Joe Buck knew exactly what some of the TV viewers who were watching the end of the “Monday Night Football” game between the Baltimore Ravens and Tampa Bay Buccaneers were thinking.
The Ravens led 41-31 following a Bucs touchdown with 1:58 left at Raymond James Stadium in Tampa, Fla., on Monday night. The Bucs had trailed 41-18 with 6:32 left following a Ravens TD, but they rallied to score two straight touchdowns and make it a 10-point game.
That’s when Buck mentioned Al Michaels and alluded to the betting line for the game.
“Al Michaels is having dinner tonight at Toscana in LA. If he had this headset on, he’d say there are some people starting to sweat the end of this game out. … but that’s Al,” Buck joked.
Toscana is an Italian restaurant in the Brentwood area of Los Angeles.
The Ravens closed as a 4.5-point favorite at many sportsbooks. So with a defensive stop and another touchdown, the Bucs could have made it a 4-point game and somehow put together a backdoor cover. The final ended up being 41-31, with the game going over the total line, and Baltimore covering.
Sports fans definitely appreciated the reference to Michaels, who has long been known to make subtle gambling allusions at the end of games.
