The Al Michaels/John Madden Drinking Game
I don't necessarily think I'll partake in this debauchery, since I'm nearly 30 years old and am obviously 451 times more sophisticated than your average "drinking game" type, but I feel like it's a shame - a damn shame - that nobody seems to have ever created an Al Michaels/John Madden drinking game. And I'm sure that some people like to search "Al Michaels/John Madden Drinking Game" when they do the Google, thus making it possible that my blog will for once become mildly relevant. So here we go. On the eve of the Super Bowl, we've got it. We've finally got it. The Al Michaels/John Madden Drinking Game. Aren't you excited?

*I've gotten help from people with the initials M.A., G.R., D.B., B.S. and perhaps others on this, but I don't want to use their names because they probably don't want to be associated with me or drinking games.

Take ONE drink if...
Al decides not to describe the play, but rather just use player names and the result of the play. Like, "Warner....Fitzgerald.....first down."

Madden says a word from the "boom," "pow," or "bam," family of Emeril Lagasse favourites.

Madden mentions food.

Al weaves in a quick comment about politics, business or general news.


Take TWO drinks if...
Madden says something like, "I kind of like what _________ is doing here."

Al, or an NBC graphic, must be used to correct a mistake by Madden.

Madden references his time as a coach, or what he would do if he were in this situation. (Take an extra drink if he says something like, "I'd play for overtime" when there's still more than a minute left on the clock and a team has the ball at the 40-yard line.)

Madden mentions something along the lines of, "I would start my team with this guy," or, "If I was choosing a kicker this would be my kicker," or anything remotely similar.


Take THREE drinks if...
Madden makes a mistake, but the only thing that makes you realize it was a mistake is three-to-six seconds of stone silence and heavy-ish breathing.

Al makes a reference to the point spread or gambling. The NFL HATES announcers doing this. One example of how Al likes to sneak these references in would be if the score of the game is 28-17 and the over/under is 46. If the team that's ahead scores a touchdown, Al might say something like, "this game is OOOOOOOver in more ways than one."

Madden mentions he's still not over the "Immaculate Reception" game. Especially applicable for games involving the Pittsburgh Steelers.

GOOD LUCK!