Pegula."'
Terry Pegula's 2014 purchase of the team represented Trump's fourth failed run at buying an NFL franchise. This tally does not include Trump's doomed foray into the United States Football League in the 1980s, when he owned the New Jersey Generals before the league ultimately folded following a high-profile antitrust lawsuit against the NFL.
Political backlash
Trump supporters quickly took offense at Michaels's comment during the previous week's broadcast.
'People watch football to escape all the bulls*** that goes on in the world,' one angry critic wrote on X. 'Nobody wants to hear that political nonsense.'
'lol am I supposed to care more about a guy that speaks on sports for a living or the sitting president?' another user asked. 'F*** Al.'
One critic suggested Michaels 'retire because he's becoming more senile every week.'
'Remember,' they added, 'Go woke, go broke.'
