Gary Radnich sits down to talk about 49ers Postgame Live

November 2, 6:45 PMBay Area Sports ExaminerRyan Leong

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Longtime Sportscaster Gary Radnich is the host of
49ers Postgame Live on CSN Bay Area (KRON.com)

Back in the day (before 2002) Gary Radnich had a show on KRON when the station was still an NBC affiliate and after big games like the NBA Finals, Gary had a show called "Sit Down! with Gary Radnich."  Sit down, is one of his catchphrases, voiced over by Gary on highlights
after batters struck out feebly at the plate.  

Well the tables were turned on Gary as he sat down with me for this exclusive interview to talk about his new role as host of 49ers Postgame Live on Comcast SportsNet Bay Area.

Ryan Leong:   You've been around so long and I remember when you started doing Sports Final, you started at KRON in what year?

Gary Radnich:  This will be 25 years at the end of the year....But you don't remember when I was starting I mean...

RL:  I remember your show in the late 80's.

GR:  Wow, OK, you're older than you look.

RL:  Yeah, 35

GR:  Well then geez, you were in high school

RL:  And your show was the signature (Bay Area sports highlights) show at the time so how do you like doing a show like this where you do have some competition from the local affiliate that's doing their own post-game show, but since you are the official 49ers show...

GR:  To be honest with a show like this, you have to be on for three to four years and then you'll find out.  You can talk all you want but asking people to switch off when you don't have the game on, its pretty tough but its a lot of fun.  And I haven't done one of these for about seven or eight years so I'm having a very good time, a very good time.

RL:  How do you think a show like this is doing now given not only do you say its a new show that's going to take three or four years but given the changes in the business that we know about, with the
internet...

GR:  That's why you've got to have (Mayor) Willie (Brown) on there and you've got to have a little fun with it so somebody will say 'Geez that's a little bit different.'  The days of just saying here's a highlight, here's what happened, let me see it again, they're over with.  If you don't come with something a little bit different, you're not going to attract an audience.

RL:  There's always a fine line though right?  You don't want to be too outrageous, you want to kind of tweak it in a way where you want to make it different but not too different right?

GR:  Positively and the key there is when they lose, who's watching this?  49er fans so you can be a little funnier than normal so maybe you do the first half hour straight and then god, you've got to have a little fun with it.  Anybody who's ready to jump off the bridge, they've already jumped and whoever's left you can have a little fun with.

RL:  How do you enjoy things the way they're going in the business now overall with doing this kind of show, again with all of the changes?

GR:  Well, that's the one thing why I tell my wife all the time, that's one reason I always knock on wood as I always did my own little style there and when I first started, some would say what the hell is he doing?  Now, what the hell is he doing was keeping out eating because you have to be credible but you also have to do it in a way that somebody will say hey I've got 500 choices (on TV) but let me see
what this joker is doing.

RL:  And not that you look like Madonna but obviously you've tried to keep things hip?

GR:  Yeah, but I always have Ryan and it was funny because when I first started here, everybody just did highlights and here it is.  And then I started, I'd go out live to events and I'd have fun with the guests when they'd come on, and its nice to see its kind of catching up so if I can be so bold, I think what I was doing 25 years ago, now everybody is hoping they can find people that do it that way.

RL:  Where do you want to see this show go as far as the potential of it?  I know the Philly (Eagles Postgame Live) show it took like seven years to get to where its pretty highly rated

GR:  That's kind of the example everybody says and that's why Willie is on there because the (Pennsylvania) governor Ed Rendell is the selling point so listen, anybody that says we're going to do this and we're going to do that, I'd rather let it happen and believe me, once it happens, then I'll start bragging but until then, it could take a few years but I sure have fun doing it.

RL:   A crazy roller coaster ride but you've enjoyed it?

GR:  Oh yeah but when you say roller coaster ride, somebody told me that's a record for 25 years on the same TV station and 18 years on the same radio station and one of those little industry magazines said that's a record in a crazy business like this, being at the same place, but I'm looking forward to doing more and more stuff here with Comcast.

RL:  And what do you think works with the show as well as it does, obviously you've known Willie Brown a long time but this is really the first year you've had a chance to work with Eric Davis right?

GR:  Oh yeah, Eric I interviewed a lot, had him on the (Sports Final) show when he was playing on Sunday night and Willie and I had just done banquets before and we've get up and tell old stories but I'd never worked with him in a capacity like this.

RL:  So how do you like the rapport between the three of you guys?

GR:  Its just right because if Willie's saying something off the wall, or I'm being a little crazy, then you've got Eric to say 'Hey, I made the Pro Bowl twice, here's what really happened'.  Eric saves it more times than not.