He sounded good last year. It's not about that. They wanted one voice, rather than it split.
Eli Gold Not Expected To Return To Booth In 2024
- Thread starter Mke4Bama
- Start date
Another reminder that I'm getting older
It was a long time ago now. Perk not only replaced Forney with Kennedy but took down Bryant's tower and switched sponsors from Coke/Golden Flake to Pepsi/Frito-Lay. A tone-deaf effort to move out of Bryant's shadow.
I caught some of Eli's interview on tide 100.9. Apparently his recent performance was at least part of the reason they decided to move on (understandably). He sounded (understandably) unhappy about the situation, but said his next gig(s) would be announced in the next few days.
I really hope that when the dust settles UA and Eli can come together and find a way to properly honor and acknowledge his place in Bama football history. I suspect that this story got out before either party was ready for it to, so the emotions are raw, and CTSN/UA end up looking callous and inept.
Chris Stewart has been waiting in the wings a while and is definitely ready to be Eli's successor. He has great energy, I can visualize his game calls quite easily, and he's not afraid to point out a bad call.
I really hope that when the dust settles UA and Eli can come together and find a way to properly honor and acknowledge his place in Bama football history. I suspect that this story got out before either party was ready for it to, so the emotions are raw, and CTSN/UA end up looking callous and inept.
Chris Stewart has been waiting in the wings a while and is definitely ready to be Eli's successor. He has great energy, I can visualize his game calls quite easily, and he's not afraid to point out a bad call.
The abruptness of this situation tells me that no exit strategy was ever discussed. If that is true, why not? Pushing out a legend is not a good look for anybody.
Squib I respect your opinion. I just want what is best for Bama. I just feel like we continue to lose traditions but if we aren't 100% in the radio booth , we need to be. Appreciate you Squib.
Meh.
I don't really care anymore. I'm pretty sure I'm done with CFB at this point. The transfer portal, NIL, conference juggling, etc have simply ruined it for me.
Just don't care.
I don't really care anymore. I'm pretty sure I'm done with CFB at this point. The transfer portal, NIL, conference juggling, etc have simply ruined it for me.
Just don't care.
I miss the old days. Jan 1st bowl games and players that gave a dam about their school.
I’ve tried to find something to compare it to so you can see how it turns out on the other side.
no luck yet
Eli sounded a little petty with his response. I know he wanted to continue, but listening to him last year, it seemed below the standard that ELI had for years.
We don't always have a choice when our time is over.
He can fill his schedule with Nascar and hockey games. I never liked that Eli did voice for other sports.
Chris Stewart waited for a long time to have this role. He deserves it while he has some prime professional time left.
I'm guessing the split schedule was half the work for Eli but double the work for the behind the scenes folks...
Chris Stewart waited for a long time to have this role. He deserves it while he has some prime professional time left.
I'm guessing the split schedule was half the work for Eli but double the work for the behind the scenes folks...
Pretty happy for Chris Stewart taking over. Best of luck to Eli
I always go out in my garage and listen to a little of the game radio coverage. It’s kind of an ode to my Dad as we always listened to the non televised games via radio while I was growing up.
I love Mr Gold and will always cherish the fantastic job he did in his coverage of Bama football. That being said, I think Chris does an excellent job and has paid his dues. There will come a day when his time will end as well. We lost the best coach in the history of team sports. This is but another thing we will have to endure along the way.
What I do know is that Alabama athletics will always be paramount in the landscape of college sports regardless of whomever is at the helm. We have the history to back this up for sure.RTR.
I love Mr Gold and will always cherish the fantastic job he did in his coverage of Bama football. That being said, I think Chris does an excellent job and has paid his dues. There will come a day when his time will end as well. We lost the best coach in the history of team sports. This is but another thing we will have to endure along the way.
What I do know is that Alabama athletics will always be paramount in the landscape of college sports regardless of whomever is at the helm. We have the history to back this up for sure.RTR.
Did anyone shame Saban for getting rid of Stabler? A National title winning AND super bowl winning QB for the University. Yeah, Kenny liked to drink but he was an Oakland Raider in the 70s, kinda what they did then.
