Was Al Michaels fed up with the Los Angeles Rams’ PA announcer, or is he just fed up with Thursday Night Football?
During the Rams–Raiders matchup Thursday night, the Amazon Prime play-by-play voice went on a rant complaining about SoFi Stadium’s PA announcer for continuously attempting to fire up the crowd. While it was the Rams’ PA announcer who drew the ire of Michaels, it felt like some misdirected aggravation for a renowned play-by-play voice who hasn’t fully adjusted to the dismal primetime schedule that is Thursday Night Football.
Salty Al Michaels is the best Al Michales. pic.twitter.com/vwgxkkz6SM
— Jimmy Traina (@JimmyTraina) December 9, 2022
“It’s hard to tell where the crowd is right now,” said Michaels. “I think mainly Raiders a little bit, but you have a PA announcer here who incessantly screams, ‘WHOSE HOUSE?’”
Thursday Night Football analyst Kirk Herbstreit chimed in to taunt Michaels with, “You love it.”
“I hate it,” Michaels quickly fired back. “He wants them to say, ‘Rams’ house,’ but as far as the Raiders are concerned, well, this is kinda like their Airbnb.”
As Michaels’ gripe with the PA announcer went viral, the voice of the Rams at SoFi Stadium weighed in on Twitter, defending his fervor and the meek Los Angeles crowd.
Thank you to our Fans for making @RamsNFL their passion. We are fortunate to have fans that keep growing and going strong. Our game day production crews on the field, in the control booth & throughout the building are all working to build the best experience in the #RamsHouse !
— Sam Laganà (@SamWithTheRams) December 9, 2022
Grumpy Al is the opposite of Joe Buck, who couldn’t shake his excitement as he enthusiastically welcomed viewers to ESPN for Monday Night Football earlier this week. It’s the PA announcers’ job to hype the crowd. He doesn’t get to take the day off just because Raiders fans invaded Los Angeles, a city that still hasn’t embraced having two NFL teams of their own. But if Michaels isn’t having fun, no one can have fun.
