Chris Stewart becomes new voice of Alabama football
Chris Stewart, a seasoned broadcaster from Fairfield is the new voice of Alabama football, taking over a role steeped in tradition.
"Five-year-old Chris Stewart's head explodes when I hear that," Stewart said. "To realize that I actually have that role, that responsibility, and that honor now is, it's very difficult not to smile when I think about it."
Stewart follows in the footsteps of legendary broadcasters like Eli Gold, Paul Kennedy, and John Forney.
"When I hear 'voice of the Crimson Tide,' my mind goes to John Forney, to listen to, to hear him broadcast those games when frankly, not many games were on television," Stewart said.
Stewart is no stranger to the Crimson Tide Sports Network. He has called Alabama baseball for 24 years and has been the play-by-play announcer for Alabama basketball for the last 22 years. During the 2022 football season, Stewart filled in for Eli Gold.
"So while my role in this booth is new, my presence in this booth as part of the crew goes back a number of years. And so I'm thankful that there's the relationship," Stewart said.
While this will be Stewart's first season as the voice of the Crimson Tide, he has already created a bit of a legacy for himself.
"The 'let's get out of here' was the first time it was said. That win over Texas A&M," Stewart said. "We're right here in this corner. They throw an incomplete pass as time expires, and the 'let's get out of here.' And I want to get out before we got caught.
"It was the emotion of the moment. And it seemed to resonate with so many people that I said it basically in jest. The next year in College Station wasn't quite as dramatic an ending, but it was close. And so I said, 'let's get out of here' again. And the next thing I know, my boss is telling me we're getting t-shirts made."
For Stewart, being in this radio booth has been a dream he鈥檚 had since childhood. But it鈥檚 a dream that almost wasn鈥檛 possible. In the spring of 2018, Stewart had a stroke in his sleep. It took him months to recover, and his struggles didn鈥檛 end there.
"It was about five years ago, right at this time that I had the bypass surgery and then the infection and illness that put me back in for 91 days. And truly almost took my life," Stewart said.
Now, Stewart says he has a new outlook on life.
"It does make me appreciate what I'm able to do even more. And I think in some ways it also takes pressure off, because instead of this being the be-all, end-all, I know every day is a gift," Stewart said.
And a gift he says is partly due to Alabama fans.
"I get told that almost every day when I run into somebody, 'Oh, we were praying for you,'" Stewart said.
"There are medical professionals that worked on me that will tell me, that have told me many, many times, 'We've got no explanation for you surviving, let alone for you to be doing as well as you are. It's a miracle,' and I have no doubt that those prayers are what pulled me through," he added.
Stewart鈥檚 greatest health struggles appear to be behind him, but he knows professionally his biggest challenge is ahead.
"I know that not everybody's happy about this. I get that that's natural. I just hope they do understand that regardless of how they feel about the broadcaster himself, they know that I do care as much as they do," Stewart said.
He cares because, after all, he鈥檚 one of them.
"I was an Alabama fan long before I was an Alabama broadcaster," Stewart said. "I'm trying to tell it honestly, professionally. But yeah, my heart does bleed crimson. And when we lose, it hurts. When we win, it's time to celebrate."
And Stewart hopes to do a lot of celebrating this upcoming season.