Eli has done a great job, but no one is entitled to anything. I guess there are reasons.
Eli has done a great job, but no one is entitled to anything. I guess there are reasons.
Several thoughts on this.
There are some parallels and some differences between the end of Eli's tenure and the end of John Forney's.
Without question, Forney was pushed out by Ray Perkins. Previous posters have noted other of Perkins' moves. I seriously doubt DeBoer had anything to do with Eli's departure.
Eli was the voice of Alabama football during the Stallings and Saban glory years. Forney was the voice of Alabama football during the Bryant heydays. Both unquestionably loved University of Alabama athletics. If you couldn't watch the game on TV or in person, both were maddening to listen to.
In Forney's day, not many games were televised. In Gold's tenure, almost all of them were. Neither was worth anything in keeping a listener up to date on down, distance and clock.
Due to so little TV, it was a greater flaw for Forney. Gold got bailed out by people watching on TV and listening to him for the play-by-play....announcing the details wasn't as important. The last time I had to listen to Eli calling a game with no visual accompaniment was vs. South Carolina in Columbia in 2019. Long story short, I had to listen while driving. I was yelling at the radio and about to pull my hair out trying to follow.
My parents used to tell similar stories about listening to games broadcast by Forney. Even before his illness, there was significant dissatisfaction with Eli expressed on this board.
So with all the nostalgia for Eli, I'm reminded of an old joke: How many Alabama fans does it take to change a burned-out light bulb? Four. One to change the burned-out bulb, and three to stand around and talk about how good the old one was.
When I was active in the Alumni Association, I dealt with Eli several times. He has an opinion of himself that is common amongst a lot of performers and basks in the reflected glow of the success of the program during much of his tenure. As if he had a hand in the on-field success of the team.
Then Eli got sick, and it was tough. Chris Stewart made it quite clear that he was, "just keeping the seat warm," (a phrase he used repeatedly) awaiting Eli's return. That struck me as a bow to Eli's ego.
Some here may remember that Stewart replaced Eli as the voice of Alabama basketball. Through no fault of Stewart's, the decision wasn't handled well. Still, I have no doubt Eli never fully got over that, and Stewart was trying to head off an awkward situation.
After Eli came back from his illness, it was painfully obvious that he wasn't his old self. For all of us, there comes a time when we need to hang it up, whether we want to or not.
Eli clearly doesn't feel that time has yet come for him. Which, in combination with the ego, I think led him to air the laundry publicly. Which is what I think is the real bad look.
As to who made the decision, I don't know. It would not have been made lightly. If I had to guess, Learfield / Crimson Tide Sports Network almost certainly ran it by Greg Byrne. It's also possible that Byrne was the one approaching CTSN. Regardless, Dr. Bell would have been aware, and there may have even been an informal briefing to the Board of Trustees. Those guys hate being blind-sided on something that public. The nightmare would be Byrne or Bell or a member of the BoT not knowing and being asked a question by a reporter. One way or another, they just had to know.
Yes, it's sad. Yes, it was time.
Late Add: Regarding having earned the right to call one's own exit: Compare Bobby Bowden's exit -- stayed in the chair way too long, and FSU finally had to nudge him out -- vs. Nick Saban's. Saban stayed until he either couldn't or no longer wanted to perform to his own championship standards. Then he made a graceful exit.
Bowden and Saban both earned the right to make their own call. Bowden made the wrong one. Saban made the right one.
I agree that Eli had earned the right to call his own exit. But with that right comes the responsibility to know when the time has come. Eli didn't do that. Then he publicly aired a decision he didn't like, clearly aiming to stir public emotion to his side.
There are some parallels and some differences between the end of Eli's tenure and the end of John Forney's.
Without question, Forney was pushed out by Ray Perkins. Previous posters have noted other of Perkins' moves. I seriously doubt DeBoer had anything to do with Eli's departure.
Eli was the voice of Alabama football during the Stallings and Saban glory years. Forney was the voice of Alabama football during the Bryant heydays. Both unquestionably loved University of Alabama athletics. If you couldn't watch the game on TV or in person, both were maddening to listen to.
In Forney's day, not many games were televised. In Gold's tenure, almost all of them were. Neither was worth anything in keeping a listener up to date on down, distance and clock.
Due to so little TV, it was a greater flaw for Forney. Gold got bailed out by people watching on TV and listening to him for the play-by-play....announcing the details wasn't as important. The last time I had to listen to Eli calling a game with no visual accompaniment was vs. South Carolina in Columbia in 2019. Long story short, I had to listen while driving. I was yelling at the radio and about to pull my hair out trying to follow.
My parents used to tell similar stories about listening to games broadcast by Forney. Even before his illness, there was significant dissatisfaction with Eli expressed on this board.
So with all the nostalgia for Eli, I'm reminded of an old joke: How many Alabama fans does it take to change a burned-out light bulb? Four. One to change the burned-out bulb, and three to stand around and talk about how good the old one was.
When I was active in the Alumni Association, I dealt with Eli several times. He has an opinion of himself that is common amongst a lot of performers and basks in the reflected glow of the success of the program during much of his tenure. As if he had a hand in the on-field success of the team.
Then Eli got sick, and it was tough. Chris Stewart made it quite clear that he was, "just keeping the seat warm," (a phrase he used repeatedly) awaiting Eli's return. That struck me as a bow to Eli's ego.
Some here may remember that Stewart replaced Eli as the voice of Alabama basketball. Through no fault of Stewart's, the decision wasn't handled well. Still, I have no doubt Eli never fully got over that, and Stewart was trying to head off an awkward situation.
After Eli came back from his illness, it was painfully obvious that he wasn't his old self. For all of us, there comes a time when we need to hang it up, whether we want to or not.
Eli clearly doesn't feel that time has yet come for him. Which, in combination with the ego, I think led him to air the laundry publicly. Which is what I think is the real bad look.
As to who made the decision, I don't know. It would not have been made lightly. If I had to guess, Learfield / Crimson Tide Sports Network almost certainly ran it by Greg Byrne. It's also possible that Byrne was the one approaching CTSN. Regardless, Dr. Bell would have been aware, and there may have even been an informal briefing to the Board of Trustees. Those guys hate being blind-sided on something that public. The nightmare would be Byrne or Bell or a member of the BoT not knowing and being asked a question by a reporter. One way or another, they just had to know.
Yes, it's sad. Yes, it was time.
Late Add: Regarding having earned the right to call one's own exit: Compare Bobby Bowden's exit -- stayed in the chair way too long, and FSU finally had to nudge him out -- vs. Nick Saban's. Saban stayed until he either couldn't or no longer wanted to perform to his own championship standards. Then he made a graceful exit.
Bowden and Saban both earned the right to make their own call. Bowden made the wrong one. Saban made the right one.
I agree that Eli had earned the right to call his own exit. But with that right comes the responsibility to know when the time has come. Eli didn't do that. Then he publicly aired a decision he didn't like, clearly aiming to stir public emotion to his side.
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You've pretty much nailed the way I see it. Knowing when to walk away is not always easy....it was time.
Everything you wrote above but poor Eli seems like someone who NEEDED the job as a goal in the mist to get his health back. I hope he is happy in his future.
I for one enjoyed most of his work through the years. But last year it was clear to me that we needed to move on. His energy just wasn't there. I didn't hear the passion he had earlier in his career. It may have been there but it wasn't coming across the radio. I for one am thankful because he was there during some dark times trying to be a positive influence. But nobody "deserves" anything. I've been at my job 30 years. If I fail to accomplish my job I'll be shown the door. When that day comes I'll be thankful for the time I had and go find something else to do.
Perkins was also AD.
This is about the university’s brand, and so if any university employee made the call or urged it, had to be Byrne, or at least someone under his command…
Good grief. Yeah, bad form and optics on the part of the University if true, IMO. Eli earned the privilege of retiring on his own. Eli and John Forney were as much a part of Alabama football, in their own ways, as Coach Bryant, Coach Stallings and CNS were in theirs. Disappointed in my alma mater on this one.
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