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November 23, 2011

Why Munson Meant So Much

I've spent a great deal of mental energy over the past few days trying to put my finger on why Munson meant so much to all of us. He wasn't one of us. He was us. He embodied Bulldawg Nation. Literally. When you hear a naysayer or Disney Dawg or CBSM or any other type of Georgia fan, that is Larry.  He could make Richmond seem like Notre Dame and winning over Notre Dame seem like carrying enough water to quench the fires of hell.  He was at his best, as we fans are, when we faced any number of hated rivals-Clemson, Florida, Tennessee, Auburn, and yes, even Georgia Tech.  

We all have our individual reasons, but after reading Joe Posnanski's eulogy, I realized just why he meant that to all of us as a body corporate.  As he put it
I always felt better after hearing him do a game, win or lose, because it has always made me feel better to be around people who care and lot and don't mind if everyone knows it. 
Very simple. Very true.  He cared in a way we all do. There are plenty of announcers that care. There are very few that care in the same way we do. Or Larry did.

In my mind, anything short of naming the press box in his memory and retiring his headset or whatever you retire for him (fishing rod? movie seat? hat?) is not a fitting tribute.
TD 

6 comments:

ky_dawg said...

Screw naming the pressbox after him, I think we can do better. I'd like to see the football field named after him. "Munson Field at Sanford Stadium"....has a nice ring to it if you ask me.

Anonymous said...

Good idea. But it's the Dan Magill Press Box.

Tony Waller said...

I completely forgot about that. Then the field it is....

JaxDawg said...

Munson's greatest legacy might be the extremely conversative (some might say pessimistic) outlook he had regarding our team's fortunes. It spilled over into the fanbase since he was the voice that became the conscience of us all. With a big game on the line, Munson worried about everything and I believe that mindset persists to this day. Some would call a wise strategy of not underestimating your enemy or overinflating your chances. Certainly hubris never crept into his mind. Whatever you may beleive, the combination of Dooley and Munson has undoubtably impacted the attitudes and outlook of several generations of Dawgs. To some degree, it can be viewed as a negative - but for the most part, it is probably interpretated as wisedom.

edethomas said...

What about the radio booth within the press box? Not sure I like the idea of the field because I think the field should be Vince Dooley Field.

Tony Waller said...

I know. It will be hard to measure the impact or have an appropriate way to honor him. I even considered (seriously) the possibility of him being interred in the stadium. Of course, that was after a couple of drinks.

 
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