On September 10, radio host Rush Limbaugh lauded pro football play-by-play announcer Al Michaels and expert analyst John Madden for echoing (as Media Matters for America previously noted) the Bush-Cheney '04 talking point that Senator John Kerry (D-MA) flip-flops on the issues.

After playing the clip of Michaels and Madden from ABC's coverage of the September 9 National Football League (NFL) game broadcast from Foxboro, Massachusetts, Limbaugh commented during the September 10 edition of The Rush Limbaugh Show:

LIMBAUGH: So the caller was calling, “Did you hear it?” I said, “Yeah, not only did we hear it, we have it, and we wanted to air it for you.” [laughter]. Madden says, “It's what you call a flip flop.” And Michaels says, “Yep, you're in the right state for that.” My buddies, Al Michaels and John Madden.

Limbaugh briefly appeared as a commentator on ESPN's Sunday NFL Countdown during the 2003 NFL season before resigning from the show on October 1, 2003, after making racially insensitive statements regarding Philadelphia Eagles quarterback Donovan McNabb.