Occasionally here at The TV Guy, we venture into radio when it's important.
In this state, it doesn't get much more important than the possible retirement of Larry Munson, the voice of the Georgia Bulldogs.
The Telegraph's Josh Kendall is reporting that Munson may have already switched off his microphone for good because of poor health. Munson describes the odds of his returning for another season of Georgia football as "50-50."
As a UGA alum, this is terrible news. It's really almost incomprehensible to think of listening to a Dogs game without Munson handling the play-by-play. Sure, the guy is an unapologetic homer for UGA, but that's almost why it's so fun to listen to him.
A couple of years ago against (I believe) Auburn, the Tigers were just manhandling the Dogs up front. Munson's heartfelt "They're just killing us on the line!" really conveyed the angst of Georgia fans, even if it wasn't fair and balanced journalism.
Munson has had health problems in the past; when I was in school there, he missed a game for health reasons and then-coach Ray Goff said somewhat kiddingly "It's tough when you lose your play-by-play guy." In the Bulldogs' case, it is tough because of the emotional resonance he brings to the broadcast.
Everyone has their favorite Munson stories; I have a few of my own. When I used to cover UGA basketball for the Associated Press as a stringer, Munson saw my name at the press table with the "AP" beside it and kept asking me over and over if then-junior quarterback Eric Zeier was going to declare for the NFL draft.
"Have you heard anything about Zeier yet?" he asked several times through the game in his famed gravelly voice, not realizing how far down on the pecking order I really was.
So here's me being a bit of a Bulldog homer myself and saying get well soon, Larry. We certainly miss you.
TUESDAY'S BEST BETS: If you caught "On the Lot" (Fox, 8 p.m.) last week for the first time at my suggestion, let me just say that those five filmmakers didn't approach the best of the week before. But the good news is that some of the best filmmakers of the competition, including my personal favorite Zach, are showing their films tonight, so give the show another chance. Wes Craven sits in as the guest judge this week. I'm not sure what kind of judge he'll make, but anyone is better than friggin' Michael Bay.
Other than that, it's a quiet night for TV, unless you need a David Hasselhoff fix with the erroneously named "America's Got Talent." (NBC, 8 p.m.)
Tuesday, June 19, 2007
Munson Done?
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1 comment:
I, too, am unapologetic Georgia homer so this is sad news, but you knew with Munson's age this day would come sooner then later.
To me, nothing is finer then Larry Munson doing Georgia games and Skip Caray doing Braves games. It's all I have known in my 32 years and those guys in particular, as big as homers as they are, always made the games a bit sweeter.
I can't imagine who will take over as full time play by play man for Georgia, I think maybe legendary Dawg QB, Buck Belue?
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