Michael Strahan's Good Morning America colleagues know that when duty – aka football – calls, he has to deliver.
While the ABC mainstay left the NFL world as a player over ten years ago in 2008 – following a Super Bowl win with the Giants – he has remained close to his roots by way of consistent sports correspondence when football season picks up.
Now, with the Super Bowl teams officially set and only two weeks left before the season-ending championship, the former defensive end's schedule is busier than ever, but good thing he has his GMA colleagues to back him up.
On GMA's Monday, January 29 program, Michael was absent from his usual seat next to longtime co-stars Robin Roberts and George Stephanopoulos, who instead had fellow GMA mainstay Rebecca Jarvis anchoring by their side.
Michael, at least as of Sunday night, was instead across the country in Santa Clara, California, where a nail-biting, unexpected game between the Detroit Lions and the San Francisco 49ers took place.
He was pictured at the end of the game in conversation with 49ers stars Brock Purdy, Christian McCaffrey, and George Kittle, among others, as they celebrated their impressive victory.
Just hours before the game, he had also sat down to interview Lions head coach Dan Campbell, who was previously his teammate on the Giants in the early 2000s, and this year led his team through a historic season.
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"Had a great time sitting down with my former teammate Dan Campbell," Michael wrote on Instagram, adding: "A great teammate and a great leader for Detroit."
Though up until halftime the game was turning out to be in the Lions' favor – they are one of only four teams in the NFL to have never made it to the Super Bowl – the 49ers took everyone by surprise when they cinched a last minute advantage, eventually defeating the fan-favorite underdogs 34-31.
They are now headed to the Super Bowl to face off, once again, against the Kansas City Chiefs, with hopes of redeeming their loss to them from the 2020 Super Bowl. The 49ers last won a Super Bowl in 1995 when they defeated the San Diego Chargers in a 49-26 game; meanwhile, this will be the fourth time the Chiefs, who won last year, head to the Super Bowl in the last five seasons.
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