Oregon broadcaster Jerry Allen on 38 years of peaks, pits — and why Jorgy still wears shorts

Oregon broadcaster Jerry Allen thought the peak was the 1995 Rose Bowl.

The Ducks were Pac-10 champions. They were playing at the greatest venue in college football on New Year’s Day. They got to face one of the sport’s blue bloods in Penn State, a status that, at the time, seemed so far away from the program hailing from Eugene.

“I said it’ll never get better than this,” Allen said on Tuesday. “Then it got better.”

Now entering his 38th season in the Autzen Stadium radio booth, Allen can run through moment after moment that’s equal to or better than that sunny Sunday morning 30 years ago in Pasadena. He also recalls a handful of moments that weren’t so fun. 

We covered the good and the bad in our annual sit-down with Allen, talking about the great calls he’s made, the ones he’s not so fond of and, yes, the legs of his longtime analyst in the booth: Mike Jorgensen.

(This interview has been lightly edited for length and clarity.)

Lookout Eugene-Springfield: What’s the least favorite game you’ve ever called?

Jerry Allen: It was the Alamo Bowl. We had the huge lead, and we were partying at halftime and through the end of the third quarter. And then we weren’t partying anymore.

(Editor’s note: The Ducks led 31-0 at halftime against TCU in the 2016 Alamo Bowl. They lost 47-41 in triple overtime.)

The toughest part about the end of that game was, normally in our broadcast booth, if we’ve got the coaches next to us there’s frosted glass or curtains. You can’t see them; they can’t see you, right? For this one, our coaches were next to us in clear glass. He’s sitting right there, I’m standing here, so for part of that game we’re like, “Yeah! This is great!” And then we got toward the end of it, and the wheels are coming off.

At the start of the game, I’m doing this (motions high fives and fist pumps) and at the end of the game, I’m not making eye contact over there. It was painful. I felt so bad for them.

What’s the difference for you between calling a dramatic loss versus calling a train wreck from the start, such as the 41-21 loss in the Rose Bowl against Ohio State in Janauary?

The sudden losses are tougher. You have that, “We’re going to do it. We can do it,” and then it’s just ripped out from under you. That Rose Bowl game last year, from the get-go it was like, OK, they’re playing better football, you’ve got to respect that. And we weren’t playing very well – I don’t know why. But as the game went on it was like, “Wow, this is incredible.” But it was very hard because we were getting beat and we wanted to advance. If you’re getting beat by a really good team, you understand and respect that part. Didn’t like losing. Didn’t like the way we were losing. But it was easier to take than being right there and — boom.

During the Chip Kelly era, when you guys were winning at a rate previously unheard of here, did you ever worry that was the peak for your career?

No. Part of the reason for that were the facilities, and I knew they were going to keep investing and that Phil Knight was here. He wasn’t just going to let — well, not just Phil, but others — they weren’t going to let it go away. We had good leadership in the athletic director’s office.

I know programs go through this high, then they dip a little and they come back. Some don’t — but most great programs stay within reach to get back there. And I thought we would, too.

What’s your favorite part of calling an opener?

Jorgy [Allen’s longtime color analyst Mike Jorgensen] and I love it when you get to about the first part of August and the trees are changing and you get up in the booth and it’s just that view. And then the first time you get to hear “Shout,” it’s just like, you’re back. You’re back doing the fun stuff.

You don’t get any preseason games to shake the rust off. Do you need that at the start of the year?

I mean, this is my 38th year. Jorgy has been here for 36 or 37. John Lundquist, my statistician, has been there from the very first day. Joey McMurry is so good and even he’s been here for a long time. He’s an old guy now. So we have a rhythm and understanding and a sixth sense of what we’re doing. The first game, the biggest part is learning the names of the new players. And it’s not just the new names, but the numbers associated with the player. So, coming to practice — a lot of them we’re watching from up in the booth — you see the body style. What does he look like standing, because you can’t see the number? What’s he look like running? So that’s the hardest part with the new guys.

How much pride do you take in seeing how McMurry’s career has developed from beginning as an intern sideline reporter to becoming Oregon’s play-by-play voice for men’s basketball and baseball?

It’s huge. It makes me feel good that I can help somebody grow into what I became and what I am. Going back to my days at Southern Oregon College out in Medford, I was lucky enough to sign on at KSOR — Southern Oregon College’s first FM radio station. I got to be the voice of that.

And then the guys that worked around me — I ended up in Medford at the radio station where I became program director and GM — I hired a bunch of those guys and they grew, and I felt like I sort of tutored them and taught them, and they went on to bigger markets and bigger things.

Same thing with Joey. When we brought Joey in as an intern, you could see it right away. He’s smart. He gets it. He has passion. There are just certain people that have the “it” factor, and he was one of those kids. I thought if we kept him around he could become part of the staff and grow, and that’s exactly what’s happened.

Is there a call that’s not famous that you wish got the “Kenny Wheaton is going to score” treatment?

No, not really. I never think any of my calls are quality. You just get excited and live in that moment, and then when it’s gone you go on to the next player and the next play of the game. You’re never, “I hope that makes SportsCenter.”

With the Kenny Wheaton call, I was really disappointed in losing control. And then at the end of the 2010 Oregon State game, when we were going to the first national title (game), we went downstairs and I got in the car and I’m like, “What did I just do?” I just lost control. “Oh my gosh, that’s embarrassing.”

Those are things you never plan or want. I don’t want them. Maybe some people do. I don’t because it’s the players that do it. I never want it taken away from them.

Is there a quality another broadcaster has that you wish you had?

I wish I had a better voice.

Jerry, there’s nothing wrong with your voice.

I mean, I’ve always liked the NFL guy who does all the promos with a big, deep voice. I always wanted one of those. And people have said that my voice is great, but I’ve just never felt I had that.

It’s got to take some practice to hone in that meat grinder effect.

It definitely does. There were times early on when I’d get a raw throat, and I had to do the lemon and honey and work my way through it — especially early in a basketball year. But nothing really bad unless I’ve gotten a cold or something like that. I’ve had laryngitis a couple times in 38 years, which is frustrating.

When you ever retire, what do you do on your first fall Saturday in 38-plus years where you don’t have to work? Anything you feel like you’ve missed out on?

My wife wants to travel in the fall, which we’ve never been able to do. But on that first game that I don’t call, I don’t have an answer yet. I will never be able to sit in the stands. I won’t be able to listen to the fans grumble and say things about players and coaches when things aren’t going well. I couldn’t do that. I may be able to go up in the press box and watch from up there, but I’ll never be able to sit in the stands. I’m too thin-skinned.

There’s something to the fact that you’ve done this nearly 40 years, yet if somebody asks you about Oregon’s game-day experience, you can’t really give them a true answer. You’ve never even been to a tailgate. You’ve been working. 

What I’d probably do is park, tailgate and then, when the game starts, either go up in the press box or go home and watch it on TV. I’d love to tailgate sometime.

What’s the best compliment you’ve ever received?

Years ago, somebody told me they brought a relative to the game who was, for the most part, blind. They could hear the noise but couldn’t see the game. And so he would explain to them what’s going on so they could visualize it. And when he told me that, he said, “That’s what you do on the radio. I can see the field, and I know what’s going on based on what you’re saying because you do it in a pretty simple way.”

Some guys would take that as an insult — my broadcasts are simple? But I’ve always wanted them to be. When I did high school ball, the majority of fans were parents and grandparents. They don’t always understand the game of football, so I just broke it down to the very basics so they could follow the game, and I carried that up to college.

I’ve got Jorgy. He can analyze it and get into aspects of the game that I can’t. There are a lot of schematics and things that go into a football game that I just don’t understand.

Speaking of Jorgy, the man has never not worn shorts. You’ve known him for decades. Are the calves still worth showing off?

You know, he still runs probably 150 miles a day, so he’s kept himself in pretty good shape. I think he shaves his legs now — I’m not sure.

Man, we’ll go on the road, and I like to sleep in until seven or eight o’clock. Meanwhile, he’ll get up, put on running shoes, shorts and go out and run for an hour. For a while, I used to feel guilty that he’s out running, and I’m shoveling food in my mouth. But I got over that.

Last one: Of the big games you’ve called, where does the Ohio State win last year rank for you?

It was comparable to the 2006 Oklahoma game and the way that ended. It was probably the loudest and most interactive the fan base has been at the end of a game. Everybody was so educated, and they got it, and they understood what was going on. It was like a cliffhanger.

It’s as good of a moment in college athletics as it can get. It was a three-pointer from half court to win. It was one of those moments. It was probably all-time. That was the game. I mean, there are other games where it was like, “That’s the best. Oh, that’s the best.” I mean, we played in the Rose Bowl in 1995, and Jorgy and I said it’ll never get better than this! We’re in the Rose Bowl! We’re Pac-10 champs!

Then it got better.