You might not know who Eric Haas is or even recognize him if you see him. When he talks though, Northwestern Lehigh fans recognize his voice immediately. Haas is wrapping up his 12th season of introducing players and coaches as the primary public address announcer for Northwestern Lehigh sports.

“My wife and I went to dinner recently and when we went up to pay and I said something, the girl said, ‘oh, I know you.’ That has happened a couple of times,” said Haas, who never played high school sports when he attended Parkland High School. He and his friends played basketball in the Haas driveway that had a light so they could be out playing until after dark and were summoned home.

In his time with Northwestern Lehigh, Haas has seen championships and the growth of programs from the start. He has also sat through some, shall we say, difficult seasons. He has brought something more than simply announcing names and numbers to various sports. And it all started in a selfless way.

With one of his daughters playing volleyball in 2012, Haas and his wife went to their first game and the team just ran onto the court with no introductions. Nobody knew who the players were and there was no sort of fanfare. After the game, Haas went to athletic director Jason Zimmerman, who he had known for years, and asked if he could introduce the players.

Zimmerman not only liked that idea, but asked if he could run the scoreboard, too.

“The next game, I started introducing the players. Right before Thanksgiving, Jason calls me and says, ‘what do you think about doing basketball?’” Haas recalled.

He and asked if he meant boys or girls. Zimmerman asked him to do both. It just so happened that the girls program was starting to become a force in the Colonial League.

Haas accepted and balances his day job owning a printing business and his work with sports. He has since added football, soccer, field hockey, senior day for baseball and softball and when lacrosse started a few years ago, he took that on as well.

When you hear music during games or player introductions, it has all been put together by Haas. The horn that blares when a goal is scored in soccer, field hockey or lacrosse was added by Haas, and he has had fans note how much they like the addition that is a staple in sports.

And then, there is the roar of the tiger at football games. The truth can now be revealed that the roar you hear when the Tigers get a first down is not a tiger. In fact, it is not even an animal.

“That was a lot of work,” Haas said. “My youngest daughter, Julia, really helped me with that one. She was scouring everywhere trying to find one that sounded right and even a tiger roar just didn’t sound right over the PA system,.”

Finally, Julia Haas stumbled upon just the right sound.

“The Incredible Hulk roar is what she found, and it works,” Eric Haas said. “A lot of people have come to know that now and it’s a running gag that it isn’t even an animal, it’s some made up character. Zimmy (Jason Zimmerman) hates it, but he understands and goes along with it.”

Over the years, Haas has taken to the Northwestern Lehigh community, and they have taken to him. Parents and players find him after games and talk to him like he is one of them. They commiserate over losses and celebrate wins.

“It really is a community up here,” said Haas. “Everybody is accepting, and we all enjoy the games and watching these kids play and develop into better players and it is a lot of fun.”

Haas has difficulty deciding on which sport is a favorite, but he has been a convert to lacrosse since the program started back in 2019. As for players or a favorite moment, Haas also struggles. He has gotten to introduce and congratulate the two top scorers in girls basketball and has seen any number of players reach milestones.

“There was a kid – I can’t remember his name – who was the manager for basketball, and they let him play in the last game of the season. As it turned out, the kid just started draining three-pointers and they kept passing to him,” Haas said. “I think he finished with like 18 points or something, all on three-pointers. Something special happens almost every year and I really enjoy being there for that.”