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Former Alabama signal caller Greg McElroy is pledging never to watch Crimson Tide games again in the booth. At least the entertaining ones.
The commentator says his allegiance to his alma mater makes things too distracting when trying to call other matchups from the broadcast set. He dove into the decision in a recent interview.
McElroy has been working with ESPN for some time now. In fact, just three days after announcing his NFL retirement, the passer filled fans in that he’d be joining the SEC Network in an analyst role.
He’s since become a staple in the college football landscape, giving insights and predictions on teams around the country.
Most recently, he was heard talking the Texas Longhorns up as he believes a College Football Playoff appearance could be in the cards. Those Longhorns return a ton of production from a team that nearly knocked the Tide off in 2022.
One team that did get the best of Alabama was SEC rival Tennessee. The Vols took down the Crimson Tide for the first time in a decade and a half, winning on a last second field goal.
Fans in the stands aptly celebrated by tossing the goalposts in the Tennessee River.
McElroy was watching that incredible scene unfold while calling a different outing in the booth. He said it took him some time to recover from the heartbreaking loss.
Greg McElroy realized something watching the Bama-Tennessee game this past year.
His Alabama fandom can be admittedly distracting when he’s calling another game: pic.twitter.com/dotNEZ6C62
— SDS Podcast (@TheSDSPod) August 17, 2023
While talking on the SDS Podcast, the commentator recalled his disbelief with seeing the Tide lose to the Vols.
“I’ve only watched two Bama games while on the air,” McElroy noted. “Alabama vs. Tennessee last year and LSU vs. Bama in 2019.”
Both games were entertaining, high scoring affairs that came down to the wire.
He said the intensity of the action was distracting him from his job.
“It was just very distracting. So, if the game’s not close or not competitive, I will keep it on, but from now on, like [Joe Tessitore] and I couldn’t recover for like a half drive. We were so flabbergasted that the kick went through the uprights. So, I don’t think that’s a good habit.”
He credits the anxiety to his Alabama allegiance, which he says has grown since his playing days.
“It’s too emotional now. I’m too far removed,” he said. “I used to be able to treat it very business-like, but now I’ve gotten to the point where if Bama loses… I’m emotionally disappointed.
“Now, I’m a fan,” McElroy closed. “I hurt just like the rest of the fans that see their team come up short in a game or two every year.”
He’ll do his best to stay 100% focused on his duties in the booth in the coming season.