Kirk Herbstreit, Al Michaels share how they’ve developed chemistry in broadcasting
By Keith Farner
Published:
Kirk Herbstreit and Al Michaels will call their first NFL regular season game this week for Amazon’s “Prime Video,” the Chargers-Chiefs game on Thursday.
During a podcast appearance on “The Marchand and Ourand Sports Media Podcast,” Herbstreit and Michaels shared how they’ve gotten to know one another.
“I think we have a lot in common because of our love for sports,” Herbstreit said, and noted that they can sit around with their crew and talk about horse racing, baseball or other sports. “I think it’s just a passion for sports in general that is a common bond that we have.”
Michaels, who has had several partners and even been in 3-man booths over the years, echoed Herbstreit’s thoughts. Michaels noted that they’ve had several dinners together, and attended a seminar at Amazon. They’ve already done one preseason game for Amazon.”
“The key thing is, and it’s going to evolve through the season, and the good thing for me too, is I tell so many stories, but I’m bringing in a new group, which is great because I’m telling the same stories over and over,” he said. “It’s great having Kirk as a partner and I thought for an opening salvo, that felt really comfortable that night.”
Herbstreit added that Michaels is an easy guy to talk with, and “chemistry is everything in a booth, and it allows you to then carry that into the the booth and now you just happen to be talking about football for 3 and a half, 4 hours and away you go. It’s one thing to do your job, but it’s another thing to come together and do it in a seamless feel, more of a comfortable listen.”
Later in the podcast, they discuss how Michaels doesn’t eat vegetables, and how it’s a pattern with other broadcasters as well.
CLIP: You want to make it as a sportscaster, we had Al Michaels and Kirk Herbstreit and may have found the secret sauce.
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— Andrew Marchand (@AndrewMarchand) September 14, 2022
A former newspaper veteran, Keith Farner is a news manager for Saturday Down South.
