Wes Durham - Al Ciraldo

gnats67 said:
Ciraldo was THE legendary voice of the Jackets. Old school. 110% commitment - loyal to a fault. Al would make mistakes sometimes but so did everybody else back in the prehistoric days of mainstream media. That was part of his charm. Everybody just really loved Al and he loved Tech. Would probably have gotten sick and died if he were turned out to pasture. "They" did try to retire him once, back in the 80s I guess, and it went over like New Coke. I think that was back when "they" hired that clown Norman Whatshisface to redo the image and he was trying to change the fight song, the nickname, etc. Huge fiasco. Long story short - Al was back! Wes is naturally a more modern media pro who could transition anywhere. One of the best around and a great part of the Tech team, probably a little under appreciated. Back in Ciraldo's time EVERYBODY listened to the broadcast because so few games were televised. You were lucky to get on once a year so you lived and died with Al. Ciraldo actually called a mean basketball game, too. Think he started with hoops. Pro vs. Legend. We're fortunate to have had them both.
Click to expand...


I am not sure it could be stated any better.
 
00Burdell said:
he had that patented way of saying good by taking out the Os which, now that I think about it, is GT.

"LOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOONG one by Price....
.....
.....
.....
.....
-GT-"
Click to expand...

I was just on ramblinwreck yesterday and downloaded some mp3 clips they have there (http://www.ramblinwreck.com/multimedia/downloads.html). One is the final 8 seconds of the ACC Basketball championship game victory over UNC which contains several of Al's patented -GT-. That phrase, or at least the way he said it, has stuck with me more than anything else from listening to Al on the radio when I was at Tech.
 
GeorgiaTechFan said:
My only real memories of Al Ciraldo were in the '80's and then early '90s when I thought he had slipped somewhat...wondered if any of the older crowd here could relate with what Durham does today with Ciraldo of the '60s-'70's...maybe early 80's?

For the record I think Durham is as good as it gets....I even enjoy his calling the Falcons games...and his contributions during the week on 790. Maybe the one negative, I wish he was a bit more of a homer....

Was Al Ciraldo a better play by play man in his prime?
Click to expand...

To me it seems Wes has been more of a homer since CPJ has been here...it was kinda like Wes was just ggoing thru the motions during the CCG era.:dunno:
 
GEETEELEE said:
Al brought a lot of excitement calling a football game, but he was often incorrect, bless his heart. I recall very often after Al's call, Kim King (the color commentator) would say, "Al, what actually happened on that play...." I don't mean to demean Al in any way, that's just the way he was.

IMO, Al was much better at calling basketball than football.

Wes is outstanding.
Click to expand...

This is the way I remember Al. Even so, I thought he was great, and I grew up listening to him call football and basketball.

Wes is the best. Period.
 
May be just fading memories, but when Al called football games he had a tagline with field goals that we would joke about:

"THE KICK IS UP!!!!!!!....................................... (almost whispered) good."
 
bellyseries said:
The guy before Al was great too. Jack ...? But Al had those great signatures ("Toe meets leather".) I must say I liked him better than Wes, who is essentially a reporter, not a homer.
Click to expand...

Before Al? Good googly moogly. How old are you, Belly? :rotfl:

Reading through this entire thread till now was really great! Made my day.

BTW, "Stanza". Who talks like that anyway? :wink:

AL and Wess are so different, but they are the best!
 
" The Roanoke Valley-Salem Civic Center hardwood" uttered by Al in about half a second, introducing a GT-VMI b-ball game, has stuck in my memory.
 
Just to get on the mark price call by Al....my favorite from the final four year (really the whole time he played) "Scott's looooooong one......scould". I guess he was combining "its good" but it came out scould.
 
In his later years, when I really started listening to Al, you could tell he was slipping a bit.
"The center, 6-10, from Haiti, Georgia, Yvon Joseph."
"Dewberry back to pass ... he's got time ... PRESS-SURE!"
Oh, but listening to Al call a Tech win, especially over the Mutts, was auditory heaven.
Wes is far and away the best going today. The doggies get all wet over Munson but one of the things he was horrible at was telling the basics of the game, such as, you know, the damn score. Some Doggies I know aren't real hip on Scott Howard and let's just say I'm not a big fan of Zeier. And that's not just for his booth work.
Plus, Wes does the Falcons, on top of Tech football and Tech hoops and now the radio show. With all that and all that travel, it's a wonder he doesn't screw something up at all. That shows you what a really good one we have in the booth.
You can't tell me Wes doesn't have the touch of the homer in him. You listen to his 2009 ACCCG call of the final play?
And I still miss the young left-hander in the booth too. I did like Van Note and Strom's pretty good too.
 
One of my favorites (perhaps to preempt a correction)

"The kick is up, it is high enough, it is long enough.... It's going to be short."
 
+1

E=77GTFan;917293]Both are great announcers. Al was very distinctive - great voice, wonderful phrases unique to him, painted a great picture with his words. He was on the radio at a time when few Tech games were on TV - so he really was great at calling the game and you could close your eyes and envision what was going on.

Wes is more articulate and accurate - a true professional. He realizes almost all of the games are on TV and many of the listeners are watching the video as he provides their audio. Brings great excitement to the game. Glad he is our voice and hope he will be for years to come.[/QUOTE]
 
I love Wes, but he (like many radio guys) often says "Ball's on the 40," without saying whose 40.
 
I know these days it's hard to count on anything. But my guess is Wes will be here a long time. I would have thought if anything the UNC job would have tempted him. If that didn't I can't imagine what place would be a better fit than the city of Atlanta with the pro team, radio presense, etc.
 
GeorgiaTechFan said:
My only real memories of Al Ciraldo were in the '80's and then early '90s when I thought he had slipped somewhat...wondered if any of the older crowd here could relate with what Durham does today with Ciraldo of the '60s-'70's...maybe early 80's?

For the record I think Durham is as good as it gets....I even enjoy his calling the Falcons games...and his contributions during the week on 790. Maybe the one negative, I wish he was a bit more of a homer....

Was Al Ciraldo a better play by play man in his prime?
Click to expand...
No, not even close but he was beloved in a way that is difficult to imagine now. One year Tech replaced him with Milo Hamilton who was the Braves announcer and the students went nuts. He was really good at basketball. May have been as good or better than Wes with hoops. Don't really know about that one.
 
bellyseries said:
The guy before Al was great too. Jack ...? But Al had those great signatures ("Toe meets leather".) I must say I liked him better than Wes, who is essentially a reporter, not a homer.
Click to expand...

I think it was Jack Hurst of WQXI. Remember his tag line? "This is Jack Hurst reminding you, that if you can't play a sport, be one".
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top