Eli Gold’s tenure as the voice of the Crimson Tide Sports Network is a somewhat unlikely one, given that he grew up in New York City with an almost total lack of knowledge about college football.
Eli Gold gets mail. Lots of mail. Alabama football fans from all over thanking him for bringing the total game-day experience to them – whether they are in a 50-yard-line seat with a headset on or watching the game at home with the mute button depressed.
But the ones Gold cherishes the most? The notes from fans who need those pictures painted in their mind of how green the grass is at Bryant-Denny Stadium, the shimmering sheen of how the Tide’s crimson helmets glint in the sun.
“The most impactful response ever from listeners are when I get notes from folks who are blind,” Gold said earlier this week during a call to promote his updated book “Crimson Nation” ($24.95, Triumph Books)
“I am their conduit to their favorite team. When they say they can see the game through my descriptions, it honors me almost beyond words. Why do I describe the Alabama uniforms every week? Because not everyone can see it. Getting letters from those people makes my existence totally worthwhile.
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“And also, the e-mails I get from military members in some God-forsaken foxholes and tents at 4 a.m. when they are with their military buddy who may be a Tennessee fan listening to the Tide and Vols through a speaker on their computer. They thank me for giving them a taste from home. If that doesn’t affect you, something is wrong with you – getting an email from Afghanistan at 3:30 a.m. thanking you for bringing the Tide to them.
“I’m not really cognizant of the TV fans. My job is to paint the word picture and describe the action, primarily for the people who don’t have access to the visual – fans driving in a car, fans who are blind, in a hospital or without TV. I work for them more than anyone else. That’s why you get the color of the uniforms, the pewter gray color of the sky, the smells I’m detecting.”
No College Football?
Eli Gold’s tenure as the voice of the Crimson Tide Sports Network is a somewhat unlikely one, given that he grew up in New York City with an almost total lack of knowledge about college football.
“I was born in 1953, and in those days there wasn’t collegiate sports on the radar in New York,” Eli Gold said. “We had St. John’s basketball that was decent, but football wise it was just Columbia – they were 0-11 and played in Baker Bowl in midtown in front of like 40 people. My life was the Yankees until the Mets came along, the Knicks, Nets, Islanders, Randers, Giants, Jets.
“I was a huge sports fan, massive. I worked at Madison Square Garden selling peanuts. But I didn’t know anything about collegiate sports beyond when the NIT was at MSG. So I knew nothing about college football, and I hate to admit it, but growing up I didn’t know who Bear Bryant was. … Eventually, the longer I was down here in the South as an adult calling hockey games, I caught on. But back then, the only college football we saw was New Year’s Day. And if you hadn’t seen the preceding 11 games, there was no reason to watch Oklahoma play in the Cotton Bowl.”
Takin’ It Easy
Given his unique and exclusive access to Alabama football means Eli Gold spends a fair amount of time with coach Nick Saban. And Gold is amused how “the 15 seconds seeing him gruff behind the podium belies the caring human being that is there.”
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“He is a wonderful man, Coach Saban. It sill sound weird, but the biggest thing to happen to him was the change that came over him in the aftermath of the tornadoes in 2011 when 17 percent of the city was wiped off the map, and he furthered realized how much impact he and the team have as community leaders. That really impacted him.”
When asked about a side of Saban rarely seen, Gold is quick with an musical anecdote.
“One of the things I think is wonderful is that the man loves music, and LOVES the Eagles,” Eli Gold said with a laugh. “He knows all the words. I ran into someone who is a PR liason for the band maybe six years ago heard an interview I gave about this, and he contacted the university and got my contact info to send me a complete discography of the Eagles – every album, CD, everything in the world about the band was in that carton –to give it to Nick Saban on the band’s behalf.
“So one Saturday morning, a game morning when you don’t want to bother the coach with stuff like that at that time, I walked in there to his locker room two hours before the game schlepping this giant carton. He looked at me with no humor in his face even after I said “Beware of men bearing gifts”, but when I explained that the guys from the Eagles sent me this to give to him, It was like Christmas morning to him. He didn’t care suddenly it was two hours before the game.”
The Snake Show
Eli Gold gets even more sentimental when he is asked about Kenny Stabler, the late Alabama football and Oakland Raiders legend who was his long-time color commentary partner.
“Kenny and I were very good friends,” Gold said. “It’s great, because my dad and I could never get New York Giants tickets, so we got New York Titans tickets when they were in the AFL and we used to boo Ken Stabler mercilessly when he would come in with the Raiders.
Betsided
“Kenny was a wonderful partner in the booth, and we complemented each other so well. I study and over-prepare, but I had never taken a snap in the SEC, the NFL and never wore a Super Bowl ring. Snake had that innate ability to take that knowledge he had, which is way up there, and bring it down to a level where normal folks like me could understand it.
“One thing I always tell people about Snake is hopefully I’ll get to heaven one day, and I’ll find the Snake and kill him. Because he didn’t do doctors – just didn’t like them or want to know about them. He knew he was not well, and had he gone and had his colonoscopy and seen the doctor, he would still be alive today. His was the highest recovery rate of any kind of cancer, but by the time it got to the point to see one, it was Stage 4 and there wasn’t much they could do for him. That checkup won’t kill you. If we can learn anyone from Snake, and thank him for all the good times on the air, go to the doctor and get checked out.”
Gold was thrilled that Stabler was inducted to the Pro Football Hall of Fame in 2015, even though it was bittersweet that Stabler knew it would never happen while he was alive.
“He knew he would never get into the Hall of Fame while he was alive,” Gold said. “Every year when the news came, I’d be upset when he didn’t get in every year, because his stats and accomplishments were Hall of Fame. He would say every year ‘I’m telling ya, I ain’t never getting in until I’m dead!’ because he didn’t feel he treated the media right. And look, his body wasn’t even cold before the gates to Canton were opened up for him.”
Although their on-air connection was pure kismet, Eli Gold cherishes the moments with Stabler that didn’t make air even more.
“Traveling with Snake was like traveling with McCartney. Going through airports and hotel lobbies and restaurants, it was like sports royalty walking in,” Gold said. “And didn’t matter who they were a fan of, the man never denied a request for an autograph or photograph, never denied a chance to chat with someone. He loved it. He was a player for the people.
“Also, working with Kenny was awesome because his notes were limited but his preparation was extensive. He would also diagram plays sitting next to him. I’m watching out of the corner of my right eye. He was taking notes like a quarterback watching film. Something would come up later in the game and he would furiously thumb through those plays and tell us exactly what was about to happen. Early on, it was almost distracting how he would just break things down in a way I had never seen before.”
Future Is Gold
Approaching his 63rd birthday in December, Eli Gold is proud that he has recently signed a new 10-year contract with the Crimson Tide Radio Network to continue to talk Alabama football to Alabama football fans.
“And if God is good to me with my health and eyesight, I pray to sign another one after that,” Eli Gold said. “This is what I do. I’ve been traveling and talking about sports since was 17 and a half, and once you get that wanderlust in your blood it is hard to shake. Even on the off weekend, I’m doing Michigan-Michigan State and I still do NFL games on Sundays. …I still have game. So the fans are stuck with me.
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“This is one of those special jobs in the sports world that stands out among all the rest. You cradle this position as if you were holding a piece of rare crystal, this job has that much gravitas to it. … Alabama is in that rarefied air. Being the conduit, supplying the romance of radio that you get through no other means of communication, between the play by play man and the listeners, that makes this the greatest job in the world.”