BOSTON (WBZ-AM) -- WBZ NewsRadio 1030's Carl Stevens wrote a poem in remembrance of legendary WBZ play-by-play sportscaster Gil Santos, who died Thursday at age 80.
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On many a New England afternoon,
The voice of Gil Santos filled the living room...
We turned the sound down on our TV sets...
Gil was as good as you could get...
He unspooled the games in the sun and the snow,
Moving left to right on your radio...
From Willie McGinnest to Kevin Faulk,
Our minds were the board, and Gil was the chalk.
He was the eyes for the ears of our heart,
He elevated his so-called work to an art...
When a pats game ended it seemed too soon,
You could hear the echo of "badabing badaboom..."
He danced with his voice like Fred Astaire,
Waltzing across the ballroom of the air...
One glorious Super Bowl after another,
Gil was right there: Our baritone brother.
In this short life there are amazing things:
A rainbow glows, a robin sings,
A bright ferris wheel at a county fair
A booming voice in the pigskin air...
And as the trophies gathered on the shelf
Gil described the joy we felt in ourselves,
When Tom Brady and the gang got on that bus,
Gil was there for all us...
But now our friend is in a better place,
Where a Super Bowl is won every single day...
Saint Peter was there at the pearly gates...
Said, "We're glad to see ya...we couldn't wait...
me and Gabriel, and the rest of the boys
were wondering, 'Where in the world did you get that voice?"
Now as we pause on this cloudy day
Gil's in heaven doing play by play...
He gave us moments that will never get old,
God gave us his talent, and God rest his soul.
Gil was the voice for you and me,
Gil Santos was the best there will ever be.
Listen to Carl read his poem: