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| Photo: Merrill Reese |
Maybe it's the broadcaster in me but when the Phillies won the World Series in 2008, I was mainly happy for Harry Kalas. Not for me or Phillies fans as a whole. I was happiest for Harry. That was his first and only World Series Championship call. When the Phils won the Series in 1980, there were no local broadcasts. It was all national. A few years later, MLB allowed local radio broadcasts at the World Series, mainly because Phillies fans complained in 1980 that we couldn't have our Harry.
Just as Harry deserved a championship call, I was ecstatic for Merrill Reese when he finally got to call an Eagles Super Bowl win. Hearing Merrill say, "the Philadelphia Eagles are Super Bowl Champions. Eagles fans everywhere, this is for you. Let the celebration begin"...gave me chills then, and it gives me chills typing out those words now.
Merrill deserves to broadcast another title. If not this season, then next season. Merrill is the longest tenured NFL play-by-play man, and it's not even close. He has been the Voice of the Eagles since 1977, and at 82 years old he still calls a great game. He hasn't lost anything off of his fastball. For the vast majority of people reading this, Merrill IS the Eagles. He is the only person to bring us Eagles football.
I've been lucky enough to interview Merrill many times on TV and on podcasts. The first time, was a week before Super Bowl LII. I went to the radio station he runs in Levittown, 1490 WBCB. I was a nervous wreck because I was meeting a guy I idolized growing up. As someone who was always a big sports fan, and someone who always wanted a career in broadcasting, I gravitated to Merrill, Harry, and the Flyers Hall of Fame Announcer Gene Hart. Merrill could not have been nicer that day, and he has been kind to me every time I've been fortunate enough to talk to him since.
Merrill FINALLY got into the Pro Football Hall of Fame last year, an honor that was WAY overdue. He's now officially a Hall of Famer, but he's always been a Hall of Fame person. When I interviewed him before the Super Bowl, I said to him on camera that I want the Eagles to win it for him. And he said to me, "No, Jason I want this for these fans. These fans who have suffered the ups and downs with this team for decades. I want it for them". And I can tell you, that wasn't BS. The man meant every word of it.
He loves Eagles fans, and the feeling is mutual. Who hasn't said "IT'S GOOOOOOOOOD" in a Merrill voice? It seems like everyone does a Merrill impression. I once heard Merrill tell a story about WIP doing a Merrill Reese impression contest, and Merrill called in with some made up name...I think it was "Dave from Drexel Hill"...and he entered the contest. As he tells the story, he starts laughing hysterically, because he came in THIRD!!!
With Merrill, you are talking about the soundtrack of Eagles football for nearly 50 years now. I don't know Merrill very well, but I feel like I do. Maybe you do too. It was the same with Harry Kalas. I met Harry a couple times, but didn't really know him. Yet I cried when he died. I had to announce his death on the radio, and I had trouble getting through it on the air. There is a connection a city feels with its sports broadcasters, especially a city like Philly. I loved Harry. I love Merrill. And it would make me so happy to hear Merrill call another Super Bowl win.