“I’m not convinced he knows who Taylor Swift is” – NFL fans pile on Al Michaels after TNF jibe

Published Oct 21, 2022 16:29 GMT

Longtime sportscaster Al Michaels (left) and Taylor Swift (right).

Al Michaels has been one of the most iconic voices in sports for decades. After last season, he left NBC Sports and joined the newly established Amazon Prime's 'Thursday Night Football'. Michaels is now paired up with ESPN College Football analyst Kirk Herbstreit.

On the Week 7 broadcast of the game between the Arizona Cardinals and New Orleans Saints, superstar Taylor Swift made an announcement about her newest album titled 'Midnights'. The announcement was accompanied by a teaser trailer for the newest music videos as well.

When the broadcast went back to Michaels and Herbstreit, the broadcaster had an interesting take on what he had just heard. He then suggested that since Herbstreit had four sons, that he wouldn't know much about Swift but said that his own granddaughter was a big fan.

These comments suggesting that Swift only had female fans took a lot of viewers by shock. NFL fans on Twitter voiced their opinion on the situation, stating that guys can be fans and appreciate Swift's music as well.

How long has Al Michaels been a sports broadcaster?

At 77 years old, Al Michaels is one of the longest tenured sports broadcasters still in the business. His first step into sports broadcasting came in 1967 when he was hired as the color commentator for the Los Angeles Lakers.

He had many part-time broadcasting jobs in many sports but, in 1977, he was hired by ABC Sports as a full-time broadcaster. He worked for ABC Sports until 2005 when the network lost its broadcasting rights to air NFL games.

During that time, he called some of the greatest sporting events of all time. This included the 'Miracle on Ice' when the men's United States hockey team defeated the Soviet Union at the 1980 Olympics. He also covered Major League Baseball's World Series and Monday Night Football.

In 2003, when ABC started airing NBA games, Al Michaels was tasked with the opportunity to be in the lead of the team that would cover the NBA finals.

In 2005, he made the move to NBC Sports and has called NFL games and partaken in Olympic coverage. In 2016, he took over as the main color commentator on Thursday Night Football alongside Cris Collinsworth.

About the author

Bethany Cohen is an NFL writer at Sportskeeda, with a rich prior 15-year experience in the sports writing industry, primarily covering the MLB and MiLB. She majored in Communications from the University of South Florida and has previously worked for top companies such as Examiner.com and Legends on Deck.

Bethany owes her NFL allegiance to the Pittsburgh Steelers owing to their long-standing tradition and competitiveness. She is a fan of old stalwarts such as Terry Bradshaw and Franco Harris and would love to watch them in the 1970s if she manages to get her hand on a time machine. She also acknowledges the greatness of modern icons like T.J. Watt for his desire to continuously improve despite being on top. She admires coaches Mike Tomlin and Andy Reid for their longevity and success.

The ace reporter credits her knowledge and love for the sport to be her biggest reporting strengths. Prior fact-checking is a big component of her process and she always scours through additional sources to ensure complete accuracy in her content.

Super Bowl XLIII, when the Steelers won the the grand prize after Santonio Holmes’ epic catch in the end zone with just seconds left on the clock is etched in Bethany’s memory forever. When she is free of her professional commitments, she likes to attend sports events and music concerts.

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