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Pat Dye Field => War Damn Eagle => Topic started by: Jumbo on November 21, 2011, 01:21:16 AM
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http://espn.go.com/college-football/story/_/id/7263559/longtime-georgia-bulldogs-announcer-larry-munson-dies-89
November 21, 2011, 12:09 AM ETBulldogs' voice Larry Munson dies at 89EmailPrintComments23By David Ching
DawgNation
Archive ATHENS, Ga. -- Georgia's Bulldog Nation has lost its most distinctive voice.
Larry Munson, who spent 42 years as the radio play-by-play announcer for Georgia's football team, died Sunday night at the age of 89 after complications from pneumonia.
"Georgia football being what it is, for most people Larry Munson makes it that much more special. Him and his calls," said former Georgia receiver Lindsay Scott, the subject of perhaps Munson's most famous call in the 1980 Bulldogs' comeback win against Florida -- when Munson cheered along as Scott streaked 93 yards for the game-winning touchdown in the game's final seconds. "It's about Georgia football, but it's more about listening to Larry Munson and what kind of calls he's going to make during Georgia football."
Munson's gravelly delivery and unapologetic cheerleading endeared him to Bulldogs fans, making them forget that the native Minnesotan cut his teeth announcing games at Wyoming and Vanderbilt.
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Munson's legendary calls at Georgia placed him in the pantheon of beloved Southern college football announcers, alongside Tennessee's John Ward, Alabama's John Forney, Kentucky's Cawood Ledford, Georgia Tech's Al Ciraldo, Clemson's Jim Phillips, North Carolina's Woody Durham and Auburn's Jim Fyffe, among others.
His admitted homer-ism ran contrary to the impartiality taught in modern-day journalism schools, but Georgia fans wouldn't have had it any other way.
Munson provided hundreds of memorable calls in his time on the Georgia airwaves between 1966 and 2008, but the early 1980s -- when Herschel Walker stalked goal lines and Vince Dooley's Bulldogs regularly contended for the national title -- might have been Munson's heyday.
Few Georgia games were televised in those days, so Munson served as the eyes and ears for the fans. And even when TV became a common way to follow the games, many Georgia fans watched the game on mute while allowing Munson to paint the picture on the radio.
"That's exactly what I did," said Robbie Burns, author of the book, "Belue to Scott: The Greatest Moment in Georgia Football History," for which Munson wrote the foreword. "If they were on TV, I was turning it down and watching it and listening to Munson."
Munson suffered with the Bulldogs faithful through the down times, but was still in the booth when Mark Richt arrived in 2001 and restored Georgia football to the upper echelon of college football.
Richt was only four games into his UGA tenure when he achieved his first signature win -- a 26-24 upset of fifth-ranked Tennessee in Knoxville -- and Munson cemented the game in Bulldogs lore with his description of the dramatic final seconds.
Georgia drove deep into Tennessee territory before fullback Verron Haynes slipped out of the backfield to catch the game-winning touchdown pass from quarterback David Greene with only 6 seconds remaining.
"We just stepped on their face with a hobnailed boot and broke their nose," Munson said. "We just crushed their faces."
Munson later joked that he didn't even know what a hobnailed boot was -- he intended to make reference to the jackboot members of the German Army wore during World War II, he said -- but the unique call became many listeners' -- and Munson's -- favorite.
Munson had missed only one game in his UGA career -- he sat out the Oct. 6, 1990 loss to Clemson following back surgery, while ESPN's Dave O'Brien filled in -- before he opted to call only home games in 2007.
He was only a few months removed from surgery to treat a brain aneurysm the following year when he stepped aside for good. Munson was in the booth for the top-ranked Bulldogs' first two games of the season, against Georgia Southern and Central Michigan, but he decided his failing health simply wouldn't allow him to perform to his standards behind the microphone.
His final game, a 56-17 win over Central Michigan on Sept. 6, 2008, ended a glorious run where Munson presided over seven SEC championships and one national title and the Bulldogs posted a 348-142-10 record.
Although Munson left the microphone, the university found a way to honor his legacy in a pregame tradition that exists to this day. As Georgia's Redcoat marching band plays "The Battle Hymn of the Bulldog Nation" before each game at Sanford Stadium, Munson's voice still implores the fans to cheer for the Bulldogs that day while highlights from throughout the years play on the stadium's video board.
"As we prepare for another meeting between the hedges," Munson's voice reminds them, "let all the Bulldog faithful rally behind the men who now wear the red and black with two words, two simple words which express the sentiments of the entire Bulldog Nation: Go Dawgs."
David Ching covers University of Georgia sports for DawgNation. He can be reached at davidchingespn@gmail.com.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JFzYJ0HmQnk
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Sorry, but I didn't like the guy. The hobnail shit, the Herschel shit and all the "we" talk as if he was out there in the game or something. I think he is part of the reason they think more of themselves than they really are. Would take Fife a million times over.
