I don't know if anyone else saw this, but on tonight's Sunday Night Football telecast between the Bears and the Packers, Michaels came out and opened the broadcast by saying "I don't know if global warming is fact or myth but it's 50 degrees in Chicago on New Years Eve. We'll take it!" First off Al, if it was 20 degrees in Chicago on New Years Eve, global warming would still be a fact. Ask any scientist who isn't being payed by the oil companies, and they'd tell you this. It's a shame that Al used NBC's airwaves to do Exxon's bidding but considering Michaels' track record of injecting political commentary into his NFL broadcasts, it's not that much of a surprise.
First off, Michaels is a staunch Republican who contributed to Bush's 2004 campaign. However, it's not just that. Michaels has a quite an extensive history of making political comments during NFL games. For instance, in 2004, Michaels used the airwaves to take a swipe at John Kerry during a game between the Raiders and Patriots.
MICHAELS: What a wacky series.
MADDEN: This is what you call a flip-flop.
MICHAELS: You're in the right state for that.
And then just a week later, Michaels then made complementary comments towards Condeleeza Rice
MICHAELS: Condoleeza Rice, the national security adviser, is right there. And she's in town because her father was at Johnson [C.] Smith College [sic: University], and she was delivering a speech there. I read an interview with her a couple of years ago, John, when she talked about what she wanted to do post-government career. She wanted to be the commissioner of the National Football League. I said come to the booth. It's a lot easier. She said now that really sounds like a good idea.
MADDEN: I think there's going to be a job open there for the commissioner of the National Football League in a couple years. I think that [NFL commissioner] Paul Tagliabue signed a new contract, but I think he's only going to be there a couple more years. So if she can just wait a couple years, that job, I think, will be open.
MICHAELS: Well, she hopes it will be four. But we're not supposed to talk anything besides football, so, sorry.
Al Michaels' injection of political commentary has no place during an NFL game. I know that a lot of the people who cover the NFL and other sports are probably Republicans, but they at least are able to keep the political issues to themselves and strictly call the game. Michaels, on the other hand, has a fairly extensive history of making political comments during telecasts which I think is uncalled for. He shouldn't be talking about things like global warming, John Kerry's flip-flops, or how great Condoleeza Rice is; he should be talking about the game! If I tune into a sports broadcast, I expect the broadcaster to talk about the game and not reiterate some political talking points!