Iowa radio analyst Ed Podolak, talking for the first time about his battle with alcohol, said photos of him partying in Tampa that were posted on the Internet forced a life re-evaluation and characterized the incident as a "godsend."
"It caused a real change in my attitude as to how I was living," he said.
Podolak sought "professional treatment" after he was embarrassed by three photos taken of him during Iowa's trip to the Outback Bowl in January. The photos were posted on this site after they first appeared on an Iowa State message board.
"I decided to take a personal inventory and I wasn’t pleased with what I saw. I was overusing and abusing alcohol. It's what led to the riotous incident in Tampa. There were other incidents like that. I think it was causing a stressful situation with some family relationships, work relations and physical condition.
"So, I decided to take action. I compare it to going in for a 60,000-mile tuneup. Rust never sleeps and I was getting rusty. And alcohol was a good part of the blame for it."
Podolak says he has lost 25 pounds since seeking treatment and is "alcohol abstinent at this point."
Marc Morehouse of the Cedar Rapids Gazette has three other videos on his blog of Podolak discussing his return to the booth.
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