During Rose Bowl Media Day in Lot K of the stadium, ESPN commentator Chris Fowler spoke to reporters ahead of the network’s broadcast of the Alabama-Michigan matchup.

We asked the longtime play-by-play broadcaster about some of his favorite Alabama calls while in the booth during the Nick Saban era.

“We’ve called some big Alabama games,” Fowler said. “We’ve documented six semifinal wins for them and some championship game wins. There are certain things I am proud of.”

“I mean, look, when you call a walk-off touchdown, I don’t think that DeVonta Smith catching Tua’s pass was a great call. It was just a great moment in the sport, and you get the privilege of documenting it. I had 101 fever that night and I felt like shit, but it was a great game so you need to push that aside and rise to it. Derrick Henry made a couple of plays. I think there’s just moments where Alabama has provided us a lot of excitement and so they’ve been in a lot of big games, and I’ve had the privilege of calling them.”

“I think instinct is the word. I don’t think you tell yourself anything. I take pride in it doesn’t matter if it’s a regular season game, it has no playoff impact. You still want to convey that you’re genuinely enthusiastic about being there, and you’re grateful for being there. So it isn’t an acting job. I think that’s what Kirk and I have talked a lot about is I think people have sensed it for years, whether it’s on the pregame or the booth is we have a genuine passion for this. We’re not jaded one iota. It doesn’t matter how many games you call, how many tennis matches I call. I feel a responsibility to document as well as I can. The enthusiasm part just happens. One thing you tell yourself is, ‘OK, pick your spots.’ No one wants to hear somebody yell for four hours. So a first down catch or a 6-yard gain in the first quarter…you’re gonna check your enthusiasm and be appropriate.”

“But I think that’s what you learn over time is how to how to hold back when you need to and how to save it, but then be ready for the moment because in this sport in a game like in Monday’s game, it could be anything. It could be an interception that sets up a touchdown in the first quarter that ends up being the decisive play. So be ready to meet that whenever it happens. What I was telling the student broadcasters is, the more you’re a student of people and a student of athletes and you notice the smaller things and you try to sponge up every little piece of body language…the more you can have a chance to anticipate something and be ready for a moment.”

Fowler and Herbstriet will call the 2024 Rose Bowl on ESPN, Monday Jan. 1 at 4 p.m.