I recorded this video at the last home UGA game of the year last Saturday, mainly for Katydid. I apologize for the less-than-optimal quality of the video. It's hard to film and watch at the same time, and I forgot a couple of times what I was attempting to do.
It's a UGA tradition, playing the "Battle Hymn of the Bulldog Nation" during the pregame activities of a home game. A lone trumpet plays the opening notes from the southwest corner of the stadium. (I think perhaps this particular soloist succumbed to nerves at the idea of playing in front of 92,746 people.) Then the videoboard shows clips from games in the distant past as well as the current season while the entire Redcoat Marching Band plays the rest of the Battle Hymn.
I recorded this because the video is narrated by the legendary voice of the Georgia Bulldogs for 42 years, Larry Munson, from 1966 until 2008 when he retired.
If you're not a Dawg fan, there isn't enough blog space in the world for me to explain the Hobnail Boot call, "Run Lindsay!" (when Munson broke his chair in his excitement), or "My God Almighty, he just ran right through two men...My God, a freshman!" There are examples all over the internet if you're curious enough to go listen. I look them up myself from time to time just to hear that gravelly voice again. I think Larry Munson was among the first radio announcers who threw the rulebook out the window when it came to remaining unbiased while calling a football game. He was Georgia Bulldog through and through, and he didn't mind letting it be known even while he was calling a game.
And yesterday that gravelly voice was silenced forever. Larry died yesterday at his home in Athens at the age of 89. The Bulldog Nation mourns his passing, but we are appreciative of what he brought to our team, our school, our city, and our state during his tenure as the voice of the Bulldogs.
If I had suspected he might not survive the week, I might have tried a little harder on my videography.
No comments:
Post a Comment