Alabama basketball radio team goes silent to let fans scream ‘Rammer Jammer’ after OT thriller
Chris Stewart has had his share of amazing calls as Alabama’s play-by-play man, but after the Crimson Tide’s thrilling overtime win that clinched the SEC men’s basketball regular season championship, he didn’t say a word.
As the clock wound down and Alabama defeated Auburn 90-85 in Coleman Coliseum, the Crimson Tide Sports Network commentator sat back as the raucous crowd indulged in the “Rammer Jammer” tradition, belting the victory song three times as he and his colleagues basked in the glory.
Tiger guard K.D. Johnson hoisted a last-second three-pointer before the buzzer sounded, and Stewart let Coleman take over the broadcast after the conference title win.
“He’ll let it fly at the buzzer. It’s short. And play the song for the champions of the Southeastern Conference!” Stewart said, as he sit silently among the chaos and gave some obligatory fist-bumps to his colleagues, including a gleeful color commentator Bryan Passink.
“Play it all night long,” Passink said, as Stewart retorted, “And for the rest of the league as well.”
Watch the clip.
MORE: ‘Hoo, mercy!’: Chris Stewart’s call on final play of Alabama-Texas A&M is must-hear
On the other side of the radio aisle, Auburn coach Bruce Pearl went viral moments after the game ended when he erupted over officiating on the Tigers’ postgame radio broadcast. The exchange was caught on Auburn’s “Courtside Cam,” with Pearl upset about starters Johni Broome, Jaylin Williams and Allen Flanigan fouling out. “We should have won the game,” Pearl said, before he raised his voice. “Very, very disappointing. You know, obviously, they made some plays. We had a hard time staying in front of them, at the end of the day. I’m just sick and tired of our guys getting smashed down there! Smashed!”
Stewart continues an impressive broadcasting run after Alabama announced last August that Eli Gold, the longtime voice of the Crimson Tide, would be sidelined to start the season due to health issues. Stewart, the play-by-play man for Alabama basketball and other sports, took that seat in the booth and would even pay special tribute to Gold during Alabama’s first touchdown of the 2022 season.
Gold announced in January he was diagnosed with “a treatable form of cancer,” via social media. Legendary pro wrestling announcer Jim Ross tweeted this week he received a call from Gold indicating his plans to return to the booth in the fall.