The Voice

Issue date: 10/23/08 Section: Sports

On the week before one of the most highly anticipated games ever played at Sanford stadium, Larry Munson decided it was time to move on from what he does best: calling games on the radio for the Georgia Bulldogs. The news that Munson is hanging up his headphones isn't really surprising to me (though perhaps the timing is) considering his age and health, but it's a day the bulldog nation had long hoped to put off.

I have favorite Munson memories, mostly those unforgettable calls of big plays collected on various VHS and DVD compilations over the years. They became catch phrases like "my God, a freshman" and "look at the sugar falling out of the sky," beloved by me and everyone who wears red and black. The 2001 "hobnail boot" call in Knoxville might be the best one I heard in my lifetime.

When former Georgia quarterback Buck Belue connected with Lindsay Scott on a 93-yard game-winning pass against Florida in 1980, he pleaded with Scott to get to the endzone: "Lindsay Scott, Lindsay Scott … run Lindsay, run Lindsay." After Scott crossed the goal line he confessed, "I just broke right through a metal steel chair." Munson always called a game with great enthusiasm and passion. He never played a down, but he lived every snap, every yard, and he was as big a part of Georgia football as Dooley, Sinkwich, Herschel and the Ugas.

He was the voice, and that voice has now called its last game. Munson's beloved Bulldogs will go on to win more championships, but never again will sugar fall on them from the sky. He is and will always be a huge icon in the bulldog nation. Georgia fans were very blessed over the last 43 years. Even though there will never be another Munson to listen to, the memories that Georgia fans have of him will always be remembered. Thank you for all of your memories Larry Munson. You will never be forgotten.

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