Legendary sports media personality Eli Gold, a four-time winner of the Alabama Sportscaster of the Year award and longtime voice of Crimson Tide and Jax State athletics, took some time to speak with Gulf Coast Media about his career during a recent "Gulf Coast Sports Pulse" podcast episode.

“I tell people all the time: I work my butt off every week, but I have never worked a day in my life," Gold explained. "It’s the toy store of life.”

The following is a transcribed list of questions and answers from the conversation:

Parker Gillam: Before we delve into your history, just what are your thoughts on the Alabama football program post-Nick Saban?

Eli Gold: They seem to be doing quite well. I’ve met Kalen Deboer, and he’s a great guy and a very accomplished coach. So everything seems to be moving along swimmingly, although of course it’s a different world now than when Nick Saban was there, but it seems to be going well. Heck, any time they’re right there knocking on the door of the Top Five, that’s where you expect to see Alabama every year.

PG: You were born and raised in Brooklyn until you moved to Alabama in your early 20s. What was that culture shift like for you, and can you recall any "Welcome to Alabama" moments?

EG: I enjoyed the move. I was born and raised right in the city, and so life was very different. College sports didn’t really have much interest because it was a professional sports scene. With the hassles, traffic and hubbub, I was ready to leave New York. That was all I knew, because as if often the case for city dwellers, my family would always just go to another city for vacation.

So I grew tired of the city life and moved to Birmingham in the mid-to-late 1970s, and I loved it here. I still do, and I’ve had so many opportunities to move with work, but I just never considered them. And now when my wife and I go back to New York, I always tell her ‘Why would anybody live here?’

PG: Before you became synymous with Alabama athletics, you worked within plenty of other sports (NASCAR, hockey, etc.). Talk a bit about how those early gigs set you up for future success?

EG: I worked in hockey for many years, starting in the minor leagues just like the players. I eventually became the voice of the St. Louis Blues and did radio for the Nashville Predators, so hockey has been a longtime favorite of mine.

I just love sports, and I’ve had this God-given ability to describe things as they happen. I may not be an expert on any of these sports, but I certainly have the ability to see something and describe it vividly. People sometimes ask me to describe what I do, and I just tell them that I’m a professional describer.

PG: I'd love to hear about your process when it comes to preparing for broadcasts and handling in-game moments. Do you have routines or certain things you always have to do, and are there any aspects of the job that everyday people may not think about?

EG: There are commercial formats, when the normal guy will just run to the bathroom or kitchen for a snack, but we have to know when to take breaks and take care of our sponsors.

And the preparation is crazy. You have to do your homework, because if you don’t, you’re up the creek with no paddle. If a game is delayed due to lightning or the lights go out, you’re so much more at ease because you have tons of stuff to talk about and kill time. I spend all week preparing, and I’ll probably use no more than 5-8% of the prep work I’ve done. And that’s because you have to prepare for all eventualities.

…Doesn’t matter what sport it is, it’s always about getting the rosters and memorizing the names and numbers. That’s one thing I love about this business, it keeps your mind sharp, because you’ll get one roster down then have to forget about it for a game the next day. I can’t remember to bring home a container of milk, but I can memorize a roster fairly quickly.

Everywhere you have a questionable name, you just write them down phonetically. I don’t claim to know everybody, but the fact is that if you do your homework, you get that stuff down. The worst thing you can do is mispronounce names. That’s total laziness, because these guys deserve to have their names pronounced correctly.

PG: There are three key individuals from the local area that I'd like to ask you about. First, Julio Jones is a legend across the state, but his legacy began in Foley. You obviously had a ton of experience with calling his games, so what are some memories or notes you have from watching Julio play over the years?

EG: He’s a nice guy, he always was very pleasant in those days and still is I’m sure. All I remember about him is that he made me just shake my head in amazement at some of the receptions he made. Some of the biggest plays in the history of the University of Alabama, Julio Jones was on the receiving end.

PG: And then Ken Stabler of course also hailed from Foley, so talk a bit about what it was like calling Alabama games alongside him?

EG: He was a brilliant football man, looking at games like a player would. And many of his greatest lines we couldn’t repeat on the air, but he had his own way of living. He didn’t like to have people tell him how he needed to do things, he was very much a free spirit.

But during games, he’d sit on my right and diagram plays as things went on. He’d have this big, long legal pad where he’d write in the top corner the down and distance, and then he’d diagram whatever the team did. Then later in the game, there’d be a similar down, and he would remember it. He’d always wet his fingers, go back to that yellow page and say ‘Now remember, Eli, back in the first quarter they did this, but here’s where it didn’t work this time because Bama made this adjustment.’

Ken was a great guy, and walking through the airport with him was like walking with Paul McCartney. He was a rock star, and he never, ever turned down a request for an autograph, picture or handshake. He was just so nice to so many people, because he knew that’s who he really worked for.

PG: Completing the trio, you currently broadcast games for Jax State's football team, which is led by Fairhope alum Caden Creel. Speak a bit on what makes him such a dynamic player from your perspective?

EG: A great guy, that’s point number one because you always gotta look at character first. He’s a nice man…and boy the way he can take off and run is just spectacular. And he has a great work ethic, which comes from his folks and everybody around him. That’s what makes him so special.

PG: You've called plenty of great games over the years, especially during the Saban era. If you can, pick some that stand out to you as either your favorites or just memorable?

EG: Memorable was Auburn’s kick-six. Was it a favorite? Heck no. One of the other ones was when Dale Earnhardt passed away, as I was on the air for NASCAR when that happened.

From a positive standpoint, Alabama’s National Championship win over Georgia, when Tua [Tagovailoa] hit DeVonta [Smith] for a touchdown pass in overtime. That was just an amazing, amazing experience. But there are a lot of things that I’ve been blessed to do, I’d be hard-pressed to put them all in a list.

PG: Lastly, there's bound to be some young sports journalists/broadcasters who give this a listen. From your perspective, what would you tell those kids about getting into this industry and being successful?

EG: It’s a magnificent way to make a living, if you’re a sports fan and you don’t mind being away from your family and missing a lot of stuff. Because there was a stretch in my career where I missed 10 or 12 Thanksgivings in a row while on the road, and I missed some dance recitals for my daughter with either flights getting delayed or games being on the same day.

There are sacrifices in this business. The greatest play-by-play guys started out sweeping floors at their local radio stations in places like Wyoming. So it’s not easy, but it’s worthwhile. You gotta work hard and prepare though, there’s no shortcuts to it.

And you gotta have thick skin while at the same time having enough confidence in yourself to go about your business and know that you’re doing the right thing...

...Because when I say something, you see those words disappear into the microphone, and they’re gone. Meanwhile, writers can sit there with the backspace key, so the mediums are very different with my work being immediately out there to nitpick.

One of the other sayings that we all have is: ‘Those who can, do. Those who can’t, criticize.’

We'd like to extend a massive thank you to Eli for taking the time to speak with Gulf Coast Media for this episode!

And you can continue to follow his current work by watching/listening to Jax State's sports teams.