Al Michaels, who turns 81 next month, doesn’t quite have the fastball he used to. Now, that should shock nobody, given the fact that … he turns 81 next month. 

That’s old. Al looks great for 80, don’t get me wrong, but that doesn’t mean he sounds great. Or is still as sharp as he once was. Or has the eyes for the ball like he did back in the 80s and 90s. 

Obviously, he doesn’t. No 80-year-old is as sharp as they were when they were 30 or 40. Shoot, they’re not as sharp as they were at 75. That’s just how it works. Well, that’s how I hear it works. Luckily, I haven’t gotten to that point yet. Can’t wait to find out, though!

Anyway, all that to say … Al Michaels was atrocious during last night’s 49ers-Rams game, and it was ALARMING:

Look, I’ve written about terrible Al Michaels games plenty over the years here at OutKick. It’s a running joke that it’s my weekly blog on Fridays in the fall. 

I’ve never seen it this bad. That was an all-timer last night, and not in a good way. I’m genuinely confused as to what was going on with Al during the roughing the passer call. 

Why was he so confused? Did he just not hear the ref? Even Herbie was hesitant to jump in and correct him, I think, because he was genuinely confused at what Al was confused about. 

And how about the phantom fumble at the end of the game? What’s Al looking at there? The ball was never out. Not even close. Odd. Sad. 

It does make me sad. I love Al Michaels. I want him to announce games till he’s 140. I love the snarky attitude he brings. The gambling one-liners. The lore. The mystique. All of it. 

But I’m gonna need him to at least give me a better effort moving forward. I don’t need vintage stuff. Just something that shows me you’re still around. That you’ve still got it. Maybe it ain’t 98 on the black anymore, but that you can still hit 93 when necessary. 

Let’s dial it in, Al. A lot of season left.