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Having lived in Georgia for 5 years he was fairly entertaining to listen to. It would be the equivalent to having Tammy or Legend calling Auburn/Alabama games. The best part was their sideline reporter they had at the time. I don't know who he was but he sounded to be about 90.
The coaches call in show that Munson's crew would have after the game was pretty good as they would just let callers rip Jim Donnan. I still remember some guy calling in during Quincy Carter's freshmen year and telling the OC, "Well, coach, it looks like you've done hitched your wagon to Carter and he's gonna drag your ass right out of town." Munson just asked the coach, "Well, what do you have to say about that?"
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Jim Fyffe, Larry Munson & Eli Gold...Play-by-play HOF (I know Auburn fans and some bama fans dislike Eli, including myself, but it is what it is...like it or not).
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Jim Fyffe, Larry Munson & Eli Gold...Play-by-play HOF (I know Auburn fans and some bama fans dislike Eli, including myself, but it is what it is...like it or not).
For some reason Eli never bothered me as much as Munson. Maybe because he was actually a good play by play guy and has a great voice (I think he does NASCAR too). Munson to me is like Harry Carey. Lovable personally, and entertaining even, but gosh awful at his trade.
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Hate Eli on play by play with a passion. Not because he's Bama's guy (Well, okay...yes it is) but more because if you want to know what's going on...he's not going to tell you. You can listen for 15 minutes before you know the score, what quarter it is, how much time is left or who has the ball.
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Hate Eli on play by play with a passion. Not because he's Bama's guy (Well, okay...yes it is) but more because if you want to know what's going on...he's not going to tell you. You can listen for 15 minutes before you know the score, what quarter it is, how much time is left or who has the ball.
That other guy should be chiming in some too. Eli misses the snake.
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That other guy should be chiming in some too. Eli misses the snake.
Snake's voice grated on my last nerve but I have to admit, the guy told it like it was...good or bad. If Bama got owned on the line, he basically called em' a bunch of pussies.
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Snake's voice grated on my last nerve but I have to admit, the guy told it like it was...good or bad. If Bama got owned on the line, he basically called em' a bunch of pussies.
"Eli, arrre boys look like gurls out thayyyer dontcha think?"
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Snake's voice grated on my last nerve but I have to admit, the guy told it like it was...good or bad. If Bama got owned on the line, he basically called em' a bunch of pussies.
Cocaine and liquor will make you do lots of things.
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Cocaine and liquor will make you do lots of things.
http://youtu.be/Y9myYc8Pn8o
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Cocaine and liquor will make you do lots of things.
Was gonna say like groping a sideline reporter on National TV but that's another Alabama QB.
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Sorry, but I didn't like the guy. The hobnail shit, the Herschel shit and all the "we" talk as if he was out there in the game or something. I think he is part of the reason they think more of themselves than they really are. Would take Fife a million times over.
To each his own.
I considered Munson one of the old guard of radio play by play guys. Yes he had a bit of a unique style, and was an unabashed homer, which is a desirable trait to me, but he could paint a picture with words. He came from a time when many people relied on radio to "see" the game, and he was good at it. Guys like him, John Ward (UT), and Jack Cristil (MSU) are no more once they're gone.
I loved Jim Fyffe, and he was close, but not quite of their ilk. Just a different time, Fyffe was good, but just a tad bit short of the greats.
I don't know all of this list, but would largely have to agree with the ones I do know, and Fyffe fits in with them in that place. Because in my lifetime, when John Forney was around, I was listening to Auburn football, I really don't know that much of him. When I first really became "aware" of football in my teens, I would frequently catch the Auburn broadcast on a transistor radio while on a dove shoot. Typically that early season tilt with Tennessee fell on that date. Sitting on a bucket out in a field, listening to that crackling little transistor, while Fyffe brought the game to life is truly a fond childhood memory.
http://bleacherreport.com/articles/236303-the-top-10-college-football-radio-announcers-of-all-time
Mentioning Eli Gold in the same breath with ANY of these guys if blasphemy!
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To each his own.
I considered Munson one of the old guard of radio play by play guys. Yes he had a bit of a unique style, and was an unabashed homer, which is a desirable trait to me, but he could paint a picture with words. He came from a time when many people relied on radio to "see" the game, and he was good at it. Guys like him, John Ward (UT), and Jack Cristil (MSU) are no more once they're gone.
I loved Jim Fyffe, and he was close, but not quite of their ilk. Just a different time, Fyffe was good, but just a tad bit short of the greats.
I don't know all of this list, but would largely have to agree with the ones I do know, and Fyffe fits in with them in that place. Because in my lifetime, when John Forney was around, I was listening to Auburn football, I really don't know that much of him. When I first really became "aware" of football in my teens, I would frequently catch the Auburn broadcast on a transistor radio while on a dove shoot. Typically that early season tilt with Tennessee fell on that date. Sitting on a bucket out in a field, listening to that crackling little transistor, while Fyffe brought the game to life is truly a fond childhood memory.
http://bleacherreport.com/articles/236303-the-top-10-college-football-radio-announcers-of-all-time
Mentioning Eli Gold in the same breath with ANY of these guys if blasphemy!
