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http://www.latimes.com/sports/rams/la-sp-rams-al-michaels-20161214-story.html
Rams fan Al Michaels recalls his first trip to the Coliseum to see them play in 1958
Los Angeles Rams game Al Michaels attended are etched in the broadcaster’s brain like his wedding anniversary and Social Security number.
“It was Nov. 2, 1958, my first time in the Coliseum, and the attendance was 100,470,” Michaels, now 72, said this week. “It was a tremendous game, the Rams won, 41-35, over the Bears, and Jon Arnett had a game for the ages.
“We had just moved here from New York. My father took me to the stadium, and it was exhilarating as a kid to walk in there. It was one of those childhood memories you don’t forget.”
Michaels was 14 at the time, and though he grew up in Brooklyn rooting for the Dodgers, he became “a gigantic Rams fan” after his family moved to Southern California and purchased four Rams season tickets at the 35-yard line with an “average seat price of $3.90,” Michaels said.
So it will be with a touch of nostalgia that Michaels, in his 48th year as a sportscaster, calls his first Los Angeles Rams game in 25 years Thursday night, when he joins Cris Collinsworth in the NBC booth for the Rams’ game against the Seattle Seahawks at CenturyLink Field.
“It will be a lot of fun to say, ‘Los Angeles,’” said Michaels, in his 31st NFL season. “My hope is to live long enough to someday do a home game, one that has somebody at the Rams instead of the Rams at somebody.”
Had this been a normal week, Michaels might have opened the broadcast with his memory of that 1958 game, when Arnett racked up 161 rushing and receiving yards against the George Halas-coached Bears, or that 1991 “Monday Night Football” game, when Steve Bono threw for 306 yards and John Taylor caught six passes for 121 yards for the 49ers.
But this is no ordinary week. Rams Coach Jeff Fisher was fired Monday in the wake of Sunday’s 42-14 loss to Atlanta, the Rams’ eighth loss in nine games.
“The big story with the Rams right now is, who is going to be the next head coach?” Michaels said. “Fisher is out, so what are they going to do? And what about Jared Goff, the No. 1 pick? You have to tell that story.
“The Rams haven’t been featured on national TV this year, so we have that whole canvas to paint. There’s a ton of stuff to talk about. None of it is particularly thrilling for the Rams, but there’s a lot to dig into.”
One subject Michaels and the NBC crew probably won’t touch, even with Seahawks Coach Pete Carroll right there on the sideline, is speculation earlier this week that the Rams could pursue the former USC coach.
Carroll signed a three-year contract extension before this season, has strong working relationships with Seattle General Manager John Schneider and Owner Paul Allen, and the Seahawks reached the Super Bowl in consecutive seasons, winning the first in February 2014. Carroll reiterated Wednesday that he is “not interested” in the Rams job.
“Just because something is out there on Twitter or is reported, we don’t necessarily want to lend credence to it if we don’t believe where there’s smoke there’s fire,” Michaels said. “In this particular case, if we brought something like that up on the air and made it seem like it could happen ….
“That’s an injustice. That’s not serving our audience. You don’t want to put it out there on national television if there’s no possibility of it coming true. So I doubt that’s something we’ll even talk about remotely … unless we get in there and find out something different.”
The Seahawks (8-4-1) are two-touchdown favorites over the Rams (4-9), who will be led by interim coach John Fassel, but Michaels has a hunch — and, he admits, a hope — that the game will be competitive.
“Seattle is a tough place to play, but there’s a part of me that thinks, and I may be wrong, that there’s going to be a different kind of energy with the Rams,” Michaels said. “When you lose your coach on a Monday and you’re playing on a Thursday, it’s different.
“You don’t want to see someone lose their job, but with what took place over the last few days, it gives us covering the game something to really bite into.”
Copyright © 2016, Los Angeles Times
Rams fan Al Michaels recalls his first trip to the Coliseum to see them play in 1958
Los Angeles Rams game Al Michaels attended are etched in the broadcaster’s brain like his wedding anniversary and Social Security number.
“It was Nov. 2, 1958, my first time in the Coliseum, and the attendance was 100,470,” Michaels, now 72, said this week. “It was a tremendous game, the Rams won, 41-35, over the Bears, and Jon Arnett had a game for the ages.
“We had just moved here from New York. My father took me to the stadium, and it was exhilarating as a kid to walk in there. It was one of those childhood memories you don’t forget.”
Michaels was 14 at the time, and though he grew up in Brooklyn rooting for the Dodgers, he became “a gigantic Rams fan” after his family moved to Southern California and purchased four Rams season tickets at the 35-yard line with an “average seat price of $3.90,” Michaels said.
So it will be with a touch of nostalgia that Michaels, in his 48th year as a sportscaster, calls his first Los Angeles Rams game in 25 years Thursday night, when he joins Cris Collinsworth in the NBC booth for the Rams’ game against the Seattle Seahawks at CenturyLink Field.
“It will be a lot of fun to say, ‘Los Angeles,’” said Michaels, in his 31st NFL season. “My hope is to live long enough to someday do a home game, one that has somebody at the Rams instead of the Rams at somebody.”
Had this been a normal week, Michaels might have opened the broadcast with his memory of that 1958 game, when Arnett racked up 161 rushing and receiving yards against the George Halas-coached Bears, or that 1991 “Monday Night Football” game, when Steve Bono threw for 306 yards and John Taylor caught six passes for 121 yards for the 49ers.
But this is no ordinary week. Rams Coach Jeff Fisher was fired Monday in the wake of Sunday’s 42-14 loss to Atlanta, the Rams’ eighth loss in nine games.
“The big story with the Rams right now is, who is going to be the next head coach?” Michaels said. “Fisher is out, so what are they going to do? And what about Jared Goff, the No. 1 pick? You have to tell that story.
“The Rams haven’t been featured on national TV this year, so we have that whole canvas to paint. There’s a ton of stuff to talk about. None of it is particularly thrilling for the Rams, but there’s a lot to dig into.”
One subject Michaels and the NBC crew probably won’t touch, even with Seahawks Coach Pete Carroll right there on the sideline, is speculation earlier this week that the Rams could pursue the former USC coach.
Carroll signed a three-year contract extension before this season, has strong working relationships with Seattle General Manager John Schneider and Owner Paul Allen, and the Seahawks reached the Super Bowl in consecutive seasons, winning the first in February 2014. Carroll reiterated Wednesday that he is “not interested” in the Rams job.
“Just because something is out there on Twitter or is reported, we don’t necessarily want to lend credence to it if we don’t believe where there’s smoke there’s fire,” Michaels said. “In this particular case, if we brought something like that up on the air and made it seem like it could happen ….
“That’s an injustice. That’s not serving our audience. You don’t want to put it out there on national television if there’s no possibility of it coming true. So I doubt that’s something we’ll even talk about remotely … unless we get in there and find out something different.”
The Seahawks (8-4-1) are two-touchdown favorites over the Rams (4-9), who will be led by interim coach John Fassel, but Michaels has a hunch — and, he admits, a hope — that the game will be competitive.
“Seattle is a tough place to play, but there’s a part of me that thinks, and I may be wrong, that there’s going to be a different kind of energy with the Rams,” Michaels said. “When you lose your coach on a Monday and you’re playing on a Thursday, it’s different.
“You don’t want to see someone lose their job, but with what took place over the last few days, it gives us covering the game something to really bite into.”
Copyright © 2016, Los Angeles Times
