Joe Buck knows Al Michaels will forever be synonymous with Monday Night Football and making disguised gambling references.
With less than two minutes to go as the Baltimore Ravens were leading the Tampa Bay Buccaneers 41-31 on Monday Night Football, Buck knew there was one reason why much of the audience remained tuned in. Winning the game still seemed farfetched for the Bucs, but covering the spread was in play.
It seemed impossible just a few minutes earlier when Tampa was trailing 41-18, but two quick scores by the Bucs made covering the spread seem attainable. And as Buck cited the fans at home who were anxiously rooting for Baltimore to maintain a more than 4.5 point lead, he also touted Michaels’ propensity to reference betting lines on NFL broadcasts throughout his career.
“Al Michaels is having dinner tonight at Toscana in LA. And if he had this headset on, he’d say there are some people starting to sweat the end of this game out.” – Joe Buck pic.twitter.com/ctPonFU3VK
— Awful Announcing (@awfulannouncing) October 22, 2024
“Al Michaels is having dinner tonight at Toscana in LA,” Buck said. “And if he had this headset on, he’d say there are some people starting to sweat the end of this game out. But that’s Al.”
For those concerned that Buck just doxed Michaels, apparently the legendary play-by-play voice has been dining at Toscana in Los Angeles almost daily for years. They must not be known for their vegetables.
But more important than revealing Michaels’ dinner location, was Buck’s homage to the former voice of Monday Night Football and his betting references. Throughout his career as a prominent NFL broadcaster, Michaels has been known for making gambling references that were clever enough to acknowledge the betting lines, but coy enough to keep from upsetting the NFL.
The NFL has since fully embraced gambling with sports betting now legal in 38 of 50 states, but Michaels won’t let that ruin his fun. He still opts for the veiled betting references, while Buck opted to mask his own betting reference under the guise of an Al Michaels shoutout on Monday Night Football.
About Brandon Contes
Brandon Contes is a staff writer for Awful Announcing and The Comeback. He previously helped carve the sports vertical for Mediaite and spent more than three years with Barrett Sports Media. Send tips/comments/complaints to bcontes@thecomeback.com