Just difference of opinion I guess. Something about the guy just rubbed me the wrong way. Fyffe was so good at what he did. I loved that guy. Then I hear Munson with his gravely delivery and senile nature and his overuse of pronouns. It was like I was listening to some old crusty fan in the seats. Fyffe was enthusiastic and polished. The guy just had a perfect delivery and I always felt like I was there during the games I couldn't attend. A true class act. Maybe I am trying to compare too hard but there won't be another Fyffe, although I think Bramlett has done a nice job. I grew up with Fyffe during the Bo years, he painted the 93 season when many couldnt be there. Maybe Im just more of a Fyffe homer than I am a Munson hater. I think the only thing keeping him from being amongst the all time greats is lack of longevity that the others have. I don't hate Eli Gold though. He's a decent radio guy IMHO.
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Just difference of opinion I guess. Something about the guy just rubbed me the wrong way. Fyffe was so good at what he did. I loved that guy. Then I hear Munson with his gravely delivery and senile nature and his overuse of pronouns. It was like I was listening to some old crusty fan in the seats. Fyffe was enthusiastic and polished. The guy just had a perfect delivery and I always felt like I was there during the games I couldn't attend. A true class act. Maybe I am trying to compare too hard but there won't be another Fyffe, although I think Bramlett has done a nice job. I grew up with Fyffe during the Bo years, he painted the 93 season when many couldnt be there. Maybe Im just more of a Fyffe homer than I am a Munson hater. I think the only thing keeping him from being amongst the all time greats is lack of longevity that the others have. I don't hate Eli Gold though. He's a decent radio guy IMHO.
Absolutely just personal opinion.
Fyffe was the youngest of the "old guard". That's all. I loved him because he was Auburn's guy, and he was absolutely a professional. Those guys that came up in the days where they were really having to paint a picture with words simply can't be matched today. It's not possible. Fyffe came in to the game when there was still only a couple of college games on TV each week, and that's how he cut his teeth, but still not like the guys from the 50s, 60s, and even 70s.
I guess you know, the reasons you dislike Munson, the use of "we", and the blatant homerism, the unique delivery, those are the very things that make him a fave of the UGA folks. And that's all he had to please.
Eli is a professional by today's standards. And compared to the likes of Munson, is completely neutral. He's just not in the same ballpark as the likes of Munson, Cristil, Ward, or even Fyffe IMHO. Then again, he doesn't really have to be, and that's probably why.
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Absolutely just personal opinion.
Fyffe was the youngest of the "old guard". That's all. I loved him because he was Auburn's guy, and he was absolutely a professional. Those guys that came up in the days where they were really having to paint a picture with words simply can't be matched today. It's not possible. Fyffe came in to the game when there was still only a couple of college games on TV each week, and that's how he cut his teeth, but still not like the guys from the 50s, 60s, and even 70s.
I guess you know, the reasons you dislike Munson, the use of "we", and the blatant homerism, the unique delivery, those are the very things that make him a fave of the UGA folks. And that's all he had to please.
Eli is a professional by today's standards. And compared to the likes of Munson, is completely neutral. He's just not in the same ballpark as the likes of Munson, Cristil, Ward, or even Fyffe IMHO. Then again, he doesn't really have to be, and that's probably why.
Ive seen Gold call out the coaches or players a few times in frustration. I was surprised actually.
"I can tell ya folks, you're not gonna win too many games against this caliber of foe when you play high school level football, which it appears this Alabama team is doing this very instant."
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Ive seen Gold call out the coaches or players a few times in frustration. I was surprised actually.
"I can tell ya folks, you're not gonna win too many games against this caliber of foe when you play high school level football, which it appears this Alabama team is doing this very instant."
That had to have come from the Shula days.
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I really missed Gary Sanders. He was a terrible homer too and would really get wild at times over a bad call and scream when there was a fumble. His voice is on the Punt Bama Punt game audio but unfortunately the sound is of poor quality. He also did Auburn basketball. It took a bit for me to adjust from Ellen(?) to Fyffe but Jim really became that voice you wanted to hear when you couldn't watch.
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Didn't care for Munson but understood why they did.
Eli sounds like somebody stuck a cattle prod up a turkey's ass. Worst announcer ever.
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Didn't care for Munson but understood why they did.
Eli sounds like somebody stuck a cattle prod up a turkey's ass. Worst announcer ever.
Eli isn't from Alabama. He didn't attend Alabama. He didn't come to Alabama to announce for Alabama.
Yet he's their guy. About par for the course for them.
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Eli isn't from Alabama. He didn't attend Alabama. He didn't come to Alabama to announce for Alabama.
Yet he's their guy. About par for the course for them.
Same same with Fyffe and Auburn. Well maybe he came here to be Auburn's guy, but he was from Kentucky.
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Same same with Fyffe and Auburn. Well maybe he came here to be Auburn's guy, but he was from Kentucky.
Was about to say the same. Same thing with Munson.