The Colorado Eagles Say Goodbye to Long Time Fan Favorite

Some things in Northern Colorado have always been a given. Incredible sunsets, no matter what time of year. Traffic on I-25 almost always being a disaster during rush hours. And for the last twenty years, the booming voice of Reed Saunders echoing "Eaaaaaagles Goal" through the Budweiser Events Center during each Colorado Eagles Hockey season.

This, the Eagles' 20th season in existence, will be Saunders' last with the team. He has served as their primary announcer for all 20 years of the Eagles' history, with only a few games off along the way. They announced that at the end of the 2022-2023 season, he will step down to spend fewer nights sitting between the penalty boxes on the ice and more nights at home throughout the long hockey season with his wife and children.

“Reed is simply the best of the best at his profession,” said Eagles president Ryan Bach. “We are obviously sad to see him step away, but we are thrilled to know that he will now be able to spend valuable time with his wife and children, who he loves so much. We can’t thank Reed enough for what he has meant to our history, our atmosphere and our fans. We wish him great success and happiness and we all look forward to being able to continue enjoying his passion and professionalism for the remainder of this season.”

Of course, in addition to being the PA announcer for the Eagles for the last 20 years, he's also done a few other things behind a microphone in that time. You might have heard him calling out lineups for a different sport, in a different stadium. Reed has been the PA announcer for the Colorado Rockies at Coors Field as well, since 2007. He's also filled in at Ball Arena for Avalanche games and even at Empower Field at Mile High for Broncos games.

At Coors Field, he replaced Denver sports announcing legend Alan Roach, who moved on to his hometown Minneapolis where he pulls PA duties for the Vikings and league events for the NFL. It's hard to believe until you see it on paper, but Roach was the PA announcer for the Rockies from 1993 to 2006. Saunders took over in 2007, where he remains to this day. If you do the math there, Roach was the announcer for 13 years. Reed has now done 15, making him the longest-tenured PA announcer in Rockies' history.

On a personal note, I can say, having worked with Reed at Eagles' games myself from the beginning through the 2011-2012 season, and can surely add on behalf of Big Rob who has worked with him since, that Reed is every bit as nice - if not nicer - a human being than he is an exceptional PA announcer. His energy and professionalism are second to none, and the chance to banter back and forth with him over microphones was a treat every single night at the Budweiser Events Center. He will be sorely missed by co-workers and Eagles fans alike!

The Eagles home and away games can be heard on 99.9 The Point.