Eli Gold Appreciates a Good Deal
Dan Ryan
Monday February 12, 2001
“Hey Eli,” says one radio-type in a golf shirt brandishing his network’s logo. “What’s with that Arena Football deal?”
“Having a lot of fun,” replies Gold, wearing the blue shirt with the Motor Racing Network logo, getting ready for his upcoming stint as MRN’s voice in Turn 3. “Good people, good game, a good deal.”
NASCAR 101 for you northerners: (a) Just about everyone wears a logo (or two, or three or 64) on race day and (b) The word “deal” is the epicenter of the racing vocabulary. Earnhardt takes out Labonte, it’s “that deal in turn two”; an engine blows, it’s “the deal with the engine”; a sponsorship comes through, “it’s a deal with that deal”...you get the idea.
 Eli Gold covers TNN`s weekly AFL game as a play-by-play announcer Image courtesy of TNN |
Getting Gold, a staple of TNN’s racing coverage, was a coup for the AFL. You don’t spend two decades covering Alabama football and NASCAR, two quasi-religions here in the south, without having your voice woven into the fabric of the overall existence.
To the fans, you’re a part of people’s lives on Saturdays and Sundays. To the media types, you are a respected colleague who’s found another deal that might be worth a look.
“What’s happening in the garage is this,” Gold recalls later as we chat in a radio room. “It`s Thursday and the racing folks have already traveled to the race city and they’re in their hotels looking for something to watch on TV. Here’s a live sporting event, old Eli’s doing it. We’ll watch.”
And then there’s this deal: When you’re play-by-play guy on the national game of the week, the role of semi-unofficial spokesperson gets included by means of association.
“The guy who helps bring the product into the living rooms of America is automatically tied to the league,” Gold said. “So I’m not under contract or paid by the league, but if Eli says something, the viewer expects that to be gospel. I do have to be careful sometimes.”
Gold will begin his second season on TNN’s weekly broadcast, joined by Sam Wyche and Jill Arrington. The broadcasts were well-received, the ratings good, which added to the ever-growing credibility.
Gold took the assignment seriously and by the end of the year, was as well-versed with the Bonners and Schexnayders as much as the Barkers and Bennetts. The outside rush rule as easy as how to draft at Talledega.
“I’m a professional. I did my homework,” Gold said. “The fans of any sports, the true fans, deserve to have their sport treated respectfully.
“I have to treat that game between San Jose and Arizona seriously. The Rattler fans and Sabercats treat that game seriously. We’ll have a good time, but the game is the thing.”
A few other notes:
*With the exception of the season opener Apr. 13, the TNN game will be shown Sunday at 4 p.m. Reason? Ratings. “Our highest ratings last year was the Sunday games by a huge margin. TNN’s also carrying the XFL and that gives them 30 straight Sunday afternoons of football. From a travel standpoint, it works for me...because I can be home Sunday nights”
*Best Game last year? “The one that sticks out was the AF2 championship game. The quality of play may not have been Orlando at Arizona, but the building was packed to capacity and the town had turned out for the game. Quad Cities hadn’t been challenged all year and Tennessee Valley was leading in the fourth quarter...that was outstanding from top to finish when you factor in everything.“
*His future with the AFL? “I take this very seriously. With the NFL doing more and more. I see myself coming in at just the right time. I’m excited to be involved and hope to see myself in ten years doing these ballgames.”
That would be a good deal.
Dan Ryan has been involved with all forms of arena football since 1988, including writing for ArenaFan when Joe Kauffman and Tim Capper aren’t killing his columns because they don’t get his jokes or perspective. His day job is at Bethune-Cookman University, which has produced both an NFL Hall of Famer (Larry Little) and an Arena Football Hall of Famer (Stevie Thomas) and his hobby is tracking how many f-bombs Adam Markowitz drops in the chat room on game nights.
