One of the all-time great sports broadcasters, Al Michaels has seen just about everything sports has to offer.
From the United States hockey team’s upset of the Soviets in the 1980 Olympics to the St. Louis Rams’ goal-line stop of the Tennessee Titans in Super Bowl XXXIV, and the list goes on, there aren’t many outcomes Michaels hasn’t been there to witness personally.
It’s easy to think those experiences, along with his access to players, coaches and information the average fan doesn’t have, give Michaels a leg up when it comes to predicting the outcome of games. However, as he explained on the latest episode of HBO’s Back on the Record with Bob Costas, those first-hand accounts only speak more to how unpredictable sports truly are. That’s why he doesn’t recommend sports betting as anything more than recreation.
“As much information as we have and collect and have access to, and watch film and all of the rest, and meet with the coaches and the quarterbacks, I don’t know who’s going to win the game. And if I had to make my living betting, you might find me living under a freeway overpass. I know that. Because you can’t beat it. You can not beat it.
“So I think this legalized gambling now around the country…OK, you know, it’s kind of fun. But I would hope that people don’t bet the mortgage money and the rent money and food money and the kids’ education money on it. I mean, it’s one thing to bet 50 bucks on a game and, you know, have a little fun. But if this becomes your life, good luck.”
Costas broached the subject of gambling because of Michaels’ ability to inject those storylines into broadcasts before sports betting was widely accepted and legalized. The clip below is from a 2010 preseason game Michaels called between the San Francisco 49ers and Minnesota Vikings, where a safety on the final play was more significant than the average viewer might know.
Michaels said he never personally bet on games, but he had fun going against the grain as far as what networks and leagues wanted.
“It was fun being the rascal. There’s no question about it. I can still be a bit of a rascal, but now everybody knows you can mention certain things you couldn’t a few years ago,” Michaels said. “A lot of people used to think, ‘oh, he must have money on that game.’ I don’t. I have it. Because the thing I love about sports is that you don’t know what’s going to happen